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Infiniti Q50 BTCC ready to race

A few months ago, Infiniti announced it would field its Q50 sedan (or a racing derivative thereof) in the British Touring Car Championship, and now the Japanese automaker has revealed the tin-top racer in its final form as it prepares to roll onto the grid. Like the rest of the BTCC field, the Q50 racer is based on the series Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) regulations. That means it's based on the production model, and not on a control chassis (like the one you'd find in NASCAR) done up to look like the showroom version. It also means a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine driving upwards of 300 horsepower through an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox with AP Racing clutch, throttle by wire and the manufacturer's choice of front- or rear-wheel drive, the latter of which we assume Infiniti has chosen for its touring car. Two examples of the Q50 BTCC will be fielded by Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing, a non-profit venture with proceeds (assuming there are any) going towards the British paratroopers' charity. The team is being run by Derek Palmer Sr, whose son Derek Jr will drive one, with the other piloted by Richard Hawken, and injured paratroopers filling out the pit crew and support staff. The Infiniti Q50 BTCC will be showcased on the Dunlop stand at the Autosport International show in Birmingham this weekend. NEW Q50 BTCC LIVERY AT AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL SHOW Wednesday, 7 January 2015 The recently announced 'Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing' team, which will contest the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship this season, will unveil a new livery for its two NGTC Infiniti Q50 race cars at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham later this week. The new livery on the Q50, being displayed on the Dunlop stand, has been designed by Infiniti's own design team in Paddington London, further enhancing the ongoing partnership of Infiniti with the Mallory Park-based team, which will employ injured ex-Paratroopers to prepare both race cars. Simon Cox, Infiniti Design Director from Infiniti Design London, said "The new Q50 race car livery was developed to contrast against the traditional branding schemes normally associated with the BTCC grid. However, it still retains a high level of visibility, reflecting both the dynamic qualities of the Infiniti Brand along with the performance and striking contours of the Q50 road car.

2015 Russian Grand Prix was full of crashes and DNFs

Mercedes-AMG Petronas non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said of Lewis Hamilton's race-day domination this year, "The guy is driving like a god." Qualifying is another story, though – teammate Nico Rosberg taking pole proved that sometimes deities have to settle for second on the grid. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas surprised himself and his team with third place, half a second behind Hamilton but 0.05 sec ahead of the first Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel, while a mistake on Kimi Raikkonen's final flying lap left him in fifth, 0.4 sec behind Vettel. The Sahara Force India team had a good showing, with Nico Hulkenberg qualifying sixth just ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in seventh. It's the first time they've had both drivers in the top ten on the grid since the 2014 British Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean is leaving the stormy waters of Lotus at the end of the year for the unknown waters of Haas F1, but he made the shoestring operation look really good before Renault takes over by taking eighth place on the grid. Max Verstappen qualified well again with ninth in the Toro Rosso, ahead of the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing of Daniel Ricciardo in tenth. Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat lined up eleventh for his home grand prix, certainly a disappointment after locking up fifth place on the grid last year in a Toro Rosso. When Pirelli brought soft and supersoft compounds to Sochi, the company said it hoped this year's race would be better than last year's. We're sure this first-lap mishap isn't what they meant. Rosberg and Hamilton dragged it down to Turn 1, with Rosberg getting the inside line. Hamilton had to go wide at Turn 2 as Rosberg fought to hold position, but they left a mess in their wake: Hulkenberg spun going into Turn 2 and stopped in the middle of the track, and Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber – who'd started 16th – collided with him. Both cars were out of the race immediately, and the Safety Car came in. The Safety Car returned to the pits on Lap 3 Rosberg led the field, but just two laps later the German complained of a sticking throttle pedal. Two laps later he had to retire, unable to drive the car properly. That put Hamilton at the front, and we've seen that race a bunch of times before. He built a double-digit lead and never lost it.

Infiniti Q50 Active Lane control is scarily self-driving

Occasionally, we post videos that require us to tell you not to try something at home. They usually involve some unsafe activity that requires a high-degree of skill and planning to achieve. This video, though, gets a more interesting disclaimer: Don't ever try this. Ever. Never ever. Period. Seriously, don't try it.
Some clowns in Germany decided to put the Infiniti Q50's Active Lane Control system to the test. For those not in the know, ALC can make small adjustments to keep the vehicle in the correct lane, a feature that's just starting to pick up steam. Instead of using it the way you're supposed to - with both hands on the wheel - these guys not only take both hands off the steering, but at one point climb out of the seat while traveling at freeway speeds, just to see how automated the combination of ALC and adaptive cruise control really are.
Yes, we've seen this sort of stunt before, but it was done in extremely controlled circumstances that didn't put the cars, the driver or any other motorists at risk and probably had appropriate emergency personnel on hand should the worst happen.