1000-Plus-HP Fight Club: Twin-Turbo Lambo Slays a Bugatti Veyron

February 19, 2015 at 6:07 pm by Robert Sorokanich | Photography by YouTube/UNDERGROUND RACING

The Bugatti Veyron is a legend.

Not only does it hold 2 current Guinness World Records for fastest street-legal production car—fixed-roof and roadster, naturally—it stands as a testament to what engineers can attain when fed unlimited amounts of cash and told not to return till they’ve built the super-est supercar.

Your little ones will don’;t forget the Veyron’s name.

Of course, that implies that any hot-rodder swinging wrenches on supercars sees the Bugatti as a target. When you’re a member of the thousand-plus-horsepower club, the Veyron isn’t just a legend.

It’s a benchmark.

Which brings us to this video, shot by Richard Fowler. Richard’s wild orange Lamborghini Gallardo LP-570 Superleggera is a supercar in its personal right: It is the most lightweight, sharpest version of Lamborghini’s angular Gallardo. The LP-570 produced 562 horsepower stock.

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Richard’s Lambo is not stock.

This Superleggera boasts an Underground Racing Stage 3 twin-turbo kit, sending an astounding 1250 horses to the wheels. As you will see, that is sufficient to completely trounce a 1001-horse Bugatti.

Yes, roll-racing is sort of cheesy, and no, we’re not acquiring the YouTube poster’s claim that Richard “waits nearly 2 seconds to go following the Bugatti requires off from a roll”—from where we’re sitting, that just appears like turbo lag.

But all of that aside, you cannot argue with the details: At this specific 1/2-mile runway race, the Veyron got spanked. And as Dom Toretto taught us, winning’s winning.

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This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com via Jalopnik.

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1000-Plus-HP Fight Club: Twin-Turbo Lambo Slays a Bugatti Veyron

Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski Had a Big Dumb Fight at NASCAR’s Texas 500

Just a few short weeks soon after Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth had words at Charlotte, No. 2 identified himself in the middle of a larger, brawlier run-in with none other than Jeff Gordon final evening. Like any very good tussle, this one particular was long on feelings and brief on justification, but this time, seemingly everyone on pit road was involved.

The whole altercation stemmed from make contact with amongst Keselowski and Gordon in Turn 1 right after a restart. Keselowski’s dive for the inside place him in Gordon’s path, causing get in touch with that reduce No. 24’s left-rear tire. Keselowski drove away unscathed, although Gordon wobbled, dropped a number of positions, and ultimately spun out.

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Keselowski maintains that he saw a gap and shot for it, while Gordon viewed the move as an intentional shunt. On his web site, Gordon said, “We drove down into Turn 1 and he just decided to body slam us and cut our left-rear tire. It ruined our night . . . It’s just uncalled for.”

Gordon therefore took matters into his personal hands, parking alongside Keselowski in the pits and storming over to have some words with the younger driver. Then, egged on by Kevin Harvick seemingly shoving Keselowski into Gordon’s swatting range (watch the :57 mark in the video beneath), pit road erupts in a shoving match, with crew members from each teams obtaining in their personal punches and jabs.

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Tensions didn’t cool down a single bit in the post-race interviews: “You cannot have a conversation with him,” says Gordon—who apparently just wanted to speak things out when he parked alongside Keselowski’s auto and stormed previous his pit crew. “He’s just a dipshit,” Gordon says on-camera. Keselowski didn’t seem to want to de-escalate the circumstance, although, himself no stranger to driver altercations following becoming slapped with a $ 50,000 fine for colliding with Matt Kenseth and chasing down Denny Hamlin in the pits at Charlotte. It is not possible to see who started swinging very first this time, but the outcomes can be observed on each drivers’ faces in the post-race interviews.

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The on-track events place Gordon down 3 positions, landing him 12 points behind Joey Logano, although Keselowski stands in 6th, one point ahead of Harvick.

