NOVEMBER 30, 2016

(Cadillac images)
Cadillac will have three "Cadillac" Daytona Prototype international (DPi) race cars in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype (P) class, beginning with the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29, 2017. The new car will be known as the "Cadillac DPi-V.R." The manufacturer confirmed that Action Express Racing will field two cars and Wayne Taylor Racing will field one car (with Jordan and Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli and in a surprise, Jeff Gordon). “Cadillac’s V-Performance production models — the ATS-V and CTS-V — are transforming our brand’s product substance, earning a place among the world’s elite high performance marques,” said Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen. The Cadillac DPi-V.R will be powered by a normally aspirated, 6.2-liter GM Racing V-8. The chassis was designed in cooperation with Dallara with styling cues "inspired" by Cadillac’s current line of V-Performance high-performance production models, specifically the Cadillac CTS-V. “The DPi-V.R race car was an exciting new canvas for the Cadillac design and sculpting team,” said Andrew Smith, Global Cadillac Design executive director. “The studio embraced the opportunity to interpret the Cadillac form language, line work and graphic signature for this premier prototype racing application.  Every detail of the final design was selected to support the car’s on-track performance and unmistakable Cadillac presence.” The new Cadillac DPi-V.R will make its public on-track debut during a two-day IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway on Dec. 13-14. Editor-In-Chief's Note: This is Bush League Bullshit, folks. This is such a monumental waste of time it is almost unconscionable that GM Racing is branding these cars as "Cadillacs." It has nothing - as in zero - to do with the future direction of the brand in the market. I said it all in my "Fumes" column from last August entitled CADILLAC RACING: A MARKETING INITIATIVE GOING NOWHERE FAST. Read it here. -PMD

(BBC Sport)
Thirty-one-year-old Nico Rosberg (No. 6 AMG Petronas Mercedes) won his first Formula 1 world title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. Contentiousness remained right down to the last lap between teammates Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 AMG Petronas Mercedes), however. Hamilton, who won the race (he won ten races to Rosberg's nine this season) ignored team management who repeatedly urged him to go faster at the end of the race, so that Rosberg's second-place position wasn't threatened by Sebastian Vettel (No. 5 Scuderia Ferrari) or Max Verstappen (No. 3 Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer). At one point, as reported by the BBC, Vettel got uncomfortably close to Rosberg in the closing laps, so Mercedes executive director (technical) Paddy Lowe, who only speaks to the drivers on the radio in extreme circumstances, told Hamilton: "Lewis, this is Paddy. We need you to pick up the pace to win this race." Hamilton replied: "I'm in the lead right now. I'm quite comfortable where I am."
(BBC Sport)
Lewis Hamilton had this to say after the race (concerning team management hand-wringing): "I don't know why they didn't just let us race. There was never a moment I felt I was going to lose the race but it is quite clear their thought process." It was his 53rd Grand Prix win. The Mercedes-Benz racing team hierarchy is reportedly contemplating disciplinary action against Hamilton for not following their orders. 
(BBC Sport)
Rosberg is the second son of an F1 champion to win the title himself. Damon Hill was the first, after his father Graham. Here's father Keke Rosberg after winning his championship back in 1982, with Diana Ross on the podium for some reason.
(BBC Sport)
Rosberg and Vettel celebrate on the podium.
(BBC Sport)
Nico's best day. Editor-In-Chief's Note: In stunning news, Nico Rosberg announced his immediate retirement from F1 on Friday. -PMD
(BBC Sport)
Nico and his wife Vivian celebrate.
(Autosport International)
Fifty years of Formula Ford racing will be celebrated at the prestigious Autosport International motorsport show, which will be held in Birmingham, England, at the NEC, January 12-15. The Historic Sportscar Club (HSCC) will kick off the 50th anniversary celebrations of Formula Ford at Autosport International with a major display of iconic single-seaters, including Ayrton Senna’s Van Diemen RF81 (above) that he raced during his debut European season in 1981, plus the car that started it all, the Lotus 51. The nine-car display will showcase landmark Formula Ford designs as well as those cars with prominent histories including Nigel Mansell’s Crosslé 25F, which he piloted during his debut season in 1976; Michael Schumacher's Van Diemen RF88, which he finished as runner-up in Formula Ford in 1988; a 1969 Lotus 61; Colchester Racing Developments’ "Magic Merlyn" Mk11A - chassis 238 - which was driven by Emerson Fittipaldi during the 1969 season and is now owned by Jodi Scheckter; the Rory Byrne-designed Royale RP24 and the Royale RP26, which was originally designed by Williams F1 Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds; and finally, representing the latest thinking in Formula Ford, the Medina Sport JL16 (below), which debuted at the Walter Hayes Trophy this year.
(Autosport International)

(BMW Images)
BMW has unveiled its latest "Art Car" at Art Basel in Miami Beach. The 19th vehicle of the BMW Art Car Collection was designed by John Baldessari, the American master of conceptual art and was revealed at an exclusive reception at the Botanical Garden of Miami Beach. John Baldessari’s BMW M6 GTLM will be on public display until the closing of Art Basel. Following the 40-year tradition of BMW Art Cars, John Baldessari’s “rolling sculpture” will then race in a competitive event, the 24 Hours of Daytona (Rolex 24) on January 28 and 29, 2017. “I have done only one work in my life involving a car before, and that was an image of a car," said Baldessari. "So for the BMW Art Car project, I entered uncharted territory, not just in terms of the subject, but also moving from two- to three-dimensional art. A challenge I did enjoy! The ideas all came at once: for instance, the red dot on the roof, so you can see it from above, FAST on one side and a picture of the car on the other side. I like the ambiguity, having two-dimension and three-dimension at the same time. Considering the car as an icon of contemporary life, my concept turned out playfully satirical, but it also highlights some of the trademark ideas that I use. So you can say, the BMW Art Car is definitely a typical Baldessari and the fastest artwork I ever created!” Baldessari spearheaded and oversaw the design of the 19th BMW Art Car, which was executed with the help of a team of BMW engineers in early November at the BMW Body & Paint Training Center West in Oxnard, California.