Lamborghini unveiled the Urus concept that previews an SUV set to become the brand's third model line. The supercar maker foresees annual sales of 3,000 for the SUV, with China, the U.S., Europe, Russia and the Middle East as the main markets.
Lamborghini unveiled the Urus concept that previews an SUV set to become the brand's third model line. The super carmaker foresees annual sales of 3,000 for the SUV, with China, the U.S., Europe, Russia and the Middle East as the main markets.
European automakers are showcasing luxury concepts at this year's Beijing auto show to help boost sales in what for many of them is their biggest market.
Force India is remaining publicly silent after its cars were excluded from television coverage of qualifying in Bahrain.
Paul di Resta raced into the decisive Q3 segment but, justifying the apparent black-out, Bernie Ecclestone said "nobody cares" about the cars that are not in the running for pole.
Rumours are intensifying that Force India was maliciously excluded from the sport's 'world feed' - controlled by Ecclestone's Formula One Management - because the Silverstone based team sat out a practice session over staff's safety fears.
The F1 chief executive told reporters: "I suspect it (the blackout) was more to do with the Bahrain laws on no alcohol advertising.
"They have a whisky company prominently on the car. They should have taken it off. The TV could not show that," said Ecclestone.
Force India's deputy team boss Bob Fernley, in charge this weekend in Vijay Mallya's absence, would not comment.
Indeed, McLaren and Sauber are not running their usual alcohol sponsors this weekend, but Red Bull was shown on television throughout the Bahrain grand prix weekend so far with its Singha beer brand signage.
And Force India's whisky sponsor Whyte and Mackay was seen on the world feed in Bahrain in Friday morning practice, before the team decided to sit out the second session.
Meanwhile, authoritative media sources have been briefed to the effect that Force India's current livery was approved well in advance of this weekend's race.
A team insider told the Guardian: "Everyone knows what happened. Bernie is giving Force India a slap on the wrist for missing Friday's second practice session."
Di Resta was also asked about the FOM-snub rumours.
"I've seen some stuff on Twitter," he admitted, "but I was in the garage or in my car driving so I saw my car."
Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday confirmed reports France is definitely heading back to the F1 calendar.
Reports earlier this weekend said authorities had "finally agreed" a figure for the sanctioning fee with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.
It is expected that the Ecclestone-owned Paul Ricard will share an annually alternating grand prix date with Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, beginning in 2013.
"Yes," the 81-year-old Briton told French daily L'Équipe in the Bahrain paddock on Sunday.
"The deal is done," said Ecclestone.
"We agreed the financial terms with the sports minister David Douillet, in my office on Tuesday.
"We are still discussing a few things about money: 'You give me this, I want that'," he added.
"But, for me, there is no doubt, we will sign it now," said Ecclestone.
He said the outcome of the forthcoming presidential elections in France will not spoil the deal.
"Whatever happens, I don't care," said Ecclestone. "That's a local issue that doesn't concern me."
Davide Valsecchi clinched his second victory this season, as the italian driver won the race 1 presented in Bahrain.
Valsecchi set the pole position and then drove his car like he had stole it, on the Saturday race. He concluded the race ahead of Luis Razia, while Esteban Gutierrez, who started from second place on the grid, grabbed third position from Max Chilton in the last lap, recovering from a bad tire change that cost him a handful of seconds.
Sepang's Race 2 winner, James Calado took fifth place ahead of Tom Dillmann who performed a great catch up from his 15th position on the grid. Fabio Leimer took eighth position behind Fabio Onidi, and will therefore start from pole position in Race 2, because of the reversed top 8 regulations.
Race 1 results - Bahrain (GP2)
1 - Davide Valsecchi - Dams - 32 laps in 59min31.115s
2 - Luiz Razia - Arden + 7.770s
3 - Esteban Gutierrez - Lotus +13.528s
4 - Max Chilton - Carlin + 14.088s
5 - James Calado - Lotus + 16.278s
6 - Tom Dillmann - Rapax + 16.559s
7 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering + 17.243s
8 - Fabio Onidi - Coloni + 28.109s
Etc.
He may be in Bahrain, but Fernando Alonso's mind is thinking firmly ahead to Europe as the Spaniard prepares to struggle on Sunday yet again.
Ferrari's number one driver squeezed into Q3 with the struggling F2012 on Saturday, and is targeting some minor points on Sunday.
"The two McLarens and the two Red Bulls are at the front, and there's (also) Rosberg," Alonso is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport, predicting how Sunday's race will unfold.
"We're not going to go past them. For us, we are racing behind the top five."
He is hoping it will be his latest and last experience of life as a midfielder in 2012.
For Barcelona, the first European race of the season mid next month, Ferrari - so disappointed with its start to the season - is planning a major upgrade for the F2012.
An added bonus is that it can be tested at Mugello in early May.
"Despite our problems I am in third place in the championship, and tomorrow (Sunday) I have a chance to score well. That's more than we expected.
"Next is Barcelona, a most important race for us. I hope the season starts again for me (there)," said Alonso.
McLaren will join top-team rivals Ferrari and Red Bull on F1's board.
It had emerged last month that only Ferrari and Red Bull had been offered the special deals for the new Concorde Agreement, including the right to nominate directors for the sport's holding company.
But new reports on Thisismoney.co.uk and in the Daily Mail, by the respected F1 business news writers Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid, say McLaren has also been given a seat on the board by F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.
The report said the move could "dilute opposition" to Ecclestone's plans to float formula one on the Singapore stock exchange.
Sources said the floatation plans must be approved by the board.
Ecclestone told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport this week that it was his suggestion that F1 be floated in Singapore, not in London.
"Formula one is known in Singapore, and Asia is thriving. It is a simpler market and not as restrictive," he said.
The 81-year-old said just a year ago that F1 would never float whilst under his control, because "there's no way I would sit in front of a load of shareholders".
"Let's wait and see," he now insists.
"Shareholders are always happy when they're making money. As long as we can guarantee that, they will leave us in peace."
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton lost some precious time - and points - because of bad pitstops during the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Twice Hamilton stormed into the pits, twice the left rear gun man struggled his his task.
Almost alarming, considering Jenson Button, a week earlier, lost a shot at victory during the Chinese Grand Prix in the pits.
"I have no idea what went on but I was hoping the second time I came I wouldn't have that problem," Hamilton says on AUTOSPORT.com.
"I was hoping that it would be a good pit stop but it was exactly the same, if not a little bit longer, than the previous one."
The responsible mechanic was relieved from his role for the third stop, and a investigation will be carried out by McLaren, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said.
BMW will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its high-performance M division with a limited run of M3 Coupé Frozen Silver Edition models.
Only a hundred of the 420-hp, V8-equipped models will be produced, set to go on sale in the UK in June.
Photo: BMW
M components include the standard 7-speed DCT transmission and variable differential, while bespoke features are a unique Frozen Silver metallic paint, a first for BMW, matte black alloy wheels, dark chrome exhaust, side gills and kidney surrounds, and Jet Black hood intakes. A high-gloss Shadowline exterior trim finishes off the exterior.
Black Novillo leather with contrast stitching and Palladium leather armrests and inserts highlight the interior, along with an Alcantara-clad steering wheel with M3 chequered flag motif. Splashes of carbon fibre underscore M's sporty cred. An M-Power stitched handbrake and limited edition plaque complete the cachet.
All told, it's a little over $14K in equipment over the standard M3 for just over $6,000. Brit fans of the M Coupé can order theirs for about $93,500.
Davide Valsecchi (DAMS) clinched his third success in three races after he won race 2 in Bahrain.
The Italian driver, who started from eighth position on the grid, had a great catch-up to the lead, and took a second victory this weekend after he won race 1 on Saturday.
Valsecchi, who is the new championship leader, crossed the finish line ahead of both Lotus cars with Esteban Gutierrez ahead of James Calado, while Luiz Razia (Arden) took fourth place. He now stands second in provisional championship classification.
Felipe Nasr (DAMS), who started from the back of the grid following a post race penalty for an incident in race 1, stalled his engine while heading to his grid position and thus forced a restart.
When the new formation lap began, it was Tom Dillmann's turn to stall his engine, as the Frenchman was starting from third position on the grid. Both men were forced to start from the pit in the back of the field, but had a great run to the front, finishing the race in position six and 10 respectively.
Race 2 results - GP2 (Bahrain)
1 - Davide Valsecchi - Dams - 22 laps in 39min22.363s
2 - Esteban Gutierrez - Lotus + 0.399s
3 - James Calado - Lotus + 10.617s
4 - Luiz Razia - Arden + 12.463s
5 - Max Chilton - Carlin + 13.573s
6 - Felipe Nasr - Dams + 15.414s
7 - Jolyon Palmer - iSport + 22.950s
8 - Simon Trummer - Arden + 30.425s
9 - Giedo Van der Garde - Caterham + 31.976s
10 - Tom Dillmann - Rapax + 32.545s
Etc.
The 2012 Honda Ridgeline gets a new Sport trim, refreshed grille design, reduced engine friction, more aerodynamic styling and improved fuel efficiency.
With the swan song of the Dodge Dakota last year, Ridgeline competes with the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma. The Ridgeline has always stood out more for distinctive styling and more car-like comfort and handling than work-truck performance, although it can tow up to 2,267 kg (5,000 lb) and has a half-ton payload rating. The Ridgeline still comes in just one body style: four doors, five seats.
Its five-foot-long composite cargo bed features no delineation from the cabin, for a look that's about as sleek as a pickup truck gets. The dual-action tailgate opens down or to the side, for easy access to the 240.7-litre In-Bed Trunk.
Unibody architecture contributes to superior ride and handling, as well as spacious interior dimensions with a midsize footprint. A storage area under the back seat can hold a golf bag, or the rear seating can be lifted up to provide still more storage.
The Sport adds to the VP trim exclusive black 18” alloy wheels (an inch bigger than the VP's), exclusive black honeycomb grille with black surround, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, and black headlight and brake light housings. The sport fits in between the $36,690 VP and $41,990 Touring at $37,690; the base DX starts at $34,990.
All are powered by a 3.5L, 250-hp VTEC V6 engine and five-speed automatic transmission with Grade Logic Control; a fully automatic four-wheel-drive system distributes torque to all four wheels as needed.
AJ Allmendinger was just a little surprised when he learned he'd won the pole for the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.
He knew it was "great." On the other hand "I didn't think that the lap was amazing," the former open-wheel driver said after winning his second Sprint Cup Pole.
"It was OK. When Todd (Gordon - his crew chief) told me the lap time, I was shocked by it. We'll start up front, the best that I've ever started here before. I know that I need to be better than I've been. We're getting closer [to a first points-paying win]."
Qualifying was an atypical morning affair meaning that going out early was better for cooler track temperatures rather than afternoon qualifying where later qualifying runs tend to be quicker.
Thus the other surprise was that Allmendinger was one of the last to go out when temperatures were about 10 F degrees warmer than at the start of qualifying.
"We knew going out early would probably be better. It was even more of a surprise that my lap being as good as it was. It shows that we have a fast race car," he explained after turning a lap of 175.993 mph in a Dodge.
Joey Logano went out first, in the coolest temperatures, and quickly set a mark of 175.724 mph, in a Toyota, to win the provisional pole. But Kevin Harvick, who was also one of the later qualifiers, knocked Logano to third with a lap of 175.747 in a Chevrolet.
Series points leader and last week's winner at Texas, Greg Biffle, was 17th and the quickest Ford driver.
Allmendinger, who joined Penske Racing this year, came closest to his first Sprint Cup win when he finished runner-up to Ryan Newman at Martinsville. Now his eyes are set on a victory for his new team.
"More than anything, I put so much pressure on my shoulders to go out there and perform," Allmendinger said. "They [his team] are used to winning, running up front, getting poles. It's good just to build momentum.
"So, hopefully, we have a solid 400 miles. It's good [the pole], but we know the bigger picture's on Sunday, and I'm happy to be part of the team."
Tim Andrews, Jeff Green and Tony Raines failed to qualify for Sunday's race.
Nico Rosberg twice defended his position hard during the Bahrain Grand Prix. The post-race investigation did not yield any penalty for the German.
He once fended off Lewis Hamilton, only for some time though. Then he saved his place from Fernando Alonso's attacks.
Twice he almost crashed.
The stewards felt that, because Rosberg moved in a "constant and continuous straight line manner" and because he did so early enough while under attack, there was no infraction.
Alonso responded rather sarcastically: "I think you are going to have fun in future races! You can defend position as you want and you can overtake outside the track! Enjoy!" he wrote on his Twitter page, as quoted from AUTOSPORT.com.
Pirelli went on the defensive on Sunday, following criticism in the wake of the Bahrain grand prix.