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Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski Had a Big Dumb Fight at NASCAR’s Texas 500

Castrol Team Toyota in four-way title fight in Polokwane

The penultimate round of the 2014 South African National Rally Championship, the Polokwane Motor Rally, takes place on October 17 and 18 – and with 4 crews vying for the championship title, it is sure to be a spectacular battle. Castrol Team Toyota’;s Leeroy Poulter and navigator Elvéne Coetzee currently lead the title chase by 31 points over their fellow Castrol Team Toyota Yaris S2000 crew Hergen Fekken and Carolyn Swan.

Poulter is currently on 124 points, with Fekken on 93. Just 5.5 points further back are defending champions Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton in their Ford. The Volkswagen crew of Hans Weijs (Netherlands) and Bjorn Degandt (Belgium) are in 4th, 39.5 points behind Poulter.

“With a win on the Cullinan Rally and a second place on our home event in the Cape, the momentum is with us,” says Team Principal Glyn Hall. “But we know that Mark will be pushing hard, so this is going to be a big battle. It is also all about the maths, and we don’;t have to win the last 2 events to take the championship – we’;ve just got to score decent points.”

Dakar legend Giniel de Villiers, with navigator Greg Godrich beside him in the Imperial Toyota Yaris S2000, claimed a maiden rally victory on Round 6 of the championship. Despite bagging 25 points on the event, De Villiers is currently 6^th in the championship on 69 points, and cannot possibly overtake Poulter. With that said, he will be pushing hard to follow his first victory with another good result in Polokwane.

In Class S2000 Challenge, for older spec S2000 rally cars, it is PZN Panelbeaters’; Wilro Dippenaar who leads the championship, in his ex-works Toyota Auris. With Kesavan Naidoo reading his notes, the pair are 5.5 points clear of Piet Bakkes and Shaun Visser in their Toyota RunX.

For Guy Botterill and navigator Simon Vacy-Lyle the Class S1600 championship – for front-wheel-drive rally cars with engines up to 1600cc – is within touching distance. The Yato-supported Toyota Etios R2 crew won the first 4 rallies of the year, before experiencing difficulties on Round 5 at Cullinan. They bounced back with a fifth victory on the Toyota Cape Dealer Rally, and currently lead the championship by 49 points.

With 50 points on offer between the last 2 events of 2014, it is highly unlikely that the second-placed crew of Chad van Beurden and Nico Swartz (Volkswagen Polo) will be able to deny Botterill’;s championship.

In the manufacturers’; standings, Toyota has amassed 555 points to date. This is 102.5 more than Volkswagen, in second place. Ford is currently on 337.5 points, 217.5 behind Toyota.

The Polokwane Motor Rally, Round 7 of the 8-round championship, kicks off with a parade through the city starting at 11:00 on Friday 17 October. This is followed by 5 gravel stages and one short tarmac stage, offering a race distance of 70 km on Day One. Day 2, Saturday 18 October, features 4 gravel and one tarmac stage, with a distance of 105 km – bringing the total rally distance to 175 km.

Toyota Motorsport South Africa Acknowledges Its Sponsors and Specialist Official Supplier and Technical Partners

Toyota enjoys a mutually beneficial relationship with Castrol, Toyota Financial Services, Imperial Toyota Group, Innovation Group, Bosch, DeWalt, Donaldson, Edgecam, Ferodo, 4×4 Mega World, FreeM, NGK, Robor, SKF and Spanjaard.

Follow the fortunes of Castrol Team Toyota on Twitter, www.twitter.com/toyotasa; and Facebook, www.facebook.com/toyotasouthafrica

Also view:
Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Castrol Team Toyota in four-way title fight in Polokwane

Professional FAQ: How Do Insurance Investigators Fight Fraud?

Producing a claim for far more than your damages. Fudging the dates on an insurance claim. Bending the truth about how an accident happened. These are harmless lies that will make a large difference in your payout and won’t matter to a massive insurance coverage company, right?

Wrong. Each of these scenarios qualifies legally as insurance coverage fraud. “Insurance fraud is defined as someone trying to acquire benefits from an insurance coverage organization that he or she is not entitled to,” says Margaret Fleming, senior investigator with the South Carolina Farm Bureau and member of South Carolina Insurance coverage Fraud Investigators.                                                

Insurance fraud can take numerous types, and no matter the kind, it signifies big losses for insurers. “In truth, if fraud were a organization, it would be a Fortune 500 firm,” Fleming adds. For this explanation, fighting fraud is a severe priority for insurers, and organizations have developed numerous tactics to take on perpetrators. 

