Brick, wood and glass meld together in a bouquet of natural design beauty here at the residence of Returning Hut. Which is exactly what the owner insisted on having in his home – offering the simplistic comforts of the countryside, unfettered by city living. Reminiscent of wide-open spaces, a quiet atmosphere and natural elements, this […]
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BMW i models are running off the line at the Leipzig plant, but the BMW plant Dingolfing has apparently been selected as the next location for production of BMW’s most futuristic car to date – The BMW iNext.
Announced for 2021, the iNext will thus not only be a state-of-the-art futuristic automobile from today’s point of view, but also a commitment to the Bavarian land. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, BMW CEO Harald Krüger described the “proximity to the BMW Group’s technology division and the development of the electric drivetrain” as decisive criteria for the decision.
With the BMW iNext, the Munich team aims to impress the automotive world, once again, just as they did six years ago with the i3 and i8.
Lightweight construction with carbon fiber, clean drive, high driving range and the ability to drive autonomously at Level 5 will make the BMW iNext one of the most advanced and powerful cars ever. As the market launch date, Harald Krüger confirmed the second half of the year 2021.
In order to bring the technology to the required level in the next few years, the BMW Group decided to build a new development center for autonomous driving a few weeks ago. In the north of Munich, more than 2,000 employees will soon be working on the challenge of mastering complex issues and developing autonomous driving to the standard required by the consumer and lawmakers.
Even before the BMW iNext, the company will bring two more electric cars onto the market, which, however, will only be indirectly involved in the BMW i sub-brand by name. The MINI E for 2019 and a BMW X3 eDrive, which is also a purely electric drive, will be announced on the market from 2020 onwards.
As early as 2018, BMW i and iPerformance vehicles will be able to control the inductive charging of their batteries and thus make the charging process even more comfortable. BMW Wireless Charging debuts next year in 530e and i8 Spyder, all other electric cars and plug-in hybrids will soon follow.
This year, BMW Group plans to sell more than 100,000 vehicles with an electrified drive worldwide, a significant number in the yet new world of electric vehicles.
[Source: Bimmertoday]The article BMW iNext production planned in Dingolfing appeared first on BMW BLOG
Wolfgang Denzel was an Austrian BMW importer back in the ’50s and ’60s and was a man that wanted something a bit more premium from BMW and something that could be used by the everyman. So he pitched an idea to BMW about a small saloon car that was more upscale and more enjoyable to drive than the BMW 600. BMW approved the idea and told him to develop a prototype with the Turin, Italy-based designer Michelotti. What they ended up creating was the BMW 700 and it was a big hit, leading the Bavarians to eventually create the Neue Klasse of cars.
While the 700 wasn’t part of the Neue Klass, as it came before, its design influence and main goal certainly helped push BMW in the direction to create the Neue Klass and, eventually, the famous BMW 2002. The BMW 700 was a small, rear-engined two-door saloon car that was meant for most families to own and still provide a premium driving experience. Its good looks, spacious cabin and fun handling led to it being an instant success. Which is what makes this fun little 1065 BMW 700 such an interesting little car and one worth looking into adding to your collection.
This specific car is a BMW 700 LS (Long-Tail Sport), though “sport” might not be a good word to describe it. In the back lies a two-cylinder boxer engine that only made 32 hp in 1965. That, when paired with a four-speed manual transmission, was capable of 0-60 mph in probably ten minutes. However, that’s not the point of the 700 LS.
Firstly, just look at it. It’s adorable. That funky grille-less front end, big singular headlights and long tail all add up to create a very charming car. And when looking at the 700, you can easily see the familial resemblance to the BMW 2002 which succeeded it.
Inside, red leather adorns the cabin that looks quite nice and seems to be in very good shape. Wood trim gives the dash a more premium look and the two-spoke steering wheels evokes the charm of the era. It’s just a really handsome and charming little car that is hard to not want to drive.
This car has been restored, so it’s in superb condition but it isn’t all original. That, along with the fact that it’s not a hugely desirable car, makes it relatively cheap for any car collector that wants to add something cheap and quirky to their collection or any enthusiasts who wants a silly weekend car. For around $13,000, this little BMW 700 LS can be yours and that seems like a pretty low price.
What’s even better, though, is this car’s modding opportunities. Now, modding a car this rare (only 1,730 made) seems a bit sacrilegious, but hear me out. The rear engine compartment was originally increased for the LS model, so as to accommodate a larger four-cylinder engine. However, the larger engine plans were scrapped, so the little two-cylinder engine remains. This would mean that there’s considerable space to fit a larger BMW engine from a more recent car, such as an M10 four-cylinder. that would make this car a proper blast, as it would be a unique rear-engine BMW that had enough power to make it fun.
