Going by the name of Mattzel (or FONESupports), his videos have become a YouTube phenomenon. That being said, we couldn’t resist the urge to post up his latest motorsports-related work – a compilation of slowed down clips from some of the world’s premiere racing series including: Formula One, NASCAR, ALMS, WRC and there’s even some touring car and bike racing tossed in. Oh, and there are several amazing crashes included in the clips.

Combined with some subtle music it has a serious TopGear look and feel that we could just put on repeat and watch all day.

Be sure to check out FONESupports YouTube channel here and subscribe for his next masterpiece.

[Source: AxisofOversteer]

See after the jump for the original Racing in Slow Motion video:

American stunt driver and Subaru USA Rally America driver Ken Block (left) is close to getting the call to the big leagues. AutoSport is reporting that Block is close to a deal with Ford that would seem him driving in the World Rally Championship (WRC), the world’s premiere rally car racing series.

The deal will reportedly see Block keep his Monster Energy Drink sponsorship from his Subaru days as he drives for Ford with team mate Chris Atkinson – another former Subaru driver. With both Ford and Block on board, the WRC series, which is immensely popular overseas, finaly has a chance at real fame in the lucrative North American market.

WRC marketing expert Simon Long described Block, who’s two viral YouTube Gymkhana videos have received tens of millions of views, as “an iconic figure in US motorsport and a major box office personality.” He also went on to say that, “It wouldn’t get much better than this for the WRC going into North America.”

The deal is reported to go through next month and will see Block sign on with Ford for three seasons, starting next year.

[Source: AutoSport]

Porsche might not be in the running for the title of the fastest sports car on the famed Nürburgring, but it can now claim the fastest lap by a sedan. According to a report in German auto pub Auto Sport, the four-door Panamera recently flew through the Green Hell in a time of just 7:56 – three seconds faster than the Cadillac.

Driving the 500hp Panamera Turbo to this new record was legendary World Rally Championship (WRC) racer and official Porsche test driver Walter Röhrl.

Until now the CTS-V has held the record since May 9, 2008, when it blew away its German competitors and was the first sedan to ever run a sub-eight minute lap.

With the current situation at GM it’s unlikely the company will seek to take back its record by running the CTS-V again. We suppose they can always take solace in the fact that the big American sedan costs less than half of a Panamera Turbo; the Turbo retailing for $132,600, and the CTS-V costing just $59,995.

[Source: Sport Auto]

Is this the face of a race car? Subaru certainly thinks so.

The latest rumors indicate that the automaker intends to enter a version of its new 2010 Legacy model (launched at the New York Auto Show this year) into Japan’s top-level Super GT series. The car will no doubt receive numerous modifications, but engine output won’t be changed all that much. The reason for this is that Subaru will race the car in the 300 (meaning 300hp) class – rather than the highest 500 class.

A Legacy 2.5GT is the likely choice to form the basis of the race car, especially as it sports a new 2.5-liter boxer engine with 265hp and 258 ft-lbs of torque.

The move is surprising as the cash-strapped automaker pulled from the World Rally Championship (WRC) this year, citing economic reasons. Subaru teams had, however, performed poorly the past few years.

No doubt the Super GT entry will be much less expensive to run than a full WRC team and besides, it would be a shame to reassign those Subaru racing engineers to the accounting department.

[Source: Nihon Car]

In an attempt to drum-up interest in the launch of the Fiesta in North America, Ford is putting on a serious publicity stunt by running two 800 horsepower versions of the economy car in the legendary Pikes Peak race.

Ford is eager to appeal not just to econonomically-minded individuals with the Fiesta sub-compact, but also to enthusiasts as it attempts to set a Pike Peak record with a sub-10 minute run up the mountain.

To do this not only will Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution race team owner Andreas Eriksson be piloting one of the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder Fiesta racers, but so will rally legend Marcus Grönholm. In World Rally Championship competition Grönholm has won 30 races and clinched the championship twice. 

Both Eriksson and Grönholm will certainly need all 800 horses when they take on the 12.4-mile, 156-turn dirt and tarmac climb on July 19th.

