Piquet in breakthrough Truck result

Nelson Piquet Jr claimed a breakthrough second place finish in Friday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Nashville Speedway.

The Brazilian was making his 10th start in the series, which he joined in 2010, in the fifth points event of the year. He qualified an impressive fourth in what was his first ever race at the 1.33-mile concrete oval and ran in the top 10 all night. Piquet started moving towards the front in the deciding stages of the race, enjoying a number of close battles including one with Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon, who spun on the inside of Piquet while battling for fourth place.

The former Formula 1 driver, who is in his first full season in NASCAR driving the #8 Chevrolet Silverado for KHI - owned by NASCAR star Kevin Harvick - was fourth at the final restart of the race, the green flag waving with only three laps remaining. While former series champion Ron Hornaday tried to beat a dominant Kyle Busch, Piquet quickly moved up to third by driving around the outside of former Red Horse Racing team-mate and Truck race-winner Timothy Peters.

Choosing auto transport services for transporting your car

Time in and again it is quite common for us to keep relocating and starting our lives from a new place. This shifting can be across shores or between two different cities within the same nation. There can be several reasons for us to relocate and some of the few common reasons are buying a new home in a new city or transferring due to work demands. When we buy a new house inside the same city, it is not much of a concern as you know the roads and routes pretty well and you can drive your car to the new locality on your own itself. The real problem arises when you decide to move across cities or oceans. This is primarily because of the fact that the distance is too long and you are not well aware of the traffic regulations in the new city. It is not advisable to embark upon long journeys as well as it is very tiring and dangerous thanks to the unknown factors. This becomes even more impossible when you transfer between countries and you ought to seek for car transport services for transporting your vehicles.

Caution during Shipping vehicles

In our life it is quite common for us to move every now and then. Shifting is never an easy task. Relocating to newer places can strike us quite hard every time. It involves a lot of patience, care and focus on the task. There is a saying that goes ‘travelling lighter helps you to settle easier’. Yes indeed, these words are pretty much true when you are sort of a nomad who keeps wandering from one place to another without any properties apart from what you carry in your hands. But is it practicable in today’s world for everyone to behave like a nomad? Especially when they have a family to support and provide them with all the comforts of life? It is certainly not possible.

Having said that we live in a hectic busy world with our families, it is quite common for us to provide them with the best of things for comfort. And while we do so we invariably buy expensive properties for our homes- cars, bikes, furnitures etc all come under them. Moving from one place to another can happen at any point of time in our lives due to several circumstances. We either transfer between cities or even countries and mostly we relocate to meet our work demands.  Thus it becomes unavoidable. Moving can be quite taxing upon us when the distance to the destination increases and especially when it involves heavy goods such as pianos and expensive cars. However we need to take precautionary steps before we go ahead with it.

When you own a car, it is a must to auto transport it safely across destinations with utmost care. There are quite a lot of auto transport service providers available in the market. You need to choose the best one among them for the task. In general the things you need to look out in them are as follows;

 Information about the company: Before you choose any company, it is necessary that we choose the one that is more experienced and well reputed in the market. Get an insight into the services provided by the company. Cross reference it with your demands and timeline needs. A good company not only provides quality work for the task but also provides reliable customer service.

Pricing: Always have a budget before choosing your company. Surf through the web and get an idea of how much does different companies charge you for the same task. This will give you an idea about the market value for the job. If a company charges you steeply, get a break down value of the service provided so that you may know where your money goes. Do not opt for services provided at a very cheap rate just because it is cheap. Such companies generally don’t take responsibility for your vehicle and their service always tends to be poorer than usual.

 Credibility: Check for the credentials of the company before you opt for any company for the service. The company you opt for should be licensed by the proper governing authorities for carrying out the task. The driver who comes on that particular day to shift your vehicle should be licensed to drive and should always carry all the necessary documents with him.  

Ferrari's Felipe Massa renders Mercedes GP as title contenders after Chinese Grand Prix performance

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has recently stated that he believes Mercedes GP is going to become a major threat in the near future especially after the team’s performance at the Chinese Grand Prix.

“After Shanghai, we must also consider Mercedes as being part of the fight for the top places.  They definitely have a quicker car than us for qualifying, but it's not yet a match for Red Bull,” said Massa.

Both of the drivers of the team finished inside the points as Nico Rosberg scored the 5th place after qualifying in 4th place while his teammate Michael Schumacher finished in 8th place after qualifying in 14th place. It was a pretty good run by the 7 time world champion but since the team scored some pretty amazing results during the pre-season testing period, the fans are expecting a lot more from the team.

