Tag: richard

Report: Richard Hammond admits regret over Top Gear Mexico remarks

Filed under: Etc., Europe, UK, Celebrities, South America

Top Gear staff discussing Mastretta MXT

Richard Hammond apologized this week for his offensive remarks about Mexicans during a Top Gear segment discussing the Mastretta MXT earlier this year. Hammond said he regretted the remarks, and sees now how they could have been offensive. Still, Hamster didn’t exactly come all the way clean, saying that his words – and those of his two co-hosts – were clearly a joke.

For its part, the BBC has stood behind Hammond, May and Clarkson, saying that off-color humor is an integral part of the show. The presenters and the BBC got a thorough shellacking over the comments after the show aired. Mexico’s ambassador to the UK called the remarks “offensive, xenophobic and humiliating.”

[Source: On the Box]

Report: Richard Hammond admits regret over Top Gear Mexico remarks originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Richard Hamann, Hamann Motorsport founder, dead at 53

Filed under: Aftermarket, Etc., Europe, Lamborghini

2010 Hamann Victory II

Hamann Victory II – Click above for high-res image gallery

Richard Hamann, founder of Hamann Motorsport, died this weekend after a long struggle with cancer. He was 53.

Hamann led a nearly 20-year racing career before forsaking his Nomex and starting the tuning company that got its hands on just about every European sports car you can name from 1986 on. Most recently, his company has made its name with cars like the Hamann Victory II, a hotter Lamborghini Gallardo.

Before he was making sports cars sportier, Hamann enjoyed a long and successful racing career. In his time on track, he took part in more than 700 races, finishing on the podium a startling 300 of those times. He had a combined 103 victories in DTM, Group C, Formula 3 and the Special Touring Car Trophy, which he won three times at the wheel of a BMW M1.

Despite the loss of its leader, Hamann’s company will carry on.

Gallery: Hamann Victory II

[Source: Hamann via E90post]

Richard Hamann, Hamann Motorsport founder, dead at 53 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online Find of the Day: Richard Hammond’s Morgan AeroMax Coupe

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Performance, Etc., Celebrities, Specialty

Richard Hammond's 2008 Morgan Aeromax

Richard Hammond’s 2008 Morgan Aeromax – Click above for high-res image gallery

Richard Hammond pretty much gets to live every car guy’s fantasy: get paid an exorbitant sum to sample, drive and comment on dream cars. Hammond maintains quite a collection of his own exotics, which until recently included a 2008 Morgan Aeromax that he waxed lyrical about on Top Gear.

Despite his purported love of BMW V8-powered Aeromax, he’s decided to sell it through Surrey, England’s Mole Valley Specialist Cars. Being that it has celebrity pedigree, precious few babied miles, and is one of only six right-hand-drive manual cars, the asking price is a heady £99,950, or about $159,000.

Gallery: Richard Hammond’s 2008 Morgan Aeromax

2008 Morgan Aeromax front2008 Morgan Aeromax front side2008 Morgan Aeromax2008 Morgan Aeromax side2008 Morgan Aeromax rear

[Source: Mole Valley via The Daily Mail | Images: Mole Valley]

Online Find of the Day: Richard Hammond’s Morgan AeroMax Coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Richard Branson loses F1 bet, will cross-dress as Air Asia stewardess

Filed under: Motorsports, Lotus, Celebrities, Humor

You don’t get much higher stakes than Formula One. And while some teams have their own airplanes, there are a couple this season that have their own airlines: Richard Branson’s Virgin, and Tony Fernandes’ Lotus Racing and Air Asia.

As you may recall, the rivalry between the two tycoon-backed upstart teams escalated to such a point that Branson and Fernandes made a gentlemanly bet that was anything but: the owner of the team that fared worse in this year’s championship would have to cross-dress as a female flight attendant and serve as such on the other’s airline.

Well, Lotus edged out Virgin towards the bottom of the standings, so it’s Sir Richard who’ll be wearing Air Asia’s finest skirt and blouse. Fernandes is keen on placing his rival on a long-haul Kaula Lumpur-to-London flight, tickets for which he plans to auction off for charity. Looks like the negative effect of downforce isn’t the only kind of drag these guys will be dealing with in the offseason.

[Source: Autosport]

Richard Branson loses F1 bet, will cross-dress as Air Asia stewardess originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Offspeed Pitch: Richard Petty joins Ken Block, AJ Allmendinger in marketing Ford Fiesta?

Filed under: Motorsports, Budget, Sedan, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Hatchback, Ford, Celebrities

Brace yourself, race fans. Things are about to get a little weird. Ford has decided to meld the seemingly unmeldable worlds of NASCAR and rally to help promote the 2011 Fiesta. Ken Block, Richard Petty and AJ Allmendinger have joined forces as an unholy trifecta of motorsports action, unified by their common love of the number 43. We don’t need to tell you that Petty famously campaigned old four-three in the heyday of NASCAR, netting 200 Sprint Cup wins and a total of seven championships in the process. Meanwhile, Block has established himself as one of America’s flashiest rally drivers, while Allmendinger has inherited Petty’s 43 throne in the current NASCAR series.

The three unlikely amigos will be campaigning for the Blue Oval’s new ’43 Fiestas’ sweepstakes, where entrants will have the opportunity to lay their hands on a bevy of prizes. A total of 43 first-place prize winners will walk away with a 40-inch LED-LCD HD flat-screen television, while another 43 grand-prize winners will receive airfare, lodging and tickets for two to the Ford 300 Nationwide series and the Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. If that wasn’t swank enough, one of the 43 grand-prize winners will drive home in a 2011 Fiesta.

But wait, there’s more. Should Allmendinger happen to take the checkered at the end of the race, all 43 grand-prize winners will win their very own Fiesta. Head over to the 43 Fiestas site to enter for you chance to win. You can also hop the jump for the full press release.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES

Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Source: Ford via 43Fiestas.com]

Continue reading Offspeed Pitch: Richard Petty joins Ken Block, AJ Allmendinger in marketing Ford Fiesta?

Offspeed Pitch: Richard Petty joins Ken Block, AJ Allmendinger in marketing Ford Fiesta? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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