Congrats goes out to Senna – the film has been nominated for three British Academy Film Awards.

The documentary about the life of Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at 34 years old, has been nominated in three categories (Outstanding British Film, Documentary and Editing) by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Senna is up against some stiff competition. In the Outstanding British Film category, the film is competing against My Week with Marilyn, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and We Need to talk about Kevin. In the Documentary category, Senna is only one of three films in the running (the other two are George Harrison: Living in the Material World and Project Nim).

The BAFTA Awards take place at London’s Royal Opera House on February 12. If you’re a fan of the movie, keep your fingers crossed, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it on Netflix and iTunes.

[Source: Autosport]

To the race fans and cinema buffs that missed Senna‘s limited release this summer, Christmas came early.

Officially available as a digital download, the award-winning documentary of the most celebrated modern Formula 1 Driver can now be watched on Netflix Instant Streaming and on iTunes.

Unfortunately, Ayrton Senna fans that would like to have a copy on their shelf will have to wait. While the European region 2 release of the Senna DVD and BluRay have been available on amazon.com for months, the North America Region-1 NTSC DVD won’t be available until March 6, 2012 while no official release date has been announced for BluRay yet.

Check out the Senna trailer after the jump: Continue Reading…

Anyone who built model cars as a kid would appreciate should pay attention to an upcoming auction featuring an installation by artist Jay Burridge. Burridge has created a life-size “Airfix kit” out of a McLaren MP4/6, one of the greatest Formula 1 racing cars of its era.

The sculpture has some serious provenance behind it, as the MP4/6 was formerly raced by Formula 1 great Ayrton Senna.

Now this very piece can be yours if you have the highest bid at the COYS auction at the Nurburgring on August 13th. This sculpture was recently unveiled at Blenheim Palace in Oxforshire, England. Dennis Rushen, who was Senna’s manager was on hand to admire the sculpture.

“I was really impressed with the Senna sculpture. Such a clever idea and it really stands out as something really different. He was really into models and he would have appreciated the concept,” Rushen said.

COYS believes the sculpture will fetch over $50,000.

[Source: Road and Track]

Those waiting to get a glimpse of the documentary “Senna” (present company included) can look forward to this announcement: a list of dates and cities for its theater debut has been announced.

Provided you haven’t illegally torrented the movie, those of you in trendy cities such as Austin, Palo Alto or Cambridge can pop on down to your local independent theater and watch the Sundance-winning biopic. Remember, support your local businesses!

Click the jump for a full list of where you can watch.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Continue Reading…

Of all the highly touted films screening at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the one we want to see most is Senna, a documentary on the life of three time Formula 1 world Champion Ayrton Senna.

Assembled entirely from previously unseen archival footage from Senna’s career (spanning from his youth karting days until his death in 1994), Senna captured the imagination of millions of Formula 1 fans around the world, leading to a global launch for the film – excluding North America.

Hopefully, the documentary will help Senna find a distributor for this market, as well the strong review in the L.A. Times. Even though Formula 1 is less than popular in the United States, the universal themes of passion, brotherhood and adventure will surely resonate with audiences who couldn’t tell you the difference between Ferrari and McLaren.

[Source: L.A. Times]

Trailer after the jump

Continue Reading…

For those, like yours truly, who grew up watching F1 racing in the late 1970s and the 1980s, the Lotus racers, draped in the classic black and gold colors of sponsor John Player Special rank as the most memorable. Driven by the likes of such greats as Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti and Ayrton Senna, they were frequent visitors to the winner’s circle as well as propelling the team to a number of driver and constructor’s championships.

However, since the end of the 1986 season, the famous black and gold livery has been notable by its absence on the F1 circuit. For 2011, that’s set to change. Lotus Racing wants to bring back the famous colors and wants F1 fans to have a hand in the final design.

“We have worked all year to make sure our fans are given unprecedented access to our team,” Lotus Racing marketing boss Silvi Schaumloeffel said. “We are all very excited about the move to a black and gold paint scheme for next season, and we want our fans to help us design the livery that will be racing around the world next year.”

Schaumloeffel also stated that the team will shortly be announcing how fans can take part in the design process, asking them to visit the team’s website www.lotusracing.my for the latest updates. Not only that but the person that is selected to design the final livery will join the team for the new car’s first testing session early next year. “For Lotus and F1 fans, it is the chance of a lifetime to help us take the next step forward in our amazing story in 2011,” said Schaumloffel.

[Source: Autoweek]

Team Lotus will return to Formula 1 after a 16 year absence… sort of. While two cars scheduled to run in the 2010 season will proudly wear the Lotus name, the team will actually be owned and operated by Litespeed, a U.K.-based Formula 3 team.

Team Lotus rights holder David Hunt has allowed the company to use its name, in part due to the many ties Litespeed has with Lotus and its past Formula 1 efforts. Litespeed founders Nino Judge and Steve Kenchington are both former Lotus engineers.

Additionally, former Team Lotus driver Johnny Herbert will be involved in the project as an ambassador for the team and a manager for the drivers.

The new Team Lotus has also announced that vehicle design is being overseen by MGI and its owner Mike Gascoyne, a native of the Lotus stomping grounds in Norfolk.

“Team Lotus is synonymous with great British engineering and F1 innovation… both of which easily demonstrate why ex-Lotus personnel would want to bring this championship-winning name back to the formula,” said Judge in an interview with AutoSport. “Litespeed was born from a similar British background.”

“David Hunt has been the custodian of the name for so many years and we thank him for entrusting us not just with its safeguard but, more importantly, its development in the racing world of tomorrow.”

Team Lotus started in Formula 1 in 1958 after great success in the F2 series. Over the years some of the greatest drivers in motorsports raced for the team including Stirling Moss, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansel, Nelson Piquet, Mika Häkkinen and of course Ayrton Senna. The team won seven World Championships with its last race win coming from Senna in 1987. It continued on into the 1990s but struggled financially and on the track before it pulled from F1 at the end of the 1994 season.

[Source: AutoSport.com]