Grid Crasher has the vid of shocking KERS accident

Don’t touch the car… oh, too late.

That must have been a hell of a strong shock to knock the mechanic off his feet. Thankfully, he’s out of hospital now.

[Read more about the incident]

Red Bull shine in Spain again

Mark Webber topped the timesheet at Jerez yesterday, to compete another strong day for the Red Bull team; Seb Vettel - who will team up with Webber in 2009 - set the pace for Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s junior team, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Steady Webbo was pleased with his team’s efforts in Spain:

“The car ran pretty reliably, and we’ve clocked up some good mileage. Today we were mostly getting ready for Budapest, as well as looking at developments for a little later in the season. Yesterday we were focusing more on ‘09, and it was quite a challenging day. Today was better in terms of what we learned mechanically and aerodynamically. It’s been a hot week for the guys working here, and they’ve done a good job.”

Full timesheet after the jump…

Toro Rosso runs with 2009 specs

In scorching conditions, Seb Vettel again was the man to beat in F1 testing at Jerez. He was the only driver to dip below the 1:19.00 mark, beating the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg.

In preparation for the new regulations in 2009, Vettel ran on slick tyres all day, and with reduced downforce. Red Bull, Honda, Williams and McLaren also sent thier drivers out on Bridgestone slicks.

Full timesheet below:

Toro Rosso’s rising star shines in Spain

Seb Vettel was quickest at Jerez yesterday, although he was one of only two grand prix drivers to test - Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was the other. Vettel and Trulli apart, Tuesday was a chance for the test drivers to do what they’re paid for.

Full timesheet below:

New KERS system to blame for shock accident

A BMW Sauber mechanic suffered a major electric shock as the team started testing its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on the first day of testing at Jerez in Spain.

Test driver Christian Klien was sent out to complete three laps with the KERS device in place before returning to the pits. When Klien’s car returned, mechanics moved towards the car but the first team member to touch the sidepod received an electric shock which saw him fall to the ground in pain.

New Japanese MotoGP bike sounds awesome

Here’s a short clip of MotoGP rider Anthony West showing off the new “screamer” powered Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR in a post-race test session at Jerez. Sounds awesome.

TECH TALK A “screamer” engine fires its cylinders at regular intervals, whilst a regular, “Big Bang” engine fires its two cylinders close together, followed by a break, then the other two cylinders in close succession.