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa says podium finish at Chinese Grand Prix was possible – Formula 1

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has said that scoring a podium position at this past weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix was possible but the team failed to do so because of its race strategy.

Ferrari opted for a two-pit strategy rather than a three-pit strategy which was used by McLaren.

“Probably we would have finished on the podium, but we need to look into all the details with the engineers. I am happy with my race; I think it was my best this year and maybe even the best including last year. We need to work out how to improve the car, especially in qualifying,” said the Brazilian.

As a result, Felipe Massa finished in 6th place ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso who finished in 7th place ahead of Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes. However, Massa believes that if he went for another pit stop, he could have pushed his car to its limits at the end of the race and he probably would have scored more points with the new tyres.

“The strategy? Now, it's easy to say that we were not on the right one, but we are a team and we take our decisions together. [Sebastian] Vettel made the same choice as us and we had a reasonably similar pace,” said Massa.

He stated that his team was unable to improve its car in terms of pace because of which McLaren and Red Bull Racing Team once again took the advantage both during the race and in the qualifying sessions. Massa urged his team to find a solution to this problem before the European phase of the 2011 Formula 1 season which will begin after the Turkish Grand Prix.

The European tracks are more technical as compared to the Asian tracks and teams need stronger cars to compete in those.

Since the next race of the season, the Turkish Grand Prix is scheduled to be held in three weeks time, Ferrari have a lot of time up their sleeves to improve their car.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton says they need to improve their car for Turkish Grand Prix – Formula 1

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton says they need to improve their car for Turkish Grand Prix – Formula 1

The 2008 Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren has said that they need to improve their car before the upcoming Turkish Grand Prix in order to challenge Red Bull Racing.

The upcoming race is scheduled to take place in three weeks time and it is expected that the teams are going to try their best in evaluating their respective cars for more accurate upgrades.

However, Hamilton made a strong statement by winning the recently held Chinese Grand Prix that McLaren also have the pace to challenge for the titles.

The team was unable to compete alongside Red Bull Racing Team during the first two races of the 2011 Formula 1 season but at the Chinese Grand Prix, it was a completely different story. Despite dominating the qualifying sessions, Red Bull finished on second and third positions on the podium behind McLaren.

“We needed this win. Looking back at the last few weeks, we have done something incredible at this team. To have turned the car around and made it a winner; we've never done something that big in such a short space of time,” said Hamilton.

Even after the win, the young British believes that the team needs to keep its head up and improve its performance at the same time before heading in for the European races of the ongoing Formula 1 season.

He said, “We know that other teams won’t be standing still either. So although this win is the perfect way to head back to Europe and prepare for Istanbul, this is just the start of the fight.”

With a three-week break before the upcoming race, the team has enough time to think about its current problems. The races after the break are going to be extremely vital for all of the teams as the European races are considered more difficult compared to the rest.

McLaren are hoping for even better results at the upcoming races and since the Chinese Grand Prix, it seems that McLaren are catching up fast on Red Bull Racing. Let’s see what the Turkish Grand Prix has in the store for us.

International shipping at All America Auto Transport

It is common knowledge that car transport from one destination to another is a risky proposition and it becomes increasingly so if you are moving your vehicle internationally. For this reason, many moving companies were quite reluctant to accept assignments for overseas auto transport.

However, things have since changed with the arrival of some frontline auto transport companies like All America Auto Transport (AAAT). AAAT in America has been transporting vehicles both within USA and overseas for the last four decades and more. Auto transporting – be it nationally or internationally - needs lot of experience and skills and AAAT is adept in doing this.

Further, the advantages of entrusting your auto transport assignment to AAAT are - the company is scrupulously honest, thoroughly reliable, known for its professionalism and unique sense of customer service. Surprisingly, the rates quoted by AAAT are extremely competitive and in keeping with market norms – that is to say, you will not be spending more though engaging a frontline auto transport company.

The company is known to provide free auto transport tips and suggestions to its prospective customers and have all the auto transport resources at their command. AAAT will send you free international car shipping quote without obligation.

If you are planning to move your vehicle internationally and at the same time want to feel relaxed and carefree, it is necessary that you engage an auto transport company that has a sound track record in overseas auto transport – and AAAT can easily be the right choice.

AAAT is known to deftly handle the complicated task of international auto transport using the best tools and professionally qualified workforce. The company has a team of seasoned personnel to do all the related functions like car inspection, preparing the vehicle for shipping, pick up and drop etc.