The article This quirky 1965 BMW 700 LS looks like fun appeared first on BMW BLOG
Munster Strokeplay winner Barry Anderson (The Royal Dublin) receiving the Cork Scratch Cup from Liam Ryan, Ryan's SuperValu and Nuala Lyden, Lady Captain, Cork GC. Also pictured: Jim Long, Chairman, Munster Golf, and Rob Reardon, Captain, Cork GC. Picture: Niall O'Shea
West of Ireland champion Barry Anderson completed a memorable month of April when he won the Munster Strokeplay title for the second time at Cork Golf Club.
The 26-year-old from Royal Dublin was three strokes behind Delgany's Marc Nolan and fellow Royal Dublin clubman Stephen Healy at halfway. But he closed with rounds of 70 and 72 to win by one stroke from Galway and Maynooth's Ronan Mullarney and Douglas' Peter O'Keeffe on five-over-par 293.
Winner of the Munster Strokeplay title three years ago and a maiden championship winner in the "West" just 12 days ago, Anderson overcame tough conditions to put his name on the famous old trophy for the second time.
He shot a two-under par 70 in the third round to lead on five-over-par alongside Douglas' Peter O'Keeffe (72) with Mullarney (71) two behind, and Ian O'Flynn and Shau Carter a shot further shot back.
Mullarney then set the target at six-over 294 with a second successive 71 leaving O'Keeffe and Anderson to settle the issue.
They were tied on five-over playing the 18th but O'Keeffe found a poor lie in a fairway bunker from the tee and couldn't save par from 35 feet as Anderson got up and down from the fringe for a closing par, a 72 and a one-shot win on five-over.
Mullarney edged out O'Keeffe (73) for second place on a countback and also won the Carr Bruen trophy as the best Under 25.
Tough weather conditions led to high scoring in the Ryan’s SuperValu sponsored 72-hole event with the cut for the top 39 and ties falling at 19-over par.
Munster Golf Chairman Jim Long congratulated the winner and thanked all involved with the successful staging of the event in difficult conditions.
He thanked Tournament Director Dave Prendergast and Cork Golf Club's Captain, Rob Reardon and their respective teams for their support and hard work in staging the event.
Sponsored by Ryan’s Supervalu, Grange, Glanmire, Togher and Kilmallock
CSS: R1 = 75 RO; R2 = 75 RO; R3 = 74; R4 = 75
293 B Anderson (The Royal Dublin), 77, 74, 70, 72
294 R Mullarney (Galway), 77, 75, 71, 71; P O' Keeffe (Douglas), 74, 75, 72, 73
297 L Donnelly (Kilkenny), 74, 79, 73, 71
299 S Healy (The Royal Dublin), 73, 75, 79, 72; M Nolan (Delgany), 73, 75, 77, 74
300 E Farrell (Ardee), 78, 82, 68, 72; S Carter (The Royal Dublin), 78, 75, 71, 76
301 J Murphy (Kinsale), 74, 79, 76, 72
302 M Ford (Cork), 75, 78, 78, 71; I O'Flynn (Cork), 73, 80, 71, 78
303 E Griffin (Waterford), 74, 79, 77, 73
304 S Barry (Fota Island), 75, 79, 73, 77
305 P Murray (Clontarf), 79, 81, 70, 75
306 G O'Flaherty (Cork), 78, 74, 81, 73; I O'Rourke (The Royal Dublin), 72, 79, 74, 81
307 M Morrissey (Co. Sligo), 78, 77, 75, 77; T O'Connor (Athlone), 74, 84, 76, 73
308 T McLarnon (Massereene), 76, 76, 77, 79
309 R Symington (Lisburn), 75, 79, 75, 80
310 D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh), 81, 81, 72, 76; S Desmond (Monkstown), 77, 83, 77, 73
311 A McCormack (Castletroy), 81, 80, 74, 76; C Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown), 78, 79, 81, 73
312 J Hickey (Cork), 81, 75, 73, 83
314 H Foley (The Royal Dublin), 78, 81, 77, 78
315 K Crowley (Fota Island), 80, 83, 76, 76; R Brazill (Naas), 80, 75, 75, 85; B Murray (Waterford Castle), 78, 80, 82, 75
316 R Knightly (The Royal Dublin), 84, 78, 79, 75; J Logue (Hilton Templepatrick), 79, 82, 79, 76
320 J Sugrue (Mallow), 80, 82, 84, 74; S Bleakley (Shandon Park), 79, 80, 82, 79
