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Mazda Turnpike in Japan shut down for racing

The people behind Motorhead Magazine in Japan clearly have some friends in high places. Not only did they manage to shutdown eight kilometers of the Mazda Turnpike up the Hakone mountain, but they invited some of the country's premiere racers to take a drive up the hill. This wasn't just a Sunday cruise either. Featuring a BMW Z4 from the Super GT series, a classic Ford GT40, two flavors of Nissan GT-R and two takes on the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, these guys came ready to run. When an opportunity to let racecars challenge a curvy mountain road presents itself, you don't squander it. Thankfully, the folks at Motorhead knew that and outfitted the course with a plethora of cameras and high-quality sound equipment to capture the action. The result is nothing short of sublime. Take the video's urging to turn up your speakers for this one, and watch as these racers hit ludicrous speeds in a beautiful place never meant for them. News Source: japanmotorhead via YouTube, Jalopnik Aftermarket Motorsports BMW Ford Nissan Subaru Racing Vehicles Performance Videos ford gt40 super gt

BMW i8 pitted against M4 in sibling rivalry track battle

We recently watched Auto Bild challenge the BMW i8 against the M4 in a German drag race of decide the quicker of the inter-brand rivals. The hybrid took a commanding victory in that fight. However, Autocar now has a new battle for the two coupes. The siblings are together again on the Castle Combe Circuit to find out which of them offers the more enjoyable experience at the track. Unfortunately, we don't ever get a perfect point of comparison in the video because host Steve Sutcliffe never does a full lap in anger with either of them to set a time. Instead, he focuses more on how the BMWs feel behind the wheel. Sutcliffe also admits midway through the clip that the i8's electric motor is out of juice to power the front axle's electric motor. That only leaves the hybrid with its 228-horsepower and 236-pound-feet-of-torque turbocharged three-cylinder to spin the rear wheels. Still, Sutcliffe spends ample time explaining the benefits and downfalls of driving these coupes. See where his opinion falls between the M4 as the traditional German sports coupe and the i8 as the new-school hybrid in the video, above.

Police arrest 'Fastest Lap Around Manhattan' driver [w/video]

Don't speed. Don't drive recklessly. Don't try to break the unofficial record for a lap of Manhattan. And if you go against this reasonable advice, do not, under any circumstances, record it and post the video on YouTube. If you do, you'll end up like Christopher Adam Tang - under arrest and facing a bevy of charges relating to the video.
Tang posted the video, which showed him lapping Manhattan in 24 minutes last Wednesday, and it quickly went viral. Now Tang, who went by the online moniker AfroDuck, is in cuffs. According to a local CBS affiliate, he was picked up at his home on Wednesday evening by police, who also seized the car used in the video, a 2006 BMW Z4.
What isn't clear is how Tang was caught. His video seems carefully done in that there are no outwardly visible signs that point to him, while the video itself is clearly sped up. While the NYPD hasn't come out and said that Tang was caught due to its extensive surveillance systems around the city, police commissioner Ray Kelly did point out that the new systems "will assist in this type of investigation." Let that serve as a warning to anyone that tries to break the 24-minute barrier. Scroll down to watch the full video.