The 2008 Speedy Tour de Indonesia kicks off in Jakarta on Sunday, with about 90 cyclists from 7 foreign teams and 10 local teams.  Top prize is $100,000.  The cyclists will travel a 1,072 miles from Jakarta to Bali in 12 stages.

Event director Sofian Ruzian said this year’s race will challenge riders with more demanding routes.  "The riders will go through stages with steeper slopes, such as the hilly Alas Roban and Gombel region in Central Java, and Kintamani in Bali," Sofian said at a news conference in Jakarta.  The organizers plan to use an "open-close" arrangement for the traffic, because the road conditions won’t allow to use closed-routes.

More at the Jakarta Post

  

Mike Wood has a 1994 Ford Mustang converted to a diesel engine that gets 35 mpg on the highway.  But on closer inspection you’ll see the engine pushes 1,200 horsepower, making his car the fastest diesel-powered street-legal car in the world.

Wood is CEO of Nitrous Express, which produces high-performance car parts for a global market.  It took him about a year and $50,000 to convert a regular sports car into one speedy racer.

Read the whole story at Reporter News