What is insurance fraud?

The insurance coverage industry typically recognizes 2 kinds of fraud: challenging and soft. “Hard fraud is when a person deliberately fabricates a claim,” Fleming says. “Soft fraud is when a particular person adds an element of fraud to an otherwise reputable claim.”

Dana Kerr, associate professor of threat management and insurance coverage at the University of Southern Maine School of Business, explains: “Saying somebody stole your wedding ring when you lost it down the garbage disposal – that is difficult fraud. It’s a tiny bit less complicated to detect. Soft fraud would be padding an insurance estimate, or misrepresenting yourself on an application for coverage.”

Buyers may associate “hard” fraud with career criminals, but in reality, all types of people commit all sorts of fraud. “There’s potential for fraudulent activity anyplace in the insurance claims procedure,” Kerr says. 

How do businesses detect insurance fraud? 

Some sorts of insurance coverage fraud are harder to detect than other individuals – but none is not possible. Jing Ai, associate professor of finance at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, conducts study to support refine insurance companies’ laptop fraud detection applications. 

“We use statistical strategies to decide what elements contribute to fraud and how they contribute,” Ai says. “There are normally indicators, for instance, whether there’s a police report or whether or not it occurred at night. A single issue does not mean it is fraudulent, but an incident that does have a police report is just a little bit significantly less suspicious.”

Numerous bigger insurance coverage firms currently use these fraud detection programs. “Insurance companies probably don’t require humans involved in the really beginning of the method,” Ai says. “We’re hoping to assist them allocate their sources. If they only have so a lot of hours of expert time, how can they prioritize the cases that are the most suspicious?” 

No matter how insurance organizations detect fraud, humans have to investigate it. As soon as a certain case is flagged for fraud, Kerr says, “that file gets sent to an insurance coverage company’s SIU, or a special investigations unit, which may possibly employ retired cops and other law enforcement professionals. This division follows by way of on these red flag claims, tries to identify these that are fraudulent in some way and collect evidence.”

If an insurance company’s investigative unit finds powerful proof of fraud, it has a couple of choices. “They may attempt to settle with the insured, which usually indicates rejecting the claim or dropping the policy,” Ai says. “That’s in significantly less critical cases.”

In more severe instances, nearby, state or even federal law enforcement could get involved, either to support investigate additional or to prosecute. Many states now have committed insurance crime divisions to enforce relevant laws. “It can be either a misdemeanor or a felony,” Kerr says. 

What happens when a organization spots a fraudulent claim? 

Insurance coverage companies have a variety of ways to investigate fraud. In Kerr’s experience, good, old-fashioned detective function is nonetheless portion of the procedure. “We would employ an investigative firm to go out and videotape men and women who have been on worker’s comp. But there they’d be, during hunting season, hauling a 200-pound deer carcass out of the woods. They may still be injured, but maybe they’re not so bad off.”

However, insurance investigation no longer needs so significantly legwork, thanks to social media oversharing. “Insurance companies have hired men and women whose only job is to scour Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, looking for men and women who’ve collected an insurance coverage claim, but they just finished a 10K race. If they’re not prosecuted, at least the insurance organization can justify discontinuing benefits,” Kerr says.

He adds, “Before social media, it was quite tough. Now, claimants do most of the function for you.” 

What can buyers do?

1st, shoppers can be conscious of what constitutes fraud – and not commit it. Law enforcement agencies take fraud very seriously, and it can have serious penalties, up to and such as prison. For misdemeanor instances, fines are a lot more common. It also has consequences for innocent policyholders. The FBI estimates that the average U.S. family pays $ 400 to $ 700 per year in extra premiums simply because of fraud. 

Shoppers who suspect fraud can also give law enforcement a hand. Fleming encourages them to report any incidences to their state insurance fraud bureau if they have one – and most do. They can also call the insurance organization or the National Insurance coverage Crime Bureau at 800-835-6422.

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Accident form image via Shutterstock.

Professional FAQ: How Do Insurance Investigators Fight Fraud?

Professional FAQ: How Do Insurance coverage Investigators Fight Fraud?

Creating a claim for more than your damages. Fudging the dates on an insurance coverage claim. Bending the truth about how an accident happened. These are harmless lies that will make a large distinction in your payout and will not matter to a huge insurance coverage business, correct?

Incorrect. Each of these scenarios qualifies legally as insurance fraud. “Insurance fraud is defined as an individual trying to get benefits from an insurance coverage organization that he or she is not entitled to,” says Margaret Fleming, senior investigator with the South Carolina Farm Bureau and member of South Carolina Insurance coverage Fraud Investigators.                                                

Insurance coverage fraud can take a lot of types, and no matter the form, it implies massive losses for insurers. “In truth, if fraud had been a enterprise, it would be a Fortune 500 firm,” Fleming adds. For this explanation, fighting fraud is a serious priority for insurers,and companies have developed many tactics to take on perpetrators. 

What is insurance fraud?

The insurance coverage industry generally recognizes 2 sorts of fraud: challenging and soft. “Hard fraud is when a particular person deliberately fabricates a claim,” Fleming says. “Soft fraud is when a individual adds an element of fraud to an otherwise legitimate claim.”

Dr. Dana Kerr, associate professor of risk management and insurance at the University of Southern Maine College of Business, explains: “Saying somebody stole your wedding ring when you lost it down the garbage disposal – that is tough fraud. It is a small bit simpler to detect. Soft fraud would be padding an insurance coverage estimate, or misrepresenting your self on an application for coverage.”

Consumers could associate “hard” fraud with career criminals, but in reality, all types of individuals commit all kinds of fraud. “There’s potential for fraudulent activity anywhere in the insurance claims approach,” Kerr says. 

How do companies detect insurance coverage fraud? 

Some types of insurance fraud are tougher to detect than other folks – but none is not possible. Dr. Jing Ai, associate professor of finance at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, conducts analysis to support refine insurance coverage companies’ laptop fraud detection applications. 

“We use statistical methods to establish what variables contribute to fraud and how they contribute,” Ai says. “There are normally indicators, for instance, regardless of whether there’s a police report or no matter whether it happened at evening. One factor doesn’t mean it’s fraudulent, but an incident that does have a police report is just a little bit significantly less suspicious.”

A lot of larger insurance companies already use these fraud detection applications. “Insurance organizations almost certainly don’t want humans involved in the very beginning of the method,” Ai says. “We’re hoping to help them allocate their sources. If they only have so a lot of hours of expert time, how can they prioritize the situations that are the most suspicious?” 

No matter how insurance coverage firms detect fraud, humans have to investigate it. After a distinct case is flagged for fraud, Kerr says, “that file gets sent to an insurance coverage company’s SIU, or a specific investigations unit, which may employ retired cops and other law enforcement experts.This departments follows by way of on these red flag claims, tries to identify these that are fraudulent in some way and collect evidence.”

If an insurance coverage company’s investigative unit finds sturdy evidence of fraud, it has a few choices. “They may well try to settle with the insured, which generally means rejecting the claim or dropping the policy,”saysAi. “That’s in significantly less significant circumstances.”

In a lot more significant circumstances, nearby, state or even national law enforcement could get involved, either to aid investigate additional or to prosecute. Several states now have dedicated insurance coverage crime divisions to enforce the relevant laws. “It can be either a misdemeanor or a felony,”Kerr notes. 

What happens when a company spots a fraudulent claim? 

Insurance coverage businesses have a assortment of approaches to investigate fraud. In Kerr’s encounter, very good, old-fashioned detective perform is nevertheless component of the method. “We would hire an investigative firm to go out and videotape men and women who have been on worker’s comp. But there they’d be, for the duration of hunting season, hauling a 200-pound deer carcass out of the woods. They might still be injured, but possibly they’re not so poor off.”

