CONTENTS

March 1 2012 – vol 207 no 9

Up-to-the-minute news and reports from F1, WRC and more. Subscribe for must-read opinion, stats and images

“I thought, ‘I’m actually going to hit the jet and it’s not going to be fun.’ It burned my helmet and everything!” JUAN PABLO MONTOYA DESCRIBES WHAT IT’S LIKE TO CRASH INTO A JET BLOWER IN THE DAYTONA 500

FEATURES & REPORTS

COVER STORY

COVER IMAGE: DUNBAR/LAT INSET: FERRARO/LAT

146 The first lap that Matt Kenseth hit the front in Monday/Tuesday’s Daytona 500 – exactly the same lap as he did when he won it the first time in 2009.

SUBSCRIBE... to AUTOSPORT and get a free McLaren cap P62

NEWS

30 Secrets of the F1 cockpit It’s the nut behind the wheel that counts – and that’s the most complex one of all… 36 Felipe Massa’s new fight …as proven by this man. Is he over his 2009 injury? Can he prove his worth to Ferrari again?

40 Track test: FRenault 3.5 We sent next-big-thing Oliver Rowland to Spain to try new car 44 V8 Supercar preview Aussie tin-tops kick off. And what’s this? A French bloke in it! 51 World of Sport NASCAR; IRC; British Rally

What’s it take to drive one of these cars? P30

54 WTCC preview Huff aims to deprive Muller 58 WTCC: titans of the past BMW versus Ford; M3 vs RS500. We take a trip back to 1987 64 Daytona 500 Kenseth takes the honours – finally, on Tuesday morning!

REGULARS

5 From the editor 6 Snapshot 21 Mark Hughes column 62 Subscribe for a free gift 88 Final drive Letters and latest gear

90 On track/on screen The best action in the next week 93 From the archive No Italians in a grand prix 94 Race of my life gold Ken Tyrrell, German GP, 1968

,D U N B A R /L AT

:F E R R A R O

P IC S

8 McLaren takes fight to Red Bull Testing hints it’s close at the top 10 Decoding the crucial data Digging below the headline times to find the underlying trends 14 Going trackside with Wurz Williams’s new driver mentor gives his verdict on the F1 cars 16 Marussia on the ropes New challenger fails crash test 19 This week in Formula 1

McLaren/Red Bull: getting closer

22 Audi: spot the difference Hybrid R18 Le Mans car launched – and it mirrors its older cousin 24 F3 future up for debate FIA weighs up big Euro title at next week’s World Council 27 Neal’s Honda thumbs-up New BTCC Civic gets serious run 28 VW targets Ford men Latvala and Solberg on Germans’ shopping list for World Rally

SPORTS EXTRA

81 GT ranking anger Leading team boss reckons grading penalties are unfair 82 Irish Junior attack Ace talent trainer sets up squad for Ginetta championship

84 Big-bangers in Europe Can-Am and Interserie to provide thundering fun in 2012 86 Series Focus Euro NASCAR bids to build on its encouraging early steps

Brands Indy? More like Brands Daytona: p86

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