British commentator Martin Brundle said the Italian marque's heavily-degrading 2012 product, so difficult to keep alive and in the narrow performance 'window', is overly dominating the season so far.
Also critical after Bahrain, where tyre performance fell away rapidly in the desert heat, was Michael Schumacher, who told reporters he wanted to talk with Pirelli chiefs about how to improve the situation.
Faced with that sort of criticism on Sunday, Pirelli's motor sport director Paul Hembery said on Twitter: "At the end of last year we had huge criticism for conservative choices and races were boring.
"Make your mind up. We are doing what is asked."
Hembery also argued that how teams tackle their tire strategies will continue to play a big role for only "a few more races, then like last year all change as they get used (to the tires)".
Felipe Massa's future in formula one is at stake in 2012, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has admitted.
He said the struggling Brazilian driver, already fighting to keep his seat with the famous Maranello based team, "needs to improve" for the very sake of his "future in formula one".
Domenicali's latest interview in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo indicates therefore that not only Massa's Ferrari seat is in doubt, but that he might struggle to find any place on the grid next season.
Rubens Barrichello, once the great Michael Schumacher's number two teammate at Ferrari, recently advised his friend Massa to "relax" as he faces being destroyed by the Italian marque's new hero, Fernando Alonso.
"Felipe needs to accept," said Domenicali, "that he is facing a very strong teammate. If not, that hurts him.
"He needs to assume a clear role rather than trying to take advantage -- you need to learn from Fernando, not challenge him.
"That (challenging) is the way to being destroyed by a teammate such as Alonso or Schumacher, who are real cannibals," Domenicali insisted.
Apparently justifying Alonso's dominant position, Domenicali said Ferrari has a "moral obligation to champion" the highly rated Spaniard.
And that influence will extend to the selection of his 2013 teammate, Domenicali hinted.
"He (Alonso) has a central role in the team, and he therefore participates in the important issues," said the Italian.
Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) made it four different winners in four races so far in in 2012.
The German came out on top of a two-way fight with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen who, much like his teammate Romain Grosjean, delivered a great performance for Lotus. They respectively finished second and third.
Both stormed through the field in the opening phase of the grand prix, Raikkonen eventually getting the upper hand over Grosjean.
The Finn gave Vettel a run for his money, but didn't have quite enough to get passed.
Behind, Mark Webber in the second Red Bull had yet another fourth place finish. He enjoyed a calm race, unlike Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), who crossed the line in fifth after dropping to ninth in a hairy first lap.
McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button won't keep a good souvenir of Sakhir.
A bad pitstop dropped Hamilton down the order - he had to settle for eighth after having started beside pole-sitter Vettel - while Button pulled into the pits in the second last lap, discouraged by an early puncture and some late mechanical problems.
Honourable mentions to Paul di Resta (Force India) who, thanks to a good strategy and a solid performance, briefly led a grand prix (for the first time) and to the two Ferrari drivers, Fernando Alonso who squeezed seventh out of his slow F2012 and Felipe Massa who, for once, was close to his teammate in terms of pace.
Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) can also be proud of his effort. From 22nd on the grid, he managed to score 10th place's only point. So it was the 43-year-old who had the last laugh over Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn may have pushed Schumacher out of Q2, but at least the German picked up a point, while the best Kovalainen could pick up was a puncture.
Daniel Ricciardo's (Toro Rosso) promising qualifying run also didn't materialize into good race fortune. The Australian only finished 15th, even though, a day before, he had qualified sixth.
Source: AUTOSPORT.com
Race results - Bahrain Grand Prix From ItaliaRacing.net
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 57 laps
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 3.3s
3 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 10.1s
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 38.7s
5 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 55.4s
6 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 57.5s
7 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 57.8s
8 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 58.9s
9 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1min04.9s
10 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1min11.4s
11 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1min12.7s
12 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1min16.5s
13 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1min30.3s
14 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1min33.7s
15 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1 lap
16 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
17 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
18 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 2 laps
19 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 2 laps
20 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 2 laps
21 - Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 2 laps
Fastest lap by Sebastian Vettel 1min36.379s
Retirements
Lap 54 - Bruno Senna
Lap 26 - Pastor Maldonado
Lap 25 - Charles Pic
Mexico's automobile industry, once focused on small cars and pickup trucks, got a boost this week when Audi AG chose the country as the location for a new factory to build its Q5 sport-utility vehicle for the global market.
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