Nevertheless, insurance coverage investigation no longer calls for so much legwork, thanks to social media oversharing.“Insurance organizations have hired individuals whose only job is to scour Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, searching for men and women who’ve collected an insurance coverage claim, but they just completed a 10K race. If they’re not prosecuted, at least the insurance company can justify discontinuing rewards,” Kerr says.

He adds, “Before social media, it was extremely challenging. Now claimants do most of the operate for you.” 

What can customers do?

First, consumers can be aware of what constitutes fraud – and not commit it. Law enforcement agencies take fraud quite seriously, and it can have severe penalties, up to and which includes prison. For misdemeanor instances, fines are more frequent.It also has consequences for innocent policyholders. The FBI estimates that the average American family members pays $ 400 to 700 per year in further premiums simply because of fraud. 

Buyers who suspect fraud can also give law enforcement a hand. Fleming encourages them to report any incidences to their state insurance coverage fraud bureau if they have one particular – and most do.They can also get in touch with the impacted insurance firm, or the National Insurance Crime Bureau at800-835-6422.

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Accident type by means of Shutterstock

Professional FAQ: How Do Insurance coverage Investigators Fight Fraud?

Officials: Etch Your VIN and Stow Your Valuables to Fight Car Theft

The very best thing for drivers to do is stow their valuables to fight a new way that criminals are breaking into vehicles, according to the National Insurance coverage Crime Bureau (NICB).

Criminals are using “scanner boxes” to “pop some factory-produced electronic locks in seconds,” according to the NICB. The devices use technology for keyless auto entry, which drivers typically use for effortless 1-click access to their car or to avert obtaining locked out.

“Our law enforcement partners inform us they are seeing this variety of criminal activity and have recovered some of the illegal devices,” Joe Wehrle, NICB’s president, said in a statement. “And however, some of these devices are offered on the web.”

USA Right now reported that the technology might be linked to auto burglaries in Lengthy Beach, Calif., last year, when police said an “unknown technology” had allowed a trio of thieves quick access to 8 automobiles in 1 evening.

According to the NICB, drivers must take the following precautions to shield themselves:

• Lock your automobile no matter exactly where you leave it.


• Close windows and sun roofs.


• Hide tempting products, such as navigation systems (along with their suction cup mounts), telephone or electronic device adaptors and energy plugs.


• Put shopping bags in the trunk.


• Conceal visible cargo.

What Complete Coverage Does — and Doesn’t — Cover

Complete coverage covers drivers if their automobile is stolen. But this gets trickier when it comes to automobile break-ins like the ones described above.

In the case of break-in, complete coverage only applies to permanent components of your car like your auto window, locks or catalytic converter that are stolen or broken in the incident.

In some cases, even your vehicle stereo is not assured to be covered by extensive, according to Progressive.

Other things stolen from a car in a automobile burglary, like purses and wallets, are not covered by auto insurance. You will want home owners insurance coverage coverage, or renters or condo, to cover those types of losses.

NICB Also Promotes VIN Etching

The NICB also promotes car identification quantity (VIN) etching, which reduces the chance of thefts of automobiles and car components.

Some providers also offer car insurance coverage discounts for VIN-etched vehicles.

The NICB partnered with the Auto Club and neighborhood law enforcement to host free of charge VIN-etching events in Torrance and Anaheim Hills, 2 suburbs in California.

According to KCAL 9 in Los Angeles, Auto Club drivers can verify with their regional branch about other cost-free VIN-etching events.

On the web Auto Insurance not too long ago published a series about auto theft and how to avert it. Verify out those stories:

• Safeguard Your Auto


• My Car’s Been Stolen! Now What?


• Big Vehicles, Huge Theft Targets: Tips for Sports Utility, Crossover Vehicles


• A lot of Vehicles, a Lot of Thefts: A Look at Thefts of Compact Vehicles


• Quick Theft Information for Quickly Cars: How to Safeguard Your Sporty Vehicle


• New Auto Theft Trends Target Health club Rats, Distracted Drivers

Officials: Etch Your VIN and Stow Your Valuables to Fight Car Theft