2018 Mclaren 570gt Coupe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

New Zealand's Taupo circuit renamed after Bruce McLaren

New Zealand's most prominent racing circuit is being renamed after one of the country's most prominent racing drivers and constructors. That, of course, would be one Bruce McLaren, founder of the racing team and supercar manufacturer that bears his name, and an accomplished driver in his own right. Previously known as Taupo Motorsport Park (after the town where it's located), the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park is the only circuit in New Zealand certified to FIA Grade 2. The complex started out as a shorter track of 0.87 miles, and was overhauled in 2006 to its current layout at the cost of over $8 million. It hosted A1GP races in 2007-09, and still brings in various touring car, GT, drifting, and superbike events. Current F1 driver and reigning Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg set the lap record around the circuit's 2.17 miles and 14 turns at 1:14.072 on his way to the checkered flag in 2007 A1GP race there and the championship title that season. The renaming of the circuit was undertaken with the blessing of Bruce's widow Patricia and daughter Amanda. Their late husband and father won four Formula One grands prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1968, and two Can-Am championships. And those are just his own personal achievements as a racing driver. The cars that bear his name have won 182 grands prix, eight F1 constructors' championships, and twelve drivers' championships, plus five consecutive Can-Am titles, three Indianapolis 500 victories, a Le Mans win in 1995, and a smattering of other accolades. Bruce McLaren sadly perished at the age of 32 in a Can-Am crash at Goodwood in 1970, but as you can plainly see, his name lives on as a veritable racing legend.

Wolff: Honda will emerge as strong F1 force

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has no doubts that Honda will make a success of its Formula 1 return, despite the Japanese manufacturer's disappointing time last year. Honda endured a troubled return to F1 in 2015 as it struggled with reliability and a lack of power from its new turbo V6 hybrid engine. But having made gains over the campaign, and a significant revamp of key elements of its power unit over the winter, Wolff thinks that Honda is on course to deliver. "Honda is a huge organization with lots of resource, and they were the power unit with the most impressive development curve through 2015," Wolff said in an interview with his Mercedes team's YouTube channel. "Even if it was a very difficult year for them, it was still very good what they achieved in terms of how they progressed through the season. I have no doubt they will be a strong competitive in the future." Wolff's comments come despite Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell saying last week that he was not convinced that Honda's 'size zero' concept was the right approach for the current regulations. Manor step As well as predicting good things for Honda in the future, Wolff has predicted promising results for the Mercedes-powered Manor team in 2016. "Manor will make a big step up and not only because of the engine," said Wolff, who helped secure a drive at the Banbury-based team for Mercedes junior driver Pascal Wehrlein. "There is a good bunch of people coming together: impressive individuals, with the right budget and right attitude, and Pascal in the car. "I have confidence that the car and driver will have highlights and be a solid midfield runner." This article by Jonathan Noble originally appeared on Motorsport.com, the world's leader in auto racing news, photos and video. Related Video:

McLaren says it 'is a sports car brand' and won't make SUVs

You can add McLaren to the list of luxury and sports car companies to say it will not build an SUV, the automaker's CEO Mike Flewitt telling Bloomberg, "We need to remain very focused. McLaren is a sports car brand and that's exactly what we're going to remain." In spite of those words, in order to save his voice, Flewitt should get business cards made printed with that response, since the question will certainly keep being asked. And if the coming Lamborghini and Bentley SUVs do well, observers will expect Flewitt's ideas on the subject to "evolve," no matter what he or Ron Dennis says publicly. The evolution we refer to has taken place at BMW, which was never going to make a M version of its SUVs, and Porsche, which said it wouldn't make an SUV smaller than the Cayenne. Furthermore, there's Rolls-Royce, whose CEO said the company hadn't even considered an SUV because it wouldn't fit the brand's values, meanwhile rumors abounded that the company was gauging customer reaction to a sketch of a concept SUV adorned with the Spirit of Ecstasy. And five months later that same CEO said the company was "intesively thinking" about building one. Those are but few and recent examples. If McLaren doesn't waver, it will join Ferrari as the only pure-sports car company holdouts. Featured Gallery 2015 McLaren P1: First Drive View 39 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL McLaren Performance Mike Flewitt