FEBRUARY 10, 2016

(FIA Formula E)
Sam Bird (No. 2 DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team) delivered a winning performance to hold off the brilliant charge of Sebastien Buemi (No. 9 Renault e.Dams) who started dead last, to claim the Buenos Aires ePrix, the first Formula E win for the DS Virgin alliance. Bird started the race from pole and controlled the race from the start, the Brit running untroubled at the front, while Buemi meticulously carved his way through the pack, picking off his rivals one by one, finishing second. Lucas di Grassi (No. 11 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) finished third. “As everybody knows we merged with a great manufacturer, DS, for this season and the hard work at the DS Virgin Racing team has produced a really good car today," Bird said. "This is for the boys and the ladies who have worked tirelessly since Punta [del Este] to give me a better race car.”

(FIA Formula E)
Buemi’s second place in the fourth Formula E race of the season means he extends his championship lead, but he missed the opportunity for the win due to his mistake in qualifying. “To be honest I’m a bit sorry for my team because I think today I had a great car and didn’t get the most out of it," Buemi said. But the race itself was great, it was hard because I think apart from da Costa, who stopped, I had to overtake all the other guys. It’s good to be here and finish second. I was a bit lucky with the safety car, in fact a lot. Without that it would’ve been a bit more difficult.”
(FIA Formula E)
Di Grassi said: “We didn’t have a good car here; I think it was our worst race in terms of pure pace. Qualifying was not so good and the race also. To close the gap on them I had to use more energy so I had to save it in the end. I think all the teams did a step forward after Punta testing and we didn’t. Renault did a big step and it was shown today that with a track you can overtake you can start at the back, even if he was lucky with the safety car. They are very strong so if we want to fight for the championship, we have to work much harder.”
(McLaren Automotive)
Alvaro Parente, Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb (No. 59 Tekno Autosports McLaren 59 650S GT3) won the 2016 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour over the weekend. The team qualified on the pole, set fastest lap and captured the overall race win. Five different manufacturers lead the race over the 12 hours.

(BMW)
The new BMW M2 will be the MotoGP Safety Car in 2016, continuing a long partnership between BMW and the premier motorcycle road racing series. BMW has given its M Award to the best MotoGP qualifier since 2003. 

(Pirelli World Challenge)
Patrick Long, the factory Porsche racer from Manhattan Beach, Calif., is coming back to the Pirelli World Challenge in 2016 as part of Houston-based EFFORT Racing's two-car Porsche 911 GT R operation. He will join Michael Lewis on the team. Long, 34, has won multiple titles at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, three American Le Mans championships, the Endurance Driver’s Cup, two 12 Hours of Sebring races and the 24 Hours of Daytona. Long also won the Pirelli World Challenge GT championship in 2011, the last time he ran the full PWC sports car season.  “I’m excited to see how the series has evolved since 2011,” said Long, who recently became a father for first time in 2015. “The biggest challenges will be the level of competition and integrating into a new team quickly. I’m anxious to get back to the sprint format too. It’s flat out racing with a stacked field in the GT division. I’ve seen the GT lineup for 2016. It will be tough battle. But with the new little one (son) in our family, it will be nice to race in the U.S. more too.” The PWC GT field has strong manufacturer participation including Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, McLaren, Acura and others. The Pirelli World Challenge season opener is set for March 3-6 at the 3.427-mile Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex.

Editor's Note: Watch the latest episode of AutoextremistTV on YouTube here. -WG