Like all vehicle shipping companies, AAAT also offers you two modes of vehicle transportation - open and enclosed and it is a question of your personal preference to select the one you need. Either enclosed or open, AAAT offers you these services at an affordable and competitive price.

All the same, you must appreciate that moving your vehicle overseas is a costly proposition and the rates will vary depending on the distance to be covered and taxes and other levies of the destination countries. Remember that to drive your vehicle after it reaches its destination country, you should possess a state/country issued valid driver’s license and also pay the applicable registration fees and obtain the new license plates.

Following are some valuable tips to help you successfully transport your vehicle overseas:

Please ensure that your vehicle doe not contain more than ¼ tank of fuel.
Ascertain from the U.S Department of State details regarding the applicable fees and the nature of documents needed to drive your vehicle after it reaches the new destination country.
Note down the vehicle speedometer reading and thoroughly clean the vehicle before bringing it to the port.
Make sure to carry a valid ID card and two sets of keys.
In the event the vehicle is financed or leased, you should possess a clear written permission from the finance or leasing company allowing you to move the vehicle overseas.
Make it a point to read and understand the liability statements and obtain all the relevant documents from AAAT.

Superbus wows Capital with looks, if not speed

The superfast vehicle was at a snail’s pace on Monday as it trudged only up to 40kmph — a far cry from its top speed of 250kmph. Yet, the black beauty that is hyped to change the highway travel between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in future stole the hearts of the spectators who witnessed its first trial run at Masdar City.

It was a thrilling moment for the spectators and the officials when the vehicle, expected to cut the travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to 30 minutes, was put in motion on the roads at the Masdar Institute. Some felt it was reminiscent of lightning speed cars in animated movies.

Recharged for the first time at the solar-powered stations in Masdar City, the prototype of the soundless Superbus was stylishly driven around by a female member of the Superbus team as the members of the media and others followed it during the first-ever test run in the UAE. However, anxious commuters waiting to make use of the luxury service will have to wait more to know about the official launch of the Superbus on Abu Dhabi-Dubai roads as the officials concerned did not reveal it.

They said the eco-friendly prototype bus, which is electrically powered with a 1,000-1,200kg rechargeable battery pack, was recharged overnight on Sunday after it was welcomed at Masdar City, one of the world’s most sustainable developments.

At 15 metres in length and 2.5 metres in width, the six-wheel, 12-door and lightweight structure, with a low drag shape that is stable and controllable at high speed, has similar dimensions to a conventional bus. But due to the seating arrangement without a centre aisle, the height is just 1.7 metres, explained chief vehicle designer Antonia Terzi who drove the bus around Masdar City. The vehicle has a seating capacity of 23 people including the driver.

Round One of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series At Mot

Aragon, April 18, 2011: Felix Serralles, the 18-year-old talented Puerto Rican driver and 2010 Team USA Scholarship winner, competed in his first professional international race this past weekend at the Motorland circuit in Aragon, Spain. The race was Round One is the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series.

After numerous tests and preparation over the winter Serralles was ready to measure his skills against his fellow competitors. Felix is not the youngest in the field but carries the least experience with just a handful of Formula Ford and Formula Ford 2000 races in 2010, as well as finishing third in the Skip Barber National Series.

Felix got a taste of European formula racing in the 2010 Formula Ford Festival last fall with impressive runs. His family and Coach/Manager Nic Jönsson, decided the best path for the young Puerto Rican was to measure his skills again the best in the world in the open-wheel discipline in Europe. Jönsson, a former European open-wheel driver, reconnected with Fortec Motorsports owner Richard Dutton to set up a test and run the UK winter series in Formula BARC. Young Felix impressed the team right away with two victories and a second place finish. Soon a deal was signed for the 2011 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series.

Montezemolo demands improvement for Ferrari

MARANELLO, Italy (AP): Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has issued an ultimatum for the team to improve its performance following a disappointing start to the Formula One season.

Montezemolo tells the team's website that "this cannot and must not be the team's level."

Ferrari's performance has worsened in each of the three races thus far, with the team's best result coming at the season opener in Australia with Fernando Alonso's fourth place.

In Malaysia, Felipe Massa led the team in fifth, followed by Massa's sixth-place finish in China on Sunday.

Montezemolo adds that he expects "our engineers to act with determination and know-how" and to "improve the performance of the car in a short time."

The next race is the Turkish GP on May 8.

David Coulthard: Lewis Hamilton's wondrous drive in China shakes Formula One season into life

Following his setback in Malaysia, where he dropped from second to seventh with an unscheduled fourth pit stop, Lewis Hamilton looked confused. Disgruntled. He was saying one thing, his team were saying another.

