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Under an intense sun, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Anza Motorsports team, Angel Rafael Benitez achieved the third fastest time in the qualifying session on Friday afternoon, preparing everything for the first race on Saturday early.

In the first test pilot Carabobo – which has the support group and the Ministry Akkad Popular for Sport – a position he lost to Michael Levites (TPC Racing), but after U.S. pressure on the pilot he played with Mitch Landry (Wright Motorsports) and was used by Angel Rafael Benitez to be placed second. After 39 laps on the track of 2462 meters, Benitez crossed the finish line nine seconds at 251 Madison thousandths of Snow (Snow Racing) to score his second podium in a row. American Michael Levites (TPC Racing), the Venezuelan Andres Cisneros (NGT Motorsport) and Mitch Landry rounded out the top five of the test.

In the seventh round Angel Rafael Benitez made off again in the third box and nineteenth overall, 31 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup present. After overcoming several of the senior class, the Platinum, the Venezuelan driver stood in the queue Mitch Landry and fought the second box, but the U.S. pulled out of the track wheel to Creole as a first occasion and then, after a new contact, broke a tire. The work in the pits and change the rubber Benitez would cost five laps, settling for finishing fifth in his class.

After participating in three of the seven rounds of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge championship American, Angel Rafael Benitez stands at eighth place with 46 points, held by the U.S. leadership Madison Snow with 124 units. Mitch Landry comes to the second box with 94 points, while the Venezuelan Eduardo Cisneros (NGT Motorsport) drops to third place after missing at Lime Rock. Michael Levites and Glen Gatling complete the top five of the Gold Class with 80 and 64 points respectively, a composite ranking of 13 pilots.

The eighth and ninth round of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge will be held at the American route of Mossoro in Canada, where Angel Rafael Benitez quotes will be joined by his son Andres Angel Benitez, who will be contesting the ninth and tenth date of the U.S. F2000 Championship Series.

 

The new Audi R8 V10 Spider won the title of Best Convertible in the inaugural Topless in Miami 2011; a competition involving 19 of the best convertibles sold in the U.S. and was organized by the Southern Automotive Media Association (SAMA).

The Audi R8 Spider was elected with the votes of more than 40 members of SAMA, who spent a day testing the models 19 participants divided into categories: Best Luxury Convertible, Convertible Best Family, Best Sports Convertible, Convertible Top Compact and best Convertible.

The test site had, as the luxurious and exclusive hotel in Key Ritz Carlton Biscayne, where the journalists were at the wheel of each of the participating models to analyze all their attributes.

In the category Best Convertible Sedan, the winner was the Fiat 500c, which exceeded the vote to the Jeep Wrangler, Mazda MX5 and the MINI Cooper.

In the category of Best Sports Convertible, Chevrolet Corvette Roadster beat Nissan Z370 and BMW Z4. The Audi R8 Spider has been included in this category, but because competition rules prevented one car won in its category and the overall vote, the Corvette was the winner in this group.

In the category of Best Family Convertible, the winner was the Nissan Moreno Cross Cabriolet above the Chevrolet Camano, Chrysler 200, Ford Mustang GT and the Volkswagen EOS.
Finally, in the category of Best Luxury CoAnvertible, the winner was the BMW 650i, beating the Audi A5, the Infiniti G37, Jaguar XKR, Lexus IS250 and Mercedes-Benz SLK350.A

If all the gallantry of the R8 will not suffice, Audi decided to go a step further and create a version of the existing one-sporting coupe. Also it is a truly unique car, built only 333 units worldwide of which 90 are destined for the U.S.

With a starting price of $ 196.800, the R8 GT followed the familiar formula: more power for less lightness. Clearly, the Audi team of engineers squeezed every last drop of 5.2-liter V10 engine to increase the horsepower and torque. If alone the R8 with 525 horsepower is a demon on the track, the GT version is enhanced with 35 horse powers, reaching a total of 560 horses and 398 exorbitant lb / ft of torque. As a genuine Audi, all power is sent to all four wheels via Quattro famed, providing management with the utmost firmness as if standing on rails. The suspension was altered to deliver an even sportier performance. For its part, is semi-automatic gearbox with paddle shifters located behind the wheel, just select between Normal and Sport mode and so out of hand the most of the special edition of the R8?

