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Shell Ultimate Automotive Enthusiast contest returns to send winner to Barrett-Jackson and Maranello

The first Shell V-Power Ultimate Enthusiast contest was held last year and sent finalists to a VIP experience at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, while the grand prize winner went to Maranello, Italy for some intimate time with Ferrari. The Dutch member of the seven sisters is doing it again this year: from now until September 17 anyone who wants a chance to live the same adventure can submit stories and photos that prove why they're the ultimate enthusiast.
Among the judging panel will be Roger Penske, Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson, drag racer Don Prudhomme, Tony Marini of Hot August Nights, Car and Driver chief Eddie Alterman, Road & Track honcho Larry Webster and last year's contest winner Harold Craige (pictured above with his wife at Fiorano).
Anyone in the US is welcome to submit. Three finalists will be flown to Scottsdale for a three-day VIP tour of Barrett-Jackson's January action, and they'll get a year's worth of V-Power premium gasoline. The grand prize winner will be announced in Arizona, and that person will get a week in Italy to explore the Ferrari factory complex and drive one of the company cars on the Fiorano track. Having been to the Maranello factory ourselves, we can attest that it's a bucket-list item for anyone who truly digs cars.

Race Recap: Monaco Grand Prix makes the kettle boil [spoilers]

It's not hard to believe that 80 percent of the action at the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix happened didn't have to do with straight-up racing. Mercedes AMG Petronas wasn't expected to maintain its obscene advantage over the field with Monaco being a short track that rewards corner speed over top speed, but they still ruled two of the three Free Practice sessions.
Off the track, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said he thought it should be easier to beat his teammate and that he was hungrier than his teammate. Then came qualifying and Mirabeau, when Nico Rosberg had set the pole lap in the dying moments of Q3, and as the final few drivers tried to best it on their last chance - including Hamilton, who said he was on the lap that would have got him pole position - Rosberg overcooked it into Mirabeau and brought out a local yellow, killing everyone's chance to better his time. Although the sun was shining in Monaco, the paddock got cold as ice; Rosberg and Hamilton didn't look at one another, speak to one another or touch one another. Rosberg said, "It was an honest mistake." After the race, a disbelieving Hamilton said to the press, "I wish you could have seen the data."
They still lined up first on the grid, though, Rosberg ahead of Hamilton, followed by Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel for Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen for Ferrari, Jean-Eric Vergne in the first Toro Rosso and Daniel Kvyat in the second in ninth, split by McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen in eighth, and Sergio Perez in the Force India in tenth.

Petrolicious goes running up that Hill in a Ferrari 250 GTO

We might not ordinarily run a seven-minute clip of in-car footage. But this is no ordinary car, it's not being driven by any ordinary driver, and it wasn't put up by just any YouTube user. This is video of a Ferrari 250 GTO once raced by Phil Hill, being driven by his son, Derek Hill, in a hillclimb for Petrolicious. The footage was captured during the making of a previous clip, entitled The Ferrari 250 GTO Speaks for Itself and released over a year ago. Since it was left over after production, the Petrolicious uploaded it here for our enjoyment. Of course the GTO should require no introduction, being one of the most sought-after classics the world has ever known. And neither should Derek Hill. While the former's clout goes without saying, Hill's skills warrant repeating. The late legend Phil Hill was one of the few Americans to succeed in European racing in the 1960s, with a Formula One World Championship title and three Le Mans wins to his name. Derek may never have reached his father's level of success, but he's won races and titles in both formula and sports-car racing, and was among the last to professionally race a Bugatti when he campaigned an EB110 at Daytona back in 1996. The point is, the guy can drive, and you can see that much for yourself from the video above. Related Video: