Auto News 5

Daimler plans to approach Volkswagen later this month to see whether a partnership to build light commercial vehicles can be extended. The two automakers currently cooperate on transporter vans.

News 10 Sep, 2012

SsangYong has revealed sketches of a new range-extending SUV, ahead of its Paris debut

Pictures 10 Sep, 2012

Following the change of ownership of British sports car company Lotus, and consequent production delays, deliveries of the Elise S have now started in Australia, ahead of full supply of the entire range plus new models over the coming months.

What is it?

Porsche expects output of its new Macan compact sports utility vehicle to reach 75,000 in its first year of production in 2013, up from an initial forecast of 45,000 vehicles, a German weekly reported, without citing sources.

After thriving for decades with an evolutionary model for product development, a struggling Honda has made the risky move of a clean-sheet redesign of its 2013 Accord sedan.

So how do Volkswagen and Audi figure to hit their much talked-about U.S. volume target of a combined 1 million sales by 2018? One key is a big push into fast-growing crossover segments that the two brands largely have shunned.

Volkswagen Group is expanding the product range of all its brands at a ferocious pace as it fights to become the world's top-selling automaker.

Even after Hyundai's best August ever, its dealers are painfully aware that they could sell many more vehicles if the automaker could provide them. Aside from that annoying reality, Hyundai dealers and the factory are thriving with lean inventories.

For Hyundai's U.S. dealers wrestling with tight new-car inventories, help is on the way from U.S. plants. But next spring, a new labor pact in South Korea could crimp Hyundai Motor Co.'s exports to North America.

Lenders are increasingly saying yes to credit-challenged customers. During the first quarter of 2012, vehicle loans to subprime borrowers increased by 11 percent, according to Experian Automotive.

EURO-RACECAR's reigning champion, Frenchman Eric Helary will contest the Loudon, New Hampshire round of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series as part of a new team from Europe!

Helary will contest this race race on September 22 as his grand prize for having secured the 2011 Racecar Euro Series championship.

Éric Hélary (Photo: EURO-RACECAR)

Since ir created the Racecar Series in 2009, Team FJ has made clear its desire to prepare European drivers for NASCAR competition and create a path to the USA.

Every year since the championship's inception, the title winner has been rewarded with a race seat for a NASCAR event on the other side of the Atlantic. Wilfried Boucenna and Lucas Lasserre were the pioneers, entering the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale near Los Angeles, and now Hélary is preparing to make his American bow.

EURO-RACECAR creators and promoters Team FJ recently acquired Fadden Racing, a vastly experienced K&N Pro Series East outfit for whom formerowner Mike Olsen won two titles. The team has three cars: one for road courses, the second for fast ovals and a third for short tracks.

Now aged 46, Helary won the 1988 French Formula Ford title, French Formula 3 title in 1990 and has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1993 for Peugeot.

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has made it clear that engine supplier Renault had to solve the problem of the faulty alternators before the next Grand Prix in Singapore.

The alternator on Sebastian Vettel's car failed with just a handful of laps to run in Sunday's Grand Prix of Italy in Monza.

A lonely Sebastian Vettel walks back to his garage in Monza... (Photo: WRI2)

“A hugely disappointing race -- our first non-points scoring race since Korea 2010,” said Horner in a team press release.

“It was a repeat failure on Sebastian's car with the alternator and we need to look into it and work with Renault to ensure it doesn't happen again. It's already cost us a victory in Valencia and now a points-finish again here in Monza,” he said.

“We changed the alternator on Sebastian's car yesterday during FP3, but unfortunately we had the same failure in today's race,” said Cyril Dumonyt of Renault.

Remi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations said in both cased, the alternator failed.

“We introduced a new spec' of alternator following the problems in Valencia and believed this would overcome the issues,” Taffin explained.

“We are still looking into why the part failed again here but we do know that even though the alternator was being operated entirely within the prescribed range, the part itself overheated and shut off the power supply. This is a priority between ourselves and our suppliers and we have to ensure we are fully on top of the problem before Singapore,” the engineer added.

Remi Taffin also explained that the failure is caused when the alternator's internal temperature gets too hot for it to be able to produce the electrical energy that the car requires.

Pete Shepherd III earned his third NASCAR Canadian Tire Series win in the Wahta Springs 300 Sunday at Barrie Speedway in Ontario last weekend.

Shepherd was running third at the start of a green-white-checkered finish on the tight .333-mile oval when race leader Steve Matthews and second-place J.R. Fitzpatrick got together. The contact allowed Shepherd to slip by into the lead.

Pete Shepherd celebrates winning the Wahta Springs 300 Sunday at Barrie Speedway for his first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 win of the season. (Photo: Matthew Manor/NASCAR)

Two-time series' champion Andrew Ranger took second, followed by Noel Dowler.

Steve Mathews, who won the pole position in qualifying earlier Sunday afternoon, dropped back to fourth. Dexter Stacey rounded out the top five.

Points leader D.J. Kennington, who encountered mechanical issues now has a 14-point advantage over Ranger and 18 over Fitzpatrick with two races remaining.

Martin Roy (90) gets loose and spins while leading the Wahta Springs 300 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 race at Barrie Speedway. (Photo: Matthew Manor/NASCAR)

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series returns to the track Saturday, September 15 in the penultimate race of the season for the Wilson Equipment 300 at Riverside International Speedway in Nova Scotia.

Italian electronic company Magneti Marelli used the paddock of Autodromo di Monza last weekend to reveal some of their new hardware destined to run the new 1600cm3, V6 turbo engines in 2014.

Photo: WRI2

Magneti Marelli engineers started by showing their new ERS system -- an engine boost coming from the recovery of kinetic energy during braking associated with the energy coming from exhaust gases, both aimed at feeding the electrical motor-generators hooked up to the engine shaft).

Heat exhaust recovery system (Photo: WRI2)

Then, they unviled their new fuel systems (injectors and pumps for GDI engines with fuel pressure of up to 500 bar) as well as their two-way WI-FI systems for data transmission from vehicle to infrastructure (i.e., exchange of a much larger set of data and of different types of signals between machine and pit).

Different KERS components (Photo: WRI2)

In their press release, Magneti Marelli writes that the technology and methods used in developing the KERS system are a source of solutions and technological spin-offs for systems and components aimed at mass-produced hybrid and electric engines (moto-generators, electronic control systems, inverters, battery control, etc.).

From GMM

Mark Webber's alternator survived the Italian grand prix because it was an "older" specification.

That is the claim of Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, after reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel on Sunday suffered a repeat of his Saturday morning failure and failed to finish at Monza.

Sebastian Vettel, back to the Red Bull's garage, without his RB8. (Photo: WRi2)

"The part was from the latest specification (of alternator) that came after the similar failure in Valencia," Marko is quoted by Salzburger Nachrichten. "Webber had an alternator from an older specification that had no problem."

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said engine supplier Renault, whose supply partner for the alternator is Magneti Marelli, is treating the problem as a priority.

"Since 2011 we have changed virtually nothing," said Renault's baffled Remi Taffin.

One glimmer of hope is that the Renault alternator used by Lotus' Jerome d'Ambrosio at Monza was showing early signs of failure, which could be useful for getting to the bottom of the mystery.

Arguably the bigger problem for Red Bull, however, is the recent lack of pace.

Former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari said Monza was "the (team's) worst performance since 2008".

And yet another problem on Sunday was Vettel's penalty for driving Fernando Alonso off the track, even though a similar incident at Curva Grande a year ago was ignored by the stewards.

Was the FIA giving Ferrari a helping-hand at Monza on Sunday?

"I think not," Vettel, dismissing the conspiracy, told Bild newspaper.

Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato (Ferrari 458 No. 69) had the opportunity to clinch Grand-Am's GT title at Laguna Seca, and ceased it.

