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In order to get a head start on the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Kurt Busch will take over the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet beginning at the October 13th Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 2004 Sprint Cup champ had originally been announced to leave James Finch Racing and start the next season with Furniture Row. But the team announced, at Dover Speedway, pushing the agenda a little fasters.

“In order to get a jump on developing a driver/team chemistry for the 2013 season, both Kurt and Furniture Row Racing felt that this was an important move to make happen,” said Garone. “While the goal of this decision is to better prepare for 2013, the main focus for the final six races remains the same and that is to reach a competitive level.”

Garone also stated that Smith's Furniture Row Racing contract, which expires at the end of the season, will be fully honoured.

Busch said that he was eager to get the transition started as soon as possible.

“We want to come out of the chute next year ready and raring to go,” said Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. “Driving the Furniture Row Chevrolet in the final six races of this season will obviously give us a big advantage in our preparations for 2013. The energy level is quite high and I can't wait to get out to Colorado to meet all the guys and begin this exciting new journey.”

But Busch was also defensive when asked if this was a lateral move.

“Barney Visser (team owner), this program, they are committed. Their alliance with Richard Childress (Racing), it's there and it's solid. That's why, when you say a lateral move, I don't like it so much. It's a slap in the face to Barney Visser, but everybody in this garage area knows... if you have a hard card (a NASCAR annual credential), you know the differences in the teams.”

From GMM

Sergio Perez is no longer a "pay driver", McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh insists.

Mexican Perez, also backed by Ferrari, started his F1 career by bringing millions in Carlos Slim-linked Telmex dollars to Sauber.

But he is now moving to McLaren, amid speculation Telmex might eventually replace the grandee British team's title sponsor Vodafone.

The Telegraph, however, quotes Whitmarsh as insisting there are no "side deals" to McLaren's Perez contract.

"I did have a conversation with Carlos Slim yesterday but we have made an offer to Sergio, we are paying him well and there are no side deals," he said.

"I'm not saying that ultimately there won't be other fresh partners coming forward because of it but that wasn't the motivating force," insisted Whitmarsh.

He is quoted by Sky Sports F1 HD channel: "He (Perez) is not a pay driver, he is being paid a lot of money.

"Sponsorship was not a factor, we picked Sergio because he is the most exciting young talent in formula one.

"Do I believe there will be some exciting commercial opportunities in the future?  Yes.  Have we looked at them yet?  No."

In the process of merging together, the Grand-Am and ALMS series have announced a shared weekend on their respective 2013 calendar.

The shared venue is a first for the two biggest sports car racing series on the continent. The said venue is set for August 10-11, in Road America.

Furthermore, Grand-Am revealed it would visit three other new tracks next year: Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas), Road Atlanta (Braselton, Georgia) and Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, Kansas).

“Last year we raced for the first time at Indianapolis and Detroit, and Grand-Am will continue to break new ground in 2013,” said Ed Bennett, Grand-Am president and CEO.

“We're excited about going to historic Road Atlanta - plus the new road courses at Austin and Kansas City - for the first time. And with the combined event at Road America, sports car fans will get a glimpse of the future.”

Events returning on the Grand-Am calendar include Mid-Ohio (June 15), Laguna Seca (September 8), and Lime Rock (September 27-28).

From GMM

It could be "months" before Michael Schumacher has decided his future, Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has revealed.

The seven time world champion has lost his race seat for 2013 to Lewis Hamilton, but he has been tipped to switch to Sauber or a team management role at Mercedes.

"I think Michael's going to take a few months to think about things and reflect on things, to decide what to do in the future," Brawn told Reuters Television.

The Briton said Schumacher, 43, is welcome to stay in the Mercedes family.

"There are opportunities within the team, within Mercedes for Michael to stay involved in some capacity or other, and he's particularly interested in developing high performance cars, that sort of thing," said Brawn.

From GMM

Fellow Scot David Coulthard thinks Paul di Resta could have been McLaren's choice to replace Lewis Hamilton had not been British.

Even though McLaren made much of their all-British driver pairing of Hamilton alongside Jenson Button since 2010, Coulthard thinks di Resta's nationality actually played against him.

"My feeling is they (McLaren) had shaken the British tree as much as they could sponsor-wise and Perez, quite apart from his undoubted ability behind a wheel, offered something different in that respect," he wrote in a column for the Telegraph.

Coulthard is probably referring to rumours Sergio Perez - Hamilton's actual 2013 successor - could eventually bring his backer Telmex and other Mexican pesos to McLaren to replace wavering title sponsor Vodafone.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh confirmed di Resta was considered for the seat.

"I know Paul very well and the true answer is that I rate him but it would probably have been continuing a little bit too much with the British theme to have gone that route," he said.

Tom Kristensen and Alan McNish (Audi) will start from pole position on Sunday for the Bahrein Six Hours.

The pair, that switched to an Audi R18 e-tron hybrid for the remaining races of the season instead of their R18 Ultra diesel, set their best lap in 1'45''814. They were faster than teammates Fassler, Lotterer and Treluyer, leaders in provisional championship classification.

