Germany and it's motorsport success

*Some of post lost*

This was a very controversial champion, which Benetton and Maclaren being accused of cheating using electrical aids which were banned at the time in Formula One. Schumacher was almost striped of his world championship, although in the end the team was only fined £100,000, which was a lot of money. Furthermore, he was the first German to ever win a World Championship in Formula One. This year, was also marked by the death of Aryton Senna, a Brazilian driver claimed to be "the best that ever lived".

To this day, Schumacher has retired after his 7 world championship titles, the most world championships to one driver ever in Formula One. At this current time, he has been rumoured to come back replacing the injured Felippe Massa for Ferrari, although these rumours were shot down by his supposed "neck and back problems" after a recent motorcycle accident. In team Red Bull, a new German driver has emerged, young Sebastian Vettel who has been claimed to be the successor to Michael Schumacher having almost won the world championship this year (being Jenson Button's second biggest rival after a close battle between him, Vettel and Button's team mate Rubens Barrichelo). Having not won, he is still tipped to become a World Champion very soon.

Italians & Supercars: The Connection

Many of you may have noticed that Italy seems to be the birthplace of the supercar (followed up in a smaller amount by Germany). This can be blamed on one many, Enzo Ferrari, who started the Ferrari trend in Italy and injected the passion for speed into the Italian race. His great success and beautiful cars captured their minds and soon they began to follow.

Ferrari during its time was one of a kind. It was the only fast car producer in Italy and throughout the World for a long time. It was only when the likes of Lamborghini came along, etc, that competition arose. The need for some competition in this market furthermore captured the Italians, as they began to see success from now two manufactorers and competition between the two in which people took sides and a more sporting like environment was formed.

Scuderia Ferrari's success in Formula One almost lead Formula One to become the sport associated with Italy, even though it may have been owned by a British man, Bernie Eccelstone. The success over many consecutive years with Micheal Schumacher (who was German) caused the passion for motorsport to soar through the Italians and now Ferrari as become nearly as big as Italy themselves. Ferrari has become so big in Italy that it has almost become a form of Religion.

Porsche

Porsche began in a German town known as Zuffenhausen, a small city district in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. The founder of Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche, was from the Czech Republic, formally known as Austria-Hungary, from a place called Maffersdorf but again, today known as Vratislavice nad Nisou. Ferdinand alongside the rest of his company is furthermore known for creating the first Volkswagen.

Porsche is known for its very limited models available, although providing many different variants of these. Their more famous model, known throughout the world, the 911, has many different versions, such as the 997, GT2, GT3, Targa, Carrera, etc. Its lesser models also include the Cayman, and the Boxster which is a convertible. They also have branched off into the 4x4 market with their Cayenne 4x4. Lastly, Porsche's newest model, the Panamera, is their first four-door sedan appealing to the family market. This in some aspects gives the impression that Porsche is trying to expand the Porsche name beyond the "911" and its racing pedigree.

In motorsport, Porsche has been successful in many branches, scoring a total of more than 28,000 victories! In 2006, 195 race cars were built by Porsche. In 2007 Porsche is expected to make no less than 275 race cars dedicated to just racing, including many different "911" variants.

*Credits to Wikipedia and all other sites for imagery*

David Coulthard Helmet Cam

Lamborghini

Lamborghini started in 1963 in Italy in a small place called Sant'Agata Bolognese. It has been known for its sleek, high performance super cars which is often produces. Although being Italian, Lamborghini at this current moment in time is own by Audi, which is a derivative of Volkswagon, which is German and still currently based in Germany.

Ferruccio Lamborghini, the creator of Lamborghini, came up with the company aiming to rival and outclass any Ferrari. At a young age he was drafted into the Italian Air Force, where he served as a mechanic on the Island of Rhodes eventually becoming the supervisor of the vehicle maintenance unit. After he returned he opening the first Lamborghini garage, in Peive Di Cento in Italy.

They aimed to create high quality grand tourer to outperform the Ferrari's in which they came up with the Miura, which was a mid-engined sport coupe released in 1966. They also came up with the Espada GT, which was an instant hit for its time selling over 1,200 units whilst it was in its ten years of production.

Further Geographical significance can be found in Lamborghini's partnership with Formula One, supplying engines from 1989 to 1993 in teams such as Lotus (United Kingdom), Minardi (Italy), Ligier (France), Laurrousse (also France) and Modena (also Italy).

Ferrari

Ferrari was born in Maranello, Italy, founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1928. It was originally known as Scuderia Ferrari, a company that sponsored sports cards and manufactorers participating in racing series. It wasn't until 1947 that Ferrari first produced their first legal road car.

This first Ferrari was known as the 125 S. It had a 1.5 Litre V12 engine. Although being the founder of Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari reluctantly sold his cars. He only done so in order to raise funds for Scuderia Ferrari, which took part in many racing events and proved to be quite successful. Enzo was also known for being very arrogant towards his customers and not very welcoming.

In 1988, the Ferrari F40 release which was overseen by Enzo Ferrari, happened to be his last. This car today still remains highly sought after and expensive, along with being very fast.

Ferrari is known for its motorsport and has been quite successful in it for many years. Luigi Chinetti drove Ferrari's 166 M to win the first ever 24 hour of Le Mans in 1949. It has also been very successful in Formula One, having one each of the following years : 1952, 1953, 1956, 1961, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and most recently 2007.

Introduction

I'm Matthew Ruddy and on this blog I will write about cars and how they relate to geography. I will talk about were the first cars came from and where they are made. I myself have always loved cars and anything fast. From the fastest Ferrari to the slowest supercars of 50 years ago I will cover it in my blog.

I hope you enjoy this blog.