322 D Reidy (Co. Sligo), 82, 80, 78, 82; P Tobin (Cork), 80, 83, 79, 80
323 M Power (Kilkenny), 78, 85, 82, 78
324 E Leahy (Cahir Park), 77, 85, 89, 73
325 P Flynn (Tramore), 77, 82, 78, 88
WD J Fletcher (Warrenpoint), 78, 82
164 C Dowling (Mallow), 86, 78; C Butler (Kinsale), 84, 80; M Shanahan (Castlemartyr), 78, 86; T Ford (Co. Sligo), 78, 86; D Foy (Laytown & Bettystown), 76, 88;
165 D O'Donovan (Muskerry), 86, 79; S Hogan (Nenagh), 81, 84;
166 T Neenan (Lahinch), 87, 79; J Howard (Fota Island), 86, 80; R Pierse (Grange), 82, 84; R Hynes (The Royal Dublin), 81, 85; E O'Brien (Clontarf), 78, 88;
167 R Berkeley (Dun Laoghaire), 83, 84; W Small (Tandragee), 81, 86; T Cleary (Woodstock), 79, 88;
168 A McDaid (Palmerstown Stud), 83, 85; H O'Hare (Fortwilliam), 81, 87;
169 M Collins (Killeen Castle), 88, 81; A Mulhall (Waterford Castle), 83, 86; S Brady (Galway), 80, 89; J O'Brien (Castlemartyr), 83, 88
DQ G Ward (Kinsale)
NR C Nolan (Galway); K McCarthy (Kinsale); B McGarry (Nenagh); D McMahon (Castletroy); J Ryan (Castletroy); K Fitzpatrick (Kinsale); J McDonnell (Forrest Little); S McGlynn (Portmarnock); M O'Sullivan (The International); R O'Connor (Co. Sligo); S O'Hara (Co. Sligo)
DQ J Murphy (Greenore)
WD P Neville (Bearna); G Young (Nenagh)
BMW’s latest entry to the most popular automotive segment on Earth, the X2 crossover, has just been caught testing at the famed Nurburgring. This upcoming BMW X2 will be an important car for BMW, as it will add another sporty SAC (Sports Activity Coupe) to the brand’s already popular SAC lineup, which already consists of the BMW X4 and X6. However, this one will be the smallest and the cheapest, which will likely make it the best-seller of the group.
Some spy footage has recently surfaced of the upcoming BMW X2 doing some hot laps on the ‘Ring and there are a few, but not many, details we can make out. The first thing we notice is that this specific car looks to be some sort of M Performance model, akin to the BMW X4 M40i. What gives it away is the wheel choice, as they look incredibly similar to the wheels on the BMW M240i. Although, it doesn’t sound like anything sexier than a turbo-four, so who knows.
We’re not sure if BMW is developing some sort of M Performance variant of the X2, such as a BMW X2 M30i, or something of the sort. But this one sort of seems to be that. What we do know is that the X2 will come with the brand’s typical suite of small petrol and diesel engines in most markets. Though, in the US market, it’s likely to only be the 2.0 liter B48 turbo-four pot and Aisin eight-speed automatic. Those engines will be paired with either front or all-wheel drive, likely only the latter in America.
It’s going to be interesting to see what becomes of the BMW X2. It’s built on the brand’s UKL architecture, which underpins everything from the MINI Cooper to the BMW X1, and that’s produced some damn fine handling cars. It could also look quite cool. If it handles as well as we hope, looks as good as we imagine and costs as little as the X1, it will be a huge hit.
The article VIDEO: 2018 BMW X2 caught testing at the ‘Ring appeared first on BMW BLOG
Cork Golf Club
Delgany's Marc Nolan and Royal Dublin's Stephen Healy held a one-stroke lead entering Sunday's final two rounds of the Munster Strokeplay Championship at Cork Golf Club.
Both men shot rounds of 73 and 75 to lead by the minimum from Douglas' Peter O'Keeffe (74-75_ on 148.
West of Ireland champion Barry Anderson was tied fourth on 151 with fellow Royal Dublin man Ian O'Rourke with Lee Valley Scratch Cup winner Gary O'Flaherty, Galway's Ronan Mullarney and Massereene's Tiarnan McLarnon just four adrift on 152.