Wurz and Lapierre's Toyota, which was victorious in Interlagos two weeks ago, set the third best performance ahead of the Rebellion's Lola Toyota, best of the privateer cars.

In LMP2, the best performance was set by Starworks' HPD driven by Potolicchio, Kimber-Smith and Sarrazin.

In GT, the Aston Martin driven by Mucke and Turner was quickest in GTE Pro, while the best GTE Am car was AF Corse Waltrip's Ferrari F458.



Bahrain - Qualifying :
1. Kristensen/McNish - Audi R18 e-tron - Audi - 1'45''814 (1st LMP1)
2. Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer - Audi R18 e-tron - 1'45''888
3. Wurz/Lapierre - Toyota TS03 hybride - Toyota - 1'46''254
4. Prost/Jani - Lola Toyota - Rebellion - 1'47''638
5. Leventis/Watts/Kane - HPD - Strakka - 1'48''446
6. Brabham/Chandhok/Dumbreck - HPD - JRM - 1'48''784
7. Potolicchio/Kimber-Smith/Sarrazin - HPD - Starworks - 1'51''798 (1st LMP2)
8. Martin/Graves - Oreca Nissan - ADR Delta - 1'52''368
9. Nicolet/Lahaye/Pla - Morgan Nissan - OAK - 1'52''368
10. Baguette/Kraihamer/Brundle - Morgan Nissan - OAK - 1'52''609
(...)
18. Mucke/Turner - Aston Martin 2'00''243 - 2'00''234 (1st GTE Pro)
(...)
22. Kauffman/Aguas/Vicker - Ferrari F458 - AF Corse Waltrip - 2'02''812 (1st GTE Am)
Etc.

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone is determined to scrap F1's engine regulation change for 2014.

The F1 chief executive recently visited Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, where he heard the tamer sounds of the incoming turbo V6 engine.

"Even (Ferrari president) Luca di Montezemolo said it sounded terrible and didn't like it," Ecclestone told the Hindustan Times.

The 81-year-old Briton tipped FIA president Jean Todt to "get rid of it".

"I think Luca is also saying we should suspend it for two or three years.  I think it is sensible to get rid of it and stick with what we have got," added Ecclestone.

FIA press release

The WMSC approved for the FIA to proceed with an agreement with The Sportsman Media Group and Red Bull Media House to become the new global Promoter of the FIA World Rally Championship from 2013.

The Promoter will be responsible for investing and developing the WRC with a view to increasing its profile, reputation and commercial value. In particular, the Promoter, working in close collaboration with the FIA, will be focused on introducing live television and an innovative digital media strategy in the next years.

As part of a cost-reduction process and to attract greater entries, WRC Teams competing in the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship will now only have to contest one non-European event. WRC Teams must however still nominate and take part in a minimum of seven events.

The structure of the support Championships has been revised to reflect the interests and demands of the competitors. From 2013, the current Championship for S2000 cars will be replaced by the WRC-2 Championship including cars with four-wheel drive (R5, R4 and S2000).

A specific cup for cars in the Group N category will also form part of the FIA WRC-2 Championship, and titles for teams, drivers and co-drivers will be awarded to those who have scored the most points in six of the seven events in which they have taken part.

The current Production Car World Rally Championship will be replaced by the FIA WRC-3 Championship, including Group R cars with two-wheel drive (R3, R2 and R1). Titles for teams, drivers and co-drivers will be awarded to those who have scored the most points in five of the six events in which they have taken part.

The current FIA WRC Academy will be re-named the FIA Junior WRC Championship.

The 2013 FIA World Rally Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:

20 January: Rally Monte Carlo
10 February: Rally Sweden
10 March: Rally Mexico
14 April: Rally Portugal
5 May: Rally Argentina
2 June: Rally Acropolis (Greece)
23 June: Rally d'Italia
4 August: Rally Finland
TBC: Rally Deutschland
15 September: Rally Australia
6 October: Rallye de France
27 October: Rally de Espana
17 November: Rally Great Britain

American Securities is in the lead to buy auto parts suppliers from Carlyle Group and KPS Capital Partners, in deals that could collectively top $1.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

GM and Ford are jointly designing nine- and 10-speed automatic transmissions for use across their lineups in a bid to boost fuel economy.

British automaker Rolls-Royce revealed art deco-inspired examples of its vehicles for the Paris motor show.

Shelby Automobiles is being sued by one of its dealers, who claims the company pocketed upfront payments for vehicles that have yet to be delivered, or even built.

The 2012 Paris auto show kicked off this week and we've got boots on the ground bringing you all the news from the city of lights. Check out all the Paris coverage in

Also in this episode: We mourn the passing of motorsports journalist Chris Economaki.

Chevrolet has done away with front bench seats in the redesigned 2014 Impala. The century-long run for front bench seats in passenger cars ends with the 2013 Chevrolet Impala -- the last car in North America to offer them, GM said today.

What is it?

Pictures 28 Sep, 2012

Shares in Tesla Motors, the electric-car maker led by Elon Musk, this afternoon rose about 3 percent today after the company expanded a stock offering.

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A Nissan Juke-rivalling small SUV is among a raft of new Volkswagen models on the way

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The range-topping GT and electric Up! models will arrive in 2013