He was clearly frustrated because he knew the old accusation about him being too hard on his tyres — which he has worked so hard to bury over the last couple of years — was going to come back to haunt him.

He also knew what his McLaren was capable of. Now we all do.

In China, Lewis was at his aggressive, brilliant best. In fact, it was one of the finest drives I can remember from him.

He had a great start, muscling his way past Sebastian Vettel off the line to claim second place behind team-mate Jenson Button; kept his head together when he was passed by Seb after the first round of pit stops through no fault of his own; and then pushed to perfection on a three-stop strategy to reel in Red Bull's world champion with four laps remaining.

Auto shipping offers a good range of services

There are many car lovers who love to decorate their car on their own. In order to get the feeling of their own home they would try out every possible way that is available so as to decorate their vehicle.

Transmitting takes place for the simple reason that you have decided on your own or you have been made to move from older place of staying to the newer place of staying.  Hence such wonderfully decorated vehicle when has to be transported or auto shipped from one part of country to another part of country then it is of sure that no car owner would be ready for this.

The reason being behind this is they fear that they might lose their decorated car or the vehicle may lose the looks of the decorative(s). And hence some would even come to a decision to travel on their own no matter what the distance is going to be.

Before you go with such a decision you are advised to rethink on your choice so as to get the better answer. To say you in clear words even if you tend to travel on your own means there is not assurity that your car will reach in same condition as you were willing to have in your newer place.

Now many of us wondering that it is you who is going to drive the car then why there is no such assurity that it will reach in same condition. Then to say you that though you take care to drive safely there are many unseen happenings that can occur on your way and due to such unintentionally you end up in damaging your own car.

To get relief from such decision you can go with the option of hiring the services of auto shipping so as to transport your vehicle. It is a company which takes care to transmit your automobile from one end to another end.

Since the job of car shipping is to relocate the vehicles we can say that they carry a very rich experience in transporting vehicles and taking care of the whole transit. Before you go to hire them you are required to ask for a quotation so as to get the best results.

Do remember that you make a thorough research in locating out a reliable auto shipping company that not only suits your taste and preferences but it also suits your budget too. Never compromise on the quality of service if you do so then it is you and your car who are going to be the sufferers.

Auto shipping offers a very good range of services so as to suit the needs and requirements of every customer who approach to them. Insurance coverage would be offered by them so that you can claim for the damages that has occurred on our vehicle during the transit.

Auto shipping will make sure to offer the best service which is within their reach. You would be intimated immediately if the shipment gets delayed which can happen for any reason.

Malaysian grand Prix 2011: Michael Schumacher urges fans not to write Mercedes off despite poor start

Schumacher came to grief on the third turn and battled on before retiring after 19 laps and was followed shortly afterwards by fellow German Nico Rosberg with mechanical problems after being rammed by Rubens Barrichello.

Mercedes, who finished fourth in the constructors' title last season, came away from the opening race without any points.

"There is absolutely no doubt we want to do better than in the opening race, which was a disappointment for all of us. We clearly see that as a challenge and it is much too early to write us off," he said adding that he was relishing the opportunity to compete at his favourite Sepang circuit in Malaysia this weekend.

"Everybody in the team remains positive and is in a fighting mood. So I expect a better weekend for us to come; a weekend we can build on," he said.

Since coming out of retirement, the 42-year-old Schumacher failed to reach the podium in the 2010 season and his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg finished 70 points ahead of him in the World Drivers' Championships.

All About Buying Used Trucks

A truck being a vehicle that can be used for various purposes has several factors that you need to look for especially before buying used trucks.

No matter whether you are buying it for a commercial use or just because you want something to pull your boat or tow household things around, it is one of your most valued possessions.
However, trucks are costlier, they have special licensing and insurance necessities. Often what the truck resellers do is they take advantage of this when they are in the business of making money so it's a "buyers beware" market. Here are few things that you need to look out for before purchasing a truck:

Truck Size

Before buying a used truck you need to decide the actual size of the truck that you are in need of in order to get your job done. If are about to haul a comparatively light weighted loads or small trailers, then a nice compact truck would be of best choice for you. In contrast, if you have a large boat or equipment that will be dragged around on a reliable basis, then a larger model will be better.
This will prevent you from driving off an expensive full size truck that has a more of appearance than functional for you with the expenditure to show for it.