148 M Nolan (Delgany), 73, 75; S Healy (The Royal Dublin), 73, 75
149 P O'Keeffe (Douglas), 74, 75
151 B Anderson (The Royal Dublin), 77, 74; I O'Rourke (The Royal Dublin), 72, 79
152 G O'Flaherty (Cork), 78, 74; R Mullarney (Galway), 77, 75; T McLarnon (Massereene), 76, 76
153 S Carter (The Royal Dublin), 78, 75; M Ford (Cork), 75, 78; L Donnelly (Kilkenny), 74, 79; E Griffin (Waterford), 74, 79; J Murphy (Kinsale), 74, 79; I O'Flynn (Cork), 73, 80
154 R Symington (Lisburn), 75, 79; S Barry (Fota Island), 75, 79
155 R Brazill (Naas), 80, 75; M Morrissey (Co. Sligo), 78, 77
156 J Hickey (Cork), 81, 75
157 C Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown), 78, 79
158 B Murray (Waterford Castle), 78, 80; T O'Connor (Athlone), 74, 84
159 S Bleakley (Shandon Park), 79, 80; H Foley (The Royal Dublin), 78, 81; P Flynn (Tramore), 77, 82
160 P Murray (Clontarf), 79, 81; J Fletcher (Warrenpoint), 78, 82; E Farrell (Ardee), 78, 82; S Desmond (Monkstown), 77, 83
161 A McCormack (Castletroy), 81, 80; J Logue (Hilton Templepatrick), 79, 82
162 R Knightly (The Royal Dublin), 84, 78; D Reidy (Co. Sligo), 82, 80; D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh), 81, 81; J Sugrue (Mallow), 80, 82; E Leahy (Cahir Park), 77, 85
163 K Crowley (Fota Island), 80, 83; P Tobin (Cork), 80, 83; M Power (Kilkenny), 78, 85
164 C Dowling (Mallow), 86, 78; C Butler (Kinsale), 84, 80; M Shanahan (Castlemartyr), 78, 86; T Ford (Co. Sligo), 78, 86; D Foy (Laytown & Bettystown), 76, 88;
165 D O'Donovan (Muskerry), 86, 79; S Hogan (Nenagh), 81, 84;
166 T Neenan (Lahinch), 87, 79; J Howard (Fota Island), 86, 80; R Pierse (Grange), 82, 84; R Hynes (The Royal Dublin), 81, 85; E O'Brien (Clontarf), 78, 88;
167 R Berkeley (Dun Laoghaire), 83, 84; W Small (Tandragee), 81, 86; T Cleary (Woodstock), 79, 88;
168 A McDaid (Palmerstown Stud), 83, 85; H O'Hare (Fortwilliam), 81, 87;
169 M Collins (Killeen Castle), 88, 81; A Mulhall (Waterford Castle), 83, 86; S Brady (Galway), 80, 89; J O'Brien (Castlemartyr), 83, 88
DQ G Ward (Kinsale)
NR C Nolan (Galway); K McCarthy (Kinsale); B McGarry (Nenagh); D McMahon (Castletroy); J ryan (Castletroy); K Fitzpatrick (Kinsale); J Mc Donnell (Forrest Little); S McGlynn (Portmarnock); M O'Sullivan (The International); R O'Connor (Co. Sligo); S O'HARA (Co. Sligo)
DQ J Murphy (Greenore)
WD P Neville (Bearna); G YOUNG (Nenagh)
BEIJING, CHINA - APRIL 30: Alexander Levy of France holds the trophy celebrates after winning the 2017 Volvo China Open at Topwin Golf and Country Club on April 30, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Alexander Levy became the first man to win the Volvo China Open twice as he defeated Dylan Frittelli in a play-off at Topwin Golf and Country Club.
The 2014 champion began the final round seven shots behind the overnight leader but birdied the last in a 67 to get to 17 under and force a play-off.
In search of a maiden European Tour victory, Frittelli sent his second shot into the last over the hospitality tent and had to settle for a par, a closing 74 and a trip back up the 18th.
Levy found the fairway off the tee while Frittelli sent his drive right into a bunker but after the Frenchman found sand with his second, both men were left with birdie putts. Frittelli missed his attempt and Levy rolled home from 15 feet to claim victory and a perfect birthday present for caddie Tom Ayling.
The triumph offers Levy some redemption after he lost a play-off in China at the 2014 BMW Masters and hands him his second consecutive victory via a play-off after his win at the Porsche European Open in September.
Pablo Larrazábal began the day as Frittelli's closest challenger and the Spaniard signed for a closing 72 to finish at 16 under, a shot clear of Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and England's Chris Wood.
Wiesberger - last week's winner after a play-off in Shenzhen - carded a closing 67 with Wood signing for a 68. Meanwhile, YE Yang - the 2010 champion - recorded the round of the day in a 66 to join Ross Fisher at 14 under, a shot clear of George Coetzee and two ahead of Jorge Campillo and Soomin Lee.
"That's an amazing feeling to be back in the winner's circle. On the 12th I saw the leaderboard and I was four shots behind and I came onto 15 and saw it was only one shot and I was really surprised. At that moment I started thinking I can win this tournament.
"This means a lot because it was the first tournament I won on the European Tour. I won last year after a bad injury and to come back with the win was very tough for me. I'm really happy with what I did today.
"Happy birthday to my caddie because it's his birthday today and I think it's a really good present.
"It's a goal and a dream for me to play the Ryder Cup in France. I will do a lot of work to play the Ryder Cup and I will do my best to be part of the team."
“It stings a little bit. I let it go there in the end but I’m still proud of the way I played this week, it’s a great result – 17 under par on this golf course is nothing to scoff at – proud of Alex, he played well there to come back. Most people probably thought I had it in the bag with 18 holes to go but he stuck to it and played well there in the playoff.
It was tough for me to get motivated, I had a three or four shot lead at one stage and I was trying to make birdies but I couldn’t get them to go. A couple mistakes on the back nine, with two bad breaks, but I’ll take the good and the bad, and definitely work on getting in there and getting in contention later down the season. I’m sure I’m going to win hopefully this season – that would be a great goal to achieve.
“I am hoping to have a very long career so I’m not going to let this get me down or be upset with anything, Alex played well to win and he won the tournament with the birdie in the play-off, so I will take that out of it.
“It’s tough to describe, when they open the door of the tournament so many times, and it was like a theme that I couldn’t get in.
“Only one birdie until 18 - a putt that I missed for an eagle of nine foot – nothing was getting in, all the good putts where going short and all the opportunities I had for birdie I couldn’t make.
“I’m not disappointed because I try my best and my best today was level par and to finish one short, but when you give your best you have to be happy and it’s one of those days where on the flight tonight I will be pretty sad.
“To shoot eight under par and six under par in two rounds, and be leading the tournament by a few going into the weekend is very positive. At the Trophee Hassan I had a chance to win and I shot two over par, today I had probably the best chance in a very long time and I couldn’t perform, so there is a lot to learn.
“I know I am going to win soon, but we cannot go two over par in Morocco and level par today to win golf tournaments. You have to make birdies to win a golf tournament and I didn’t do that today.
“It was pretty good, lots of good signs but when you get close to winning its hard. When you don’t really give yourself a good chance and a push but a couple of things just didn’t go my way but I played nice.
“It’s probably as nice as I have played over the season really, getting the scores as well, but to shoot a consistent week of scores and rounds is good.
Final Round Scores:
271 A Levy (Fra) 63 70 71 67, D Frittelli (RSA) 70 63 64 74,
272 P Larrazábal (Esp) 64 66 70 72,
273 C Wood (Eng) 72 68 65 68, B Wiesberger (Aut) 69 68 69 67,
274 R Fisher (Eng) 73 70 64 67, Y Yang (Kor) 69 68 71 66,
275 G Coetzee (RSA) 67 69 71 68,
276 J Campillo (Esp) 68 70 70 68, S Lee (Kor) 69 65 73 69,
277 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 73 66 71 67, L Haotong (Chn) 69 71 67 70,
278 M Hendry (Nzl) 72 67 71 68, J Walters (RSA) 71 70 68 69, K Moon (Kor) 69 71 66 72, B Hebert (Fra) 70 72 66 70, R Jacquelin (Fra) 67 71 71 69,
279 J Quesne (Fra) 74 68 69 68, R Karlberg (Swe) 69 71 71 68, D Fichardt (RSA) 69 71 72 67, B Stone (RSA) 70 71 70 68, P Khongwatmai (Tha) 70 73 68 68, R Paratore (Ita) 74 68 68 69,
280 C Yi (Chn) 68 72 67 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 70 70 68 72, J Van Zyl (RSA) 68 69 71 72, D Lipsky (USA) 69 71 69 71, R Wattel (Fra) 72 71 66 71, R Cho (Kor) 72 70 67 71, W Ashun (Chn) 71 70 68 71,
281 J Luiten (Ned) 68 69 76 68, P Uihlein (USA) 72 66 71 72, J Morrison (Eng) 67 74 68 72, T Olesen (Den) 71 67 70 73, F Zanotti (Par) 71 67 73 70,
282 M Ilonen (Fin) 70 70 69 73, S Walker (Eng) 69 74 70 69, S Chawrasia (Ind) 71 72 68 71, M Manassero (Ita) 70 70 72 70, R Gouveia (Por) 74 67 67 74, N Elvira (Esp) 73 70 70 69,
283 P Angles (Esp) 70 68 71 74, G Storm (Eng) 69 68 75 71, M Southgate (Eng) 71 72 69 71, N Colsaerts (Bel) 72 66 71 74, M Siem (Ger) 71 70 74 68, P Peterson (USA) 69 69 71 74,
284 F Aguilar (Chi) 73 67 72 72, J Norris (Aus) 70 73 66 75, B Dredge (Wal) 72 68 72 72, B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 67 74 73, S Brazel (Aus) 73 70 67 74, T Jaidee (Tha) 72 71 67 74, T Detry (Bel) 70 66 73 75, R Rock (Eng) 72 70 72 70,
285 C Paisley (Eng) 73 70 67 75, L Bjerregaard (Den) 71 72 70 72, D Howell (Eng) 71 71 69 74,
286 J Wang (Kor) 73 66 74 73, B Rumford (Aus) 71 71 70 74, Y Wo-Cheng (Chn) 74 69 73 70,
287 R Ramsay (Sco) 71 72 72 72, S Zi-Han (Chn) 73 70 75 69,
289 J Choi (Kor) 69 70 74 76,
290 D Burmester (RSA) 67 70 73 80, M Guyatt (Aus) 72 71 72 75,
294 W Hongfu (Chn) 72 70 76 76,
RET P Hanson (Swe) 67 71 RT 0,
144 G Bourdy (Fra) 76 68 0 0, H Wen-Yi (Chn) 71 73 0 0, F Shiyu (Chn) 73 71 0 0, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 74 0 0, C Pigem (Esp) 74 70 0 0, S Gallacher (Sco) 71 73 0 0, T Rongjian (Chn) 73 71 0 0, N Cullen (Aus) 74 70 0 0, G Stal (Fra) 73 71 0 0, A Cañizares (Esp) 71 73 0 0, D Drysdale (Sco) 71 73 0 0, R Langasque (Fra) 73 71 0 0, S Dong (Chn) 71 73 0 0, L Slattery (Eng) 75 69 0 0, R Fox (Nzl) 70 74 0 0, J Smith (Eng) 69 75 0 0,
145 J Singh (Ind) 73 72 0 0, R Bland (Eng) 74 71 0 0, M Carlsson (Swe) 74 71 0 0, H Porteous (RSA) 74 71 0 0, N Tantipokhakul (Tha) 74 71 0 0, A Otaegui (Esp) 70 75 0 0, J Kaske (Fin) 71 74 0 0, N Sae-Ueng (Tha) 75 70 0 0, G Bhullar (Ind) 74 71 0 0, X Bowen (Chn) 75 70 0 0, M Kieffer (Ger) 69 76 0 0, A Knappe (Ger) 72 73 0 0, Y Kim (Kor) 74 71 0 0, D McKenzie (Aus) 73 72 0 0,
146 S Hend (Aus) 76 70 0 0, J Da-Xing (Chn) 74 72 0 0, A Wall (Eng) 71 75 0 0, M Sim (Aus) 75 71 0 0, T Bjørn (Den) 74 72 0 0,
147 L Yan Wei (Chn) 70 77 0 0, M Korhonen (Fin) 74 73 0 0, B Kim (Kor) 76 71 0 0, S Kim (Kor) 76 71 0 0, A Dodt (Aus) 72 75 0 0, J Scrivener (Aus) 75 72 0 0, L Xin-Yang (Chn) 77 70 0 0, A Björk (Swe) 73 74 0 0, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 73 74 0 0, W Dongyu (Chn) 76 71 0 0,
148 G Kim (Kor) 77 71 0 0, W Zi-Ting (Chn) 74 74 0 0, S Jeffress (Aus) 76 72 0 0, C Zi-Hao (Chn) 71 77 0 0, E Molinari (Ita) 74 74 0 0, H Shao-Cai (Chn) 78 70 0 0, Y Jian-Feng (Chn) 77 71 0 0,
149 J Lagergren (Swe) 75 74 0 0, N Bertasio (Ita) 75 74 0 0,
150 G Havret (Fra) 80 70 0 0, R Dillon (USA) 77 73 0 0, Z Hui-Lin (Chn) 78 72 0 0, C Shinkwin (Eng) 71 79 0 0, Y Hao (Chn) 73 77 0 0, M Baldwin (USA) 77 73 0 0, J Zunic (Aus) 73 77 0 0,
151 Y Tian (Chn) 80 71 0 0, L Xue-Wen (Chn) 75 76 0 0, H Ze-Yu (Chn) 75 76 0 0, L Lu Sen (Tpe) 75 76 0 0,
152 W Chang-Wei (Chn) 78 74 0 0, Z Junbin (Chn) 77 75 0 0,
153 D Chen Xiao (Chn) 76 77 0 0, B Snyder (USA) 73 80 0 0, O Zheng (Chn) 78 75 0 0, M Mikura (am) (Jpn) 74 79 0 0,
154 Y Yi-Nong (Chn) 78 76 0 0, T Kim (Kor) 79 75 0 0,
155 L Tighe (Aus) 76 79 0 0, L Ding-Feng (Chn) 78 77 0 0, Z Jin (Chn) 79 76 0 0, C Yilong (Chn) 78 77 0 0,
156 Z Lianwei (Chn) 76 80 0 0,
158 W Wei-Huang (Chn) 79 79 0 0, N Holman (Aus) 77 81 0 0, Z Zhu (Chn) 81 77 0 0,
159 Z Zi-Hong (Chn) 81 78 0 0,
160 C Ding-Gen (Chn) 79 81 0 0,
161 H Ren (Chn) 81 80 0 0,
162 C Hai-Meng (Chn) 86 76 0 0,
WD/RT L Jensen (Den) 76 WD, L Yuxin (Chn) 83 RT, L Chun (Chn) RT.
Some say that the feared 'Tramuntana' wind that blows down from the Pyrenees across l’Empordà in Catalonia in northeast Spain either turns a man mad or inspires him to creative heights.
For Francis Howley, the new head professional at Portmarnock Golf Club, the wind that inspired the great Catalan writer Josep Pla and shaped the imagination of Salvador Dalí proved to be a welcoming wind of change.
