THE LINE

September 16, 2009

(Ron McQueeney/IMS)
Johnny Rutherford was reunited with Jim Hall's famous Pennzoil Chaparral on Monday, September 14th, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rutherford sat on the pole and won the last of his three Indianapolis 500 victories in the beautiful machine in 1980 with an average speed of 142.862 mph. Rutherford turned laps at The Speedway in the famous Chaparral in memory of the event.

(Ron McQueeney/IMS)
Johnny Rutherford holds the edition of Sports Illustrated published after he earned his third Indianapolis 500 victory in the famous Pennzoil Chaparral.

(Mike Hoyer, Jakob Ebrey Motorsport Photography)
This is the Drayson Racing Lola B09/60-Judd prototype that will make its debut at the 12th annual Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6 on Saturday, September 26 at Road Atlanta. The green machine turned its first laps last week at Silverstone. Team owner Paul Drayson - the UK’s Minister of Science and Innovation - will drive in the 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic with Jonny Cocker and Rob Bell. “I can’t exaggerate the challenge that Drayson Racing has overcome in the last two months,” said team manager Dale White. “To bring it all together by building a complete, running car from bare tub to finished car in just 12 days is really remarkable. I am convinced there is no other combination that would have allowed us to do this other than the Lola coupe and Judd V10. When we rolled it out of the trailer at Silverstone to do the shakedown, the car looked as if we could roll it right onto the grid at Petit Le Mans. I don't think anyone outside our group would have thought he could have done it. My hat is off to everyone at Drayson and to everyone at Lola and Judd, as well as all of the ancillary part suppliers who made this happen. What an achievement; what a team effort!” The endurance test gets the green flag at 11:15 a.m. EDT with SPEED airing live television coverage starting at 11 a.m. ET. American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche and Living Timing & Scoring will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com. Live coverage also can be heard on Sirius 126 and XM 242. The race will also mark the ninth round of the 2009 MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge. Tickets are available at americanlemans.com and roadatlanta.com.

Formula 1. The Associated Press is reporting that Renault has fired Formula One team principal Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds and says it will offer no defense to the allegation it "fixed" the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by ordering Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash. Renault is scheduled to appear at a hearing before the World Motor Sport Council on Monday. Accusations suggest that Briatore and Symonds ordered Piquet to crash deliberately early in the race to bring out the safety car, which allowed teammate Fernando Alonso to move to the head of the field. Alonso went on to win the race. The Renault board of directors is expected to make a decision about its ongoing participation in F1 after the World Motor Sport Council's judgments (we'd be shocked if they decide to continue). And, of course, steep penalties are expected. We're watching history unfold here folks, as what once was considered to be the pinnacle of motorsport continues its pirouette into the shit pile.

 Pratt & Miller Engineering, Motus. The talented group behind the decade-long success of Corvette Racing is embarking on a new venture. Pratt & Miller, the world-class engineering company and a respected industry leader in the automotive, commercial, aerospace and defense industries is partnering with Motus Motorcycles to develop and manufacture a new line of sport touring motorcycles. “With their vast experience developing high-performance, lightweight vehicles, we quickly identified Pratt & Miller as the perfect partner to engineer our lightweight, high-performance motorcycle,” said Brian Case, VP and Design Director of Motus Motorcycles. The company will incorporate many of Pratt & Miller's race-proven technologies such as a balanced and optimized 4130 chrome moly space frame and lightweight carbon composite bodywork. A combination of computer-aided engineering tools such as CAD, finite element analysis and multi-body simulation will be implemented throughout the design process. All prototypes will be developed in-house using the latest rapid prototyping techniques and many proprietary processes that Pratt & Miller has developed. “Integrating these advanced engineering tools with our advanced manufacturing capabilities will help set Motus apart in terms of performance, safety and durability,” said Pratt & Miller spokesman Brandon Widmer. “When Motus first approached us about the MST project, we knew it easily fit within our capabilities, but once we learned more about their concept and their engine partner, we knew we absolutely wanted to be involved,” said Pratt & Miller Engineering co-founder Gary Pratt. “We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Pratt & Miller," Motus president Lee Conn said. "They have a total commitment to excellence, a world-class staff and proprietary technology that allow small companies like Motus to compete on a global basis. Because their engineering and fabrication teams are all under one roof, they can build complex vehicle packages with very few iterations." Founded in 2008, the Birmingham, Ala.-based Motus is a privately held company preparing to enter the market with the first V4-powered American sport touring motorcycle. The MST series motorcycles and accessories will be sold internationally through a network of existing independent dealers and distributors. Pratt & Miller Engineering’s 20-year history of success in motorsports was a determining factor in this partnership with Motus Motorcycles. Pratt & Miller Engineering has won numerous championships in the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, and has scored six victories in the GT1 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pratt and Miller Engineering has also played a prominent role in automotive, commercial, aerospace and defense projects such as unmanned vehicles and the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Pratt & Miller's range of design, engineering, manufacturing and vehicle program management capabilities are among the most sophisticated in the world. For more information about Motus, visit the website at www.motusmotorcycles.com or email info@motusmotorcycles.com.

WE'RE OPENING THE VAULT!

The AE wearables are back - and only in extremely limited quantities and sizes, we might add - and once they're gone, they're gone! We're starting with our most popular item, the classic AE Sweatshirt. Crewneck, sturdy 80/20 cotton/poly, in black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown here. Size XL only. 40 bucks, including shipping. US orders only. Click on the PayPal button below to order yours now! (If you prefer to pay by check, please send us an email with AE STORE in the subject line, and we'll reserve your item.)

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, September 17, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

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