Engine and Fuel Usage

To tell about the mileage of trucks, most compact trucks get the same mileage as cars. There are compact truck models that have 4, 6, and eight cylinder engines and mechanical transmissions that will give you a good mileage per dollar investment. That's in contrast to the bigger 10 and diesel engines that full size trucks proffer. Unless the dealer is giving you an excellent deal on the cost to reimburse for the lack of fuel economy, it's almost certainly not worth it to buy a full size truck for daily use.

Safety Equipment

The present day trucks are almost fully loaded with best safety like anti-lock brakes, drive train slippage prevention and air bags, as in cars. The newer trucks with no doubt will offer you, your family or employees a higher safety rating than an older used truck.

This is something that is to be noted very significantly if you are buying for transportation or as part of a corporate fleet of vehicles.

Before you decide to purchase a used truck don’t forget to inquire about the safety rating and to ask about its safety equipments. This can save lives in incase of an accident.

Passenger Capacity/Interior

There are three basic styles of truck interiors. They include regular cab, extended cab and crew cabs. When buying a used truck, try to depict who will be driving the truck on a regular basis and how much room you will actually need.

Towing Ability

Most people buy trucks to handle touch with shipping jobs like towing boats, work trailers or other equipment. Therefore it is best to get the best value on a used truck, its essential to inquire about the truck's towing ability before you buy it. Here's a collection to keep in mind: Compact trucks can tow between 1-1.5 tons, full-size trucks can tow 4-5 tons depending on how they are outfitted.

Buying a used truck is not a big deal, provided if you know what you want and how much you should spend. Taking some time in advance to analyze the different types of trucks and their existing features will save you a great deal of time, money and trouble after the fact.

Auto transport trailers and truck types

The timeline, budget and concern over the vehicle being exposed to the elements are the three main things that decide the car shipping trailer and the method to be used. It is always better to consult the car shipping company regarding your concerns and seek guidance on what would work best for your car since they are professionals. Remember to keep the auto transport company aware of special requirements if any. This happens in case of transporting SUV and the car has a low ground clearance, the vehicle is not running properly or it has other mechanical problems. Such things should be noted and conveyed as specific transportation methods would be better than normal ones in such cases.

The auto transport companies mainly use two types of trucks while shipping the automobiles namely tractor trailer trucks or a pickup style truck otherwise known as hotshot. For discount car shipping, the tractor trailers are the best choices since they are capable of hauling more vehicles at a time. However they are slower and also they take a long time for navigating in the residential areas. Here the terminal to terminal transport service would be used as you would have to meet the driver in an open parking space for loading and unloading the car from the tractor trailer. On the other hand, the pickup style trucks deliver the vehicle faster and have an easier navigation through the neighborhood places. But the service would be a bit more expensive.

Be it the tractor trailer or hotshot truck, the car transport method should be selected by the customers based on the requirements and the condition of the car. For protecting the vehicle from weather and road elements, the enclosed trailer method would be the right choice. But here also the rates would be high, as much as twice, compared to the open trailer method. If you decide to go for open trailer, there would be several types to choose from. In open trailer, the car would be fully or partially exposed to the elements during the automobile shipping.

One of the widely used transporting carriers would be the multi-car trailers which are open trailers that are capable of handling a few cars as many as three to twelve vehicles at a time. Even though they are highly economical, they would take a lot of time to deliver the car. While you are shipping the car using the multi-car trailers make sure to be on time for the pickup and delivery since there would be many other cars waiting in the trailer to be delivered. There is also some concerns regarding the position of the car in trailer; whether top or bottom rack is better. If the car is at bottom, chances are there that the oil from the car on top rack would drip down. Also if the car is in top rack, there are possibilities that it would be hit by branches if the truck moves into areas with trees. This only happens in open trailer method.

Fernando Alonso: "At last we have seen how they all"

Declarations of Fernando Alonso after the race, which says that Malaysia will more war and I hope is well and on Saturday more competitive and able to leave later in the race if they have been fast, but they must be good in everything.

Alonso says that even if he had done well the result would have been similar: "If I would have gone ahead as normal Button or Webber, but it would have been third or fifth. would have been a more normal career. Petrov went inside, threw Button and also to me. I was in the wrong place but in the end it has been traced. "

But despite their poor start, had a good comeback and has been very strong, something that I always like: "We managed to pass through the strategy. endured more than expected and mobile wing was very helpful to us because it allowed us to advance in some cases. We are pleased with the performance. ""It was the first race after many days training. At last we have seen how they all. On Saturday, Red Bull were on another planet, but today has been that Webber is not as fierce.

The next race will get more war. "Nothing I prefer the last sentence that says Alonso for the next race will bring more war, that we all want.