Raised in the shadow of Ben Bulben in Rosses Point and weaned on golf from the time he was a child, he progressed from sitting in the West of Ireland trophy when he was two (making the semi-finals of that great championship 25 years ago) to playing on the European Tour.
Tour ambitions had fuelled the young Sligo man from the moment he discovered that he'd prefer to do his PGA apprenticeship under John Harnett at Milltown than study accountancy.
And having come through Q-School alongside Pádraig Harrington, David Higgins, Jimmy Heggarty and John McHenry in 1995, he lived the tour "dream" for six years when the famous "Tramuntana" gave him the clarity to see that it was time for a new start that leaves him where he is today — just the sixth head professional to serve at Portmarnock since 1900, following in the footsteps of Willie Nolan, Eddie Hackett, Harry Bradshaw, Peter Townsend and Joey Purcell.
Hello, World!
"I played the tour until I was 31 or 32 when it came to a stage where it wasn't working out," the 45-year old recalled this week. "And what made up my mind was I got through to the final stage of Q-School at Peralada in Catalonia in 2001.
"I opened up with a 77 or 78 and was way off the mark, but came back with a 67 or 68 and was just one outside the qualifying mark with one round to go. And I was doing nicely the next day after 14 holes, one under in very windy conditions, when the round was suspended for high winds.
"So we sat around in the clubhouse for a day and a half and eventually they shortened the event to 54 holes. So I went, that's fine. I'm missing out. But I also thought it was a sign that it was time to move on. In fact, I took it as a blessing in disguise."
A few months later, he was appointed as Ballyliffin's first professional, beginning a new career in club golf that gave him a broad grounding in what it means to be the face of a club, teaching him some of the many skills required by the modern club professional.
Not only did it make him a better teacher, he also learned about running competitions, about marketing and the ambassadorial duties that he would later hone at Carton House, where he was head pro from 2004 to 2007 and Director of Golf for another nine years before taking over as Head Professional at Portmarnock last November.
It was a wrench to leave Donegal for County Kildare and equally difficult to say goodbye to the Mallaghan family at Carton House, who became close friends.
As a son of Rosses Point, he immediately understood what it meant to be passionate about your club and having been infused by the club spirit that was the mainstay of County Sligo, Milltown, Ballyliffin and Carton House, moving to the venerable golfing terrain of Portmarnock is clearly a natural fit.
Embed from Getty Images"Portmarnock has only had five pros in the last 100 years, so it's a huge honour to follow in the footsteps of some of the great names in Irish golf at a club like Portmarnock, which upholds all the great traditions of the game," Howley said.
While not wholly detached from the marketing and daily running of Portmarnock, taking up his new role has meant a return to his golfing roots and the love of the game instilled in him by his late father, Declan, a former President of the Golfing Union of Ireland.
"Once you are passionate about something, you put your heart and soul into it," he said. "And they are passionate about golf at Portmarnock where it's been a case of going back to being a traditional pro — running the golf shop, giving lessons to members, playing golf with them and welcoming their guests and visitors.
"My roles at Ballyliffin and Carton have prepared me for my new role. The pro's shop is the hub of every golf club and the role of the professional at Portmarnock is an ambassadorial role for the club."
With 120 juniors on the books, he's busy preparing coaching programmes that will surely produce more championship winners to follow in the footsteps of recent homegrown stars such as Noel Fox or last year's South of Ireland champion Conor Purcell.
"It's all about the golf at Portmarnock, and since I came here, I've found that I now play a lot more," he said. "There's a real tradition for the game, which is fantastic, and a huge emphasis on the junior and the future of the club."
Francis Howley at his new home, Portmarnock Golf Club
With the club set to celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2019 by hosting the British Amateur Championship, thoughts of other big events at Portmarnock are secondary for now.
The arrival of The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019 is enough to make any Irish golfer wonders if the R&A would ever consider a move south of the border.
Howley has no idea, only venturing that it would be "fantastic". But he is sure of one thing — the love of the game will never wane at his new home.
"What amazed me about Portmarnock is the pride and passion they have for the club," he said. "The welcome I got made me immediately think, 'Wow, this was the right move.'"
So much has happened in the 25 years since he lost to Ken Kearney in the semi-finals of the West, Howley finds it impossible to imagine what the next 25 years might bring.
Asked what kind of mark he’d like to leave on the venerable old links, he thought long and had and reflected on those who paved the way for him.
“It goes back to being an ambassador for the club,” he said, thinking back to the likes his predecessors such as Willie Nolan and Harry Bradshaw. "If my name is associated with Portmarnock Golf Club in the same way as the names of the men who came before me, I will have achieved a lot."
This piece first appeared in the Irish Independent's weekly golf supplement, Tee To Green on April 27.