“We’re pleased to have a top independent team like Olsbergs MSE coming to the U.S. with their Fiesta Rallycross cars to take on the challenge of Pike’s Peak,” said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports. “This will be a great chance for enthusiasts here to see in this unique setting what a lot of the rest of the world is already talking about – that the Fiesta is a great road car and a great race car.”

Ford Motor Company’s director of Global Motorsport Business Development, Jost Capito, said: “The Pike’s Peak event is another step forward for the new Ford Fiesta as a core vehicle in Ford’s future global motorsport aspirations. We’re looking forward to seeing Andreas and Marcus in action on this unique event.”

GALLERY: Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution Ford Fiesta Rallycross

Official release after the jump:

Suzuki WRC fans have something to cheer about for the first time in four months. Yes, it’s been that long since the Japanese automaker announced it would with draw from the World Rally Championship, but now it seems they may already be planning a return.

RallyBuzz is reporting that Urmo Aava, who raced five seasons for the Suzuki team in the Junion World Rally Championship (JWRC), told the Estonian news website Postimees that Suzuki is building a new car and will “probably do a full WRC programme,” in 2011.

Aava made the comments while testing a Suzuki Swift S1600 rally car for the company’s JWRC team.

According to Aava, the new car is an S2000 spec vehicle, in keeping with the new “no-turbo” rules and while Suzuki has made no official comment since pulling out of WRC, comments were made earlier that Suzuki intended to race an SX4-based vehicle in the S2000 class.

[Source: RallyBuzz]

GALLERY: Suzuki SX4 WRC

Subaru recently announced it would not compete in the 2009 WRC Series due to economic concersn, however, new “no turbo” rules for 2011 would most likely have seen the Japanese automaker pull out anyway.

The World Rally Championship’s governing body, the FIA World Motor Sport Council has just confirmed that as of 2011 competing vehicles must use non-turbocharged naturally aspirated engines – a move that has series veteran and all-star Sébastien Loeb considering a new career path.

The new rules will allow for certain aerodynamic changes to the Super 2000 (or S2000) cars, however, the decision to move away from turbocharged powerplants was made to open up the series to more manufacturers – including Skoda, Abarth, Peugeot and Proton – by making it less expensive to run a competitive car.

These rules may also be to blame for other manufacturers leaving the series. Several months ago Subaru announced that it would not compete in the 2009 season, stating economic concerns, however, it is just as likely that the the company had no intention of running with the new rules (which don’t take effect until 2011).

Turbochargers are set to return to the series in 2013, but mated to smaller 1600c (1.6-liter) engines.

Five-time WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb, who’s contract with Citroën is up at the end of this season, has expressed his displeasure with the new rules and his desire to try his hand at other forms of motorsports.

“The excitement will not be the same,” Loeb told AutoWeek. I always said it would be better with the turbo, and this is how I feel.”

“We don’t have to decide anything until 2011,” he continued. “When that comes, maybe I can move to something more interesting.”

What exactly he might move to is the Le Mans series, as Loeb is already scheduled to test a Peugeot 908 HDi Le Mans prototype this year.

“Sébastien’s contract is up at the end of this year,” a Citroën source told AutoWeek. “There’s really nothing for him to prove to stay on in WRC. He has won every rally and broken every record. Maybe he can leave at the end of 2009 and start racing straight away next year.”

[Source: Autosport and AutoWeek]

Not two weeks after the final race of the 2008 season, Subaru has made the surprise move to withdraw from the 2009 World Rally Championship. The move follows a similar announcement the day before by Suzuki.

For the past 20 years the Subaru WRC team, under the direction of Prodrive, has won six WRC Championship titles with drivers like the late, great Colin McRae. Arguably Subaru’s continued existence as a manufacturer in the international marketplace has relied heavily on its reputation for success in racing.

Citing the worldwide economic downturn, Subaru was quick to blame a tight pocketbook and not the fact that the company hasn’t won a race since 2006. At the end of the 2008 season the Subaru team finished 3rd overall with drivers Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg grabbing the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.

If no other teams join before the 2009 season starts, only Ford and Citroen will be left battling it out in the top class.

Team operator Prodrive will apparently begin preparing to enter a private team in 2010.

Official Release, plus 2008 Subaru WRC Gallery after the jump: