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Recap: 2013 Spanish Grand Prix is Catalan for 'Lottery' and 'More pit stops'

This year's Formula One season might qualify as being just as crazy as last year's, only it's a different kind of crazy. Instead of a new winner every Sunday, how the winner actually manages to take the victory is the mystery, and just when we thought the season might have settled into a groove regarding team performance, here comes the Spanish Grand Prix to remind us that we don't know anything until the race has been run.
There were many similarities to past weekends to being this one: Mercedes-AMG Petronas showed awesome one-lap pace, Fernando Alonso did well enough in qualifying to get fifth on the grid but talked up the race pace of the Ferrari, Kimi Räikkönen was the equivalent of a racing photobomber, never saying much but always showing up in the picture, Felipe Massa wasn't really big on the tires and McLaren might want to consider starting a blues band they spend so much time singing them.
Then the lights went green and things went nuts...

Lotus F1 Team Breaks World Record For Longest Truck Jump

Lotus F1 wasn't content to make just any commercial for their technology partner EMC Industries. It had to be one for the record books. The video released over the weekend shows a truck breaking the world record for longest jump ever completed by a truck. The stunt was obviously geared towards publicity, but while they were at it, they set a Guinness World Record for the longest truck jump at 83 feet, 7 inches. The previous record, according to Guinness, stood at 50 feet, 6 inches, and was set on MTV's Nitro Circus on November 17, 2008, by Gregg Godfrey at Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City. That record stood for six years, but (as best we can tell) was set without the trailer attached, or the F1 car tracking underneath - which only makes this latest stunt that much more impressive. Stunt driver Mike Ryan planned the jump and drove the truck off the ramp and over fellow stunt driver Martin Ivanov as he sped underneath in a Lotus F1 race car. And just so you know no CGI was involved, EMC industries included a making of video on their website.

Lotus chief promises upcoming SUV will be true to brand

Lotus isn't the first sports car manufacturer getting into the crossover game. It's just the latest, and perhaps most surprising. That's because the British automaker made its name by keeping things as light as possible, and SUVs are anything but. Still, the company's chief executive is adamant that the crossover will be very light... and very Lotus. Speaking with TopGear.com, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales asserted, "If Colin Chapman was alive I believe he would have done" a crossover. That's a pretty bold claim made in the name of the man known for his featherweight sports and racing cars, but Gales may not just be blowing hot air. "It will be the size of a Porsche Macan but only 1600kg, and will be the most agile and fastest of that class on a track," Gales told TG. "It's logical for us to make one in the Macan segment - the rest are all two tons, even a BMW X3. They take a normal car platform with big tires and brakes and transmission. We will use a four-cylinder engine." Keeping it light will be a vital part of the equation for Lotus, but it won't be all. It'll also have to bring up the quality, because quirks that owners might forgive in a sports car might not be tolerated to the same extent in a more mainstream product. Fortunately, Gales has been working on that ever since he took charge of the company just last year. He'll have that much more time to get it right by the time the crossover hits the Chinese market in 2019 or 2020. The vehicle is being designed principally for that market, and will be built locally. The design and engineering work is being carried out, however, at the company's headquarters in Hethel, England. Two designs are reportedly being considered, each with signature Lotus design traits to convey the image of light weight, with a profile reminiscent of the Elite four-seater from the 1970s. If the model proves a success in China, it could make its way back to the UK and Europe, though North American availability remains a question mark, and Lotus spokespeople have been cagey at best about plans to expand their US offerings. Gales also told TG that the crossover will end up only helping the company's sports car offerings, not hurting them. Increasing its quality will be one part, but developing more robust components (like air conditioning systems) will be another. At very least, it will help Lotus stay profitable and fund future sports car projects that may not be possible based on their own revenues alone.