To improve the aerodynamics and performance, the coupe was put on a diet. The goal was to lose 180 pounds. To fulfill the role the German resorted to the use of carbon fiber. For example, the front bumper as well as being lighter has a design that increases the down force. On the back were incorporated two elements that increase grip at the rear, a spoiler and a diffuser. Other components of carbon fiber used as raw material are the tailgate, air intakes, rear bumper and side mirrors shells. One of the most aesthetic differences is huge carbon-ceramic brakes that are to be seen behind the wheels of 19 inches. While not everything is there in the diet of R8 GT to continue losing weight motor insulation to the cabin was small, the glasses have a thinner, plus carpets, seats and batteries are lighter. As in other models of Audi R8 GT bodywork using the Audi Space Frame technology delivering the same time lightness and rigidity to the vehicle to realize that we are talking only of the chassis has a weight of 463 lbs.
With this series of modifications to the engine and the body of the R8 GT, 3.6 seconds will be sufficient for the needle to rise from zero to 60 mph and reach 125 mph 10.8 seconds suffice. Top speed is 200 mph.

Besides being very good on the outside, the inside R8 GT is a reflection of the sporty appearance that we see abroad. Alcatraz and carbon fiber are the two main materials used in bucket seats, steering wheel, dashboard, ceiling panels and brake, which highlighted by red stitching.

For all the above you’d think the R8 GT is a vehicle for exclusive use on road courses, but it is not. You may not installing air conditioning and audio system would have lost more pounds, but we chose to offer all the amenities to make the R8 GT car to handle daily. The device MMI infotainment system and Bang and Loosen audio with 12 speakers will make travel more enjoyable.

Perhaps the R8 GT is not as flashy and exciting as a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera LP570-4, but in matters of performance and amount of horsepower is very similar because both use the same heart of ten cylinders. That if, by the Italian will have to sign a check for over $ 237.600, while on the other hand the German is worth $ 40,000 less.

 

The flat reading on consumer spending is called after 10 consecutive months of gains, the Commerce Department said on Monday, and then recorded a downward revision to spending in April to 0.3%.

Washington. U.S. spending on consumption was unchanged in May for the first time in almost a year, probably reflecting a plunge in auto sales, government figures showed that also pointed to a rise in underlying inflation pressures.

The flat reading on consumer spending is called after 10 consecutive months of gains, the Commerce Department said on Monday, and then recorded a downward revision to spending in April to 0.3%.

Market expectations were that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, rise just 0.1% in May after an originally reported figure of 0.4% in April.

“We will cut fuel consumption and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the second quarter. That’s a couple of tenths of a point. It was a small impact on consumers by higher energy prices and problems in the supply chain, “said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities.

“We’ll see a good rebound in GDP in the third quarter for full production in the automotive sector, which was a bit behind in the second quarter,” he said.

When adjusted for inflation, spending fell 0.1% in May, its second consecutive month low.

Spending on durable goods fell 1.5% after remaining steady in April.

Last month, spending probably was contained by a sharp decline in purchases of motor vehicles because of interruptions in automobile production given the lack of spare parts after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March, which left some models without inventories.

Sales of motor vehicles in May touched it’s lowest since September.

The weak reading in May suggests that consumer spending, which has been beaten by high gasoline prices will be much weaker in the second quarter the annual rate of 2.2% recorded in the first three months of the year.

While the report fits with other data that illustrate the loss of momentum in the economy, the decline in gasoline prices should push spending and therefore growth in the third quarter.

Gasoline prices have fallen sharply from its peak of $ 4.02 per gallon in early May.

Despite the decline in fuel prices, the pressures of inflation continue to push.

The price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE for its acronym in English) rose 0.2% after rising 0.3% in April. Compared with May of last year, the index rose 2.5% in 12 months, the most since January 2010, after rising 2.2% in April.

The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy rose 0.3%, the biggest advance since October 2009, after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

The core PCE index, which is closely watched by the Fed, rose 1.2% in 12 months to May, the biggest advance since August.

The index climbed 1.1% yoyos in April and the Fed would like it to be about 2%.

Revenue rose 0.3% last month, slightly below expectations for a rise of 0.4%. In April, also rose 0.3%.

“There is so significant because in terms of spending already knew the subject vehicle and the rest of the goods sector of retail sales,” said Alan Evensong, chief economist at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore.

“It implies that we have had modest growth in underlying revenue, based on the expectation that the labor market recovery will continue and the expenditure side, we had a break, again for the vehicles,” he said.