On top of their drivers' title, the pair brought home, thanks to their second place finish, the manufacturers title to AIM Autosport.

“As of right now the championship is clinched, but it certainly hasn't hit me yet,” Segal said. “It's certainly a tremendous accomplishment for our team AIM Autosport in their first year back in GT. With Ferrari in its first year back, it's just a tremendous day.”

Photo: Grand-Am Rolex

In front of Segal and Assentato, the race was won by Dane Cameron and Wayne Nonnmaker (Mazda RX-8 No. 43). Third place went to John Potter and Andy Lally (Porsche 911 GT3 No. 44).

In the Daytona Prototype category, Richard Westbrook and Antonio Garcia won, aboard their No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette, from Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette. It was strategy that put Westbrook and Garcia ahead when it mattered.

Photo: Grand-Am Rolex

As of right now, Ryan Dalziel and Alex Tagliani stand as third place finishers, but their No. 8 Ford/Riley, supposedly to wide, failed a post-race inspection. An announcement regarding a penalty is pending.

Photo: Grand-Am Rolex

Davide Valsecchi wins race 2 at Monza, and pulls away in front of provisional classification, following his main rivals' troubles in Italy.

Valsecchi, who started from 3rd position on the grid, had a clean start and quickly moved in first position. He takes a brilliant win ahead of Fabio Leimer and Jolyon Palmer.

Valsecchi extends his lead in provisional championship classification, as Luis Razia, his main rival, took 16th position after he started 25th following a grid penalty after a collision with Fabio Leimer in race 1. Esteban Gutierrez went off the track in lap 3, while James Calado was only 14th.

The final rounds will be presented in Singapour on 22 and 23 September.

Davide Valsecchi, DAMS. (Photo: GP2 Series)

Monza - Race 2:
1 - Davide Valsecchi - Dams - 21 laps in 33'06"731
2 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 0"444

3 - Jolyon Palmer - iSport - 7"873

4 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 10"787

5 - Johnny Cecotto - Addax - 10"953
6 - Max Chilton - Carlin - 11"418
7 - Marcus Ericsson - iSport - 11"606

8 - Julian Leal - Trident - 12"661
Etc.

Championship:
1. Valsecchi 229; 2. Razia 204; 3. Calado 160; 4. Gutierrez 152; 5. Chilton 144, etc.

Alex Fontana and Markus Pommer won the two rounds of the Formula 2 Championship held in Hungary last weekend, while Luciano Bacheta maintains the lead in the point standings before the final two rounds of the season in Monza.

After he started from second position on the grid for race 1, Alex Fontana overtook polesitter Kevin Mirocha on lap 4, and then cruised to his maiden Formula 2 victory ahead of Mirocha and championship leader Luciano Bacheta.

Alex Fontana won Race 1. (Photo: James Bearne - Formula Two)

In race 2, Markus Pommer had no rivals. The German driver started from pole position, and took a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Matheo Tuscher and Dino Zamparelli.

Luciano Bacheta remains in first position in the point standings before the last two rounds in Monza. The Brit leads by 33,5 points over Tuscher, and 43,5 points over Markus Pommer.

Luciano Bacheta. (Photo: James Bearne - Formula Two)

Hungaroring - Race 1:
1 - Alex Fontana - 22 laps in 36'11”949
2 - Kevin Mirocha - 2”774
3 - Luciano Bacheta - 9”111
4 - Daniel McKenzie - 9”922
5 - Christopher Zanella - 17”442
etc.

Hungaroring - Race 2:
1 - Markus Pommer - 22 laps in 35'53”761
2 - Matheo Tuscher - 16”227
3 - Dino Zamparelli - 18”811
4 - Kevin Mirocha - 28”927
5 - Alex Fontana - 31”243
etc.

Championship:
1. Bacheta 208,5 points ; 2. Tuscher 175; 3. Pommer 165; 4. Zanella 161; 5. Marinescu 141, etc.