Ok, so it’s time again to compare the BMW M3 with the Mercedes-AMG C63 S and the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio. It seems as if journalists just can’t get enough of these three together and neither can we. This time, though, there’s a twist. Which ever car is the fastest of these three in a drag race has to take on the mighty HSV GTSR W1 (which is possibly the worst car name in the history of the automobile. Did they name it after an MRI machine?). If you don’t know what the HVR is, it’s a 636 hp rear-wheel drive Australian monster built on the same platform as the Chevy SS.
First up is the two Germans, as the BMW M3 Comp Pack, in this case, takes on the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. It should be a pretty straight forward race. The M3 makes 444 hp and the AMG makes 502. And it ends up being that straight forward, as the AMG takes a commanding early lead that it never relinquishes.
After the AMG beats the M3, it has to take on the young Italian. The Alfa Romeo has the same amount of power but is lighter and uses a better gearbox. So it has a good chance of beating the AMG. And it does, with a good convincing finish. What’s impressive is that the Alfa Romeo makes the same power and is faster through the drag race while using a smaller engine. The Alfa’s 2.9 liter twin-turbo V6 is considerably smaller than the AMG’s 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8. Still, though, Italy takes the victory.
Which means it’s time for it to take on Australia and the 636 hp HSV. Sorry to spoil it, but it’s not exactly a surprise. The HSV wins by a large margin. It struggles putting power down at first, as that sort of power is hard to wrangle, but once it hooks up it’s a rocket. That’s a lot of power in a sedan and it’s the most powerful Australian car ever produced. So it takes the ultimate victory here. It’s still ugly and has a dumb name, though.
The article VIDEO: BMW M3 Comp Pack vs Mercedes-AMG C63 S vs Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio — Drag Race appeared first on BMW BLOG
Even though the current-gen F15 BMW X5 is still a great looking car that has loads of space, is extremely luxurious and drives well, it’s getting close to that time where it needs replacing. It’s still highly competitive in its segment, which is surprising considering the X3 was non-competitive far before its replacement coming later this year. But, despite that, BMW is currently working on a successor to take on its impressive new competitors from Volvo and Land Rover. This new BMW X5 successor was recently just caught testing in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The first thing you notice about the new X5 is its aggressive rear haunches. They’re massive and stick out further than on the current-gen car. This gives the new X5 a wider, sportier look that looks almost odd on such a big vehicle. Though, don’t put too much stock in this as BMW has faked us with false body panels before.
In the video, we don’t see much of the car, as it’s just driving around town, so we don’t get to see any hot laps on the ‘Ring. But we do get a good look at its size and proportions, which look pretty BMW X5-ish. The proportions don’t seem to have changed much over the previous car, but that’s not really a big deal as the current car still looks very good. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, I guess.
Being that BMW’s design language has been based on rather incremental, evolutionary changes, rather than drastic revolutionary ones, as of late, this isn’t surprising. It should still be a good looking car and one that will sell like crazy but don’t expect a drastic change in design. For better or worse.
The article VIDEO: Upcoming 2019 BMW X5 spied in Copenhagen appeared first on BMW BLOG
When driving quickly, there are two things that can happen if you’re pushing the limits of the car — oversteer and understeer. If misunderstood and not handled properly, these two events can lead to catastrophic crashes. However, in understood and handled properly, they can be easily mitigated and even fun, in the case of oversteer. So, in this, admittedly very short, video, BMW gives us a brief lesson on what to do during each.
The video is incredibly short and only really scratches the surface of what oversteer and understeer are, however it is helpful. First, we get to see a bunch of BMW M cars, everything from an M2 to an M5, lapping a race track and doing a bit of slidey stuff. It looks fun and there’s upbeat music in the background as if we’re learning about driving in “Night at the Roxbury”.
Then, we get a bit of a lesson on both oversteer and understeer, albeit a brief one, from Colin Turkington, Team BMW Racing Driver in the British Touring Car Championship. We learn that oversteer is when the car turns more than expected and over-rotates and understeer is when the front tires lose grip and skip off the pavement rather than turn. Now, we all know that oversteer is fun but slow and understeer is frustrating and dangerous.
Turkington explains that, during both understeer and oversteer, the worst thing to do is hit the brakes. What you want to do instead, in the case of understeer, is to unwind the steering wheel and turn in again. While this might seem counter-intuitive to do while you’re understeering, the idea is to scrub some speed and straighten the wheels out so they can get some grip and then turn in again.
During an oversteer situation, the main instinct is to lift off the throttle but don’t. Keep your right foot where it is, maybe back of a bit but do not lift, and apply opposite steering lock and point the car where you want it to go. Eventually it will straighten out and so should the steering wheel as it does.
This is too brief a video to really teach anyone about oversteer/understeer, but it’s helpful nevertheless.
[Source: CarScoops]The article VIDEO: BMW talks oversteer/understeer for BMW Driving Experiences appeared first on BMW BLOG
