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Jimmie Johnson's campaign for a sixth Sprint Cup got off on the right foot winning the pole at Chicagoland at a speed of 182.865; his 27th career pole. 

Yet after winning the pole at the 1.5 mile oval he wasn't overly emotional,” said the five-time Chjampion “It's too early in the Chase to be over-the-top excited or down-and-out if you didn't qualify like you wanted to today. Qualifying makes the race so much easier for you. You know you're pit stall is going to be right and clearly track position at the start of the race is going to be in your favor. It's not a ‘must' to win the race or be a threat for the championship but again it just makes life so much easier.”

Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet Impala. (Photo: NASCAR)

In contrast Johnson's teammate, NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., might have gotten off on the wrong foot when he over-revved his engine after qualifying fourth. That required an engine change which will send him to the back of the 43-car grid for the start.

Earnhardt's crew chief, Steve Letarte, said “Yes, we have to change the engine and go to the back of the field. I don't think we are super concerned. We had a great car in practice and qualified really well so we showed we have good speed. Fortunately, this is a race track that there are multiple pit strategies and it's not a really simple straight forward pit strategy to call. I think there will be a lot of opportunities to use our good pit stops and place on pit road to get back towards the front.”

Aric Almirola, a non-Chase driver, was second fastest in a Ford at 182.636mph.

This week his RPM team swapped crew chiefs. Almirola got Todd Parrott and Marcos Ambrose got Mike Ford.

Matt Kenseth, will start third in a Roush Fenway Ford at 182.334 mph, while another non-Chaser, Carl Edwards was fifth fastest.

Other Chasers fared moderately well with Kasey Kahne (sixth), Denny Hamlin (eighth), Clint Bowyer (ninth), Brad Keselowski (13th). Others did not with Martin Truex Jr. (18th), Jeff Gordon (19th), Greg Biffle (22nd), defending Cup champion Tony Stewart (29th) and Kevin Harvick (35th).

Carlos Munoz may have won the Firestone Indy Lights season finale at Fontana but, in the end, the star of the day was Tristan Vautier who won the 2012 championship battle.

Munoz took over the lead of the race right from the start when his Andretti team-mate and polesitter Sebastian Saavedra saw his car suffering a mechanical problem and had to retire before the end of the first lap.

David Ostella, who was part of the lead pack all thru the race took second, 0.6 seconds behind Munoz.

Tristan Vautier, 2012 Indy Lights champion. (Photo: IndyCar)

With 10 laps remaining, Esteban Guerrieri passed Tristan Vautier for third but, still, in order for him to move in front of Vautier for the championship crown, he had to fight his way to second place.

But, soon enough, Guerrieri found out that Ostella was extending his lead over him and that he had no chance of getting around him in the final laps. The Argentinean had to settle for third.

Vautier finished fourth, earning the championship in his rookie season. Victor Carbone completed the top 5.

Indy Lights Fontana Results - 50 laps:

Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Carlos Munoz Andretti 37m38.3281s
2. David Ostella Moore + 0.6344s
3. Esteban Guerrieri Schmidt + 3.3394s
4. Tristan Vautier Schmidt + 6.8818s
5. Victor Carbone Schmidt + 8.2987s
6. Stefan Wilson Fan Force + 12.2089s
7. Bruno Palli Juncos + 12.4233s
8. Oliver Webb Schmidt + 12.8229s
9. Mike Larrison Belardi + 34.6025s
10. Juan Pablo García Jeffrey Mark + 35.0477s
11. Gustavo Yacaman Moore + 1 lap

Retirements:
Peter Dempsey Belardi 15 laps
Jorge Goncalvez Belardi 6 laps
Sebastian Saavedra AFS/Andretti 0 laps

Toyota claims his maiden win in World Endurance Championship as the TS030 Hybrid driven by Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre take win in the Sao Paulo Six Hours.

After they started from pole position, Wurz and Lapierre dominated the race, that they led from start to finish. The Toyota pulled away in front when the Audi R18 Hybrid had an anticipated pit stop, but the german prototype get closer again when the Toyota lost time during his first pit stop.

Finally, Wurz was able to pull away in front again with a performant double stint, and the Toyota won the race after a impressive performance. Only a late pit stop from the Japanese car allow the Audi Hybrid to move back to the leading lap. The Audi R18 Hybrid takes second place ahead of the Audi R18 Ultra, who lost any chance of finishing second when Tom Kristensen had a spin.

Photo: Toyota Racing

The Rebellion Lola Toyota was the first of the “petrol” cars, while the LMP2 class was dominated by the Starworks' HPD Arx.

The AF Corse Ferrari won the GTE Pro class, and the Larbre Corvette C06 was the first car of the GTE Am class.

Final classification:
1 - Wurz-Lapierre (Toyota TS030 Hybrid) - Toyota - 247 laps in 6h01'08"356 (1er LMP1)

2 - Fassler-Lotterer-Treluyer (Audi R18 e-tron) - Audi - 1'00"778
3 - Kristensen-McNish-Di Grassi (Audi R18 ultra) - Audi - 1'14"679

4 - Prost-Jani (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 5 laps

5 - Leventis-Watts-Kane (HPD ARX03a-Honda) - Strakka - 7 laps
6 - Belicchi-Primat (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 7 laps

7 - Potolicchio-Dalziel-Sarrazin (HPD ARX03b-Honda) - Starworks - 13 laps (1er LMP2)
8 - Perez Companc-Minassian-Kaffer (Oreca 03-Nissan) - Pecom - 16 laps

9 - Brabham-Chandhok-Dumbreck (HPD ARX03a-Honda) - JRM - 17 laps
10 - Nicolet-Lahaye-Pla (Morgan-Nissan) - OAK - 17 laps
(...)
16 - Fisichella-Bruni (Ferrari 458) - AF Corse - 26 laps (1er GTE Pro)
(...)
20 - Bornhauser-Canal-Rees (Corvette C6) - Larbre - 31 laps (1er GTE Am)
Etc.

D.J. Kennington took his 6th victory of the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season by winning the Wilson Equipment 300 at the Riverside Speedway in Nova Scotia.

Kennington's nearest championship challenger, J.R. Fitzpatrick, who had started from pole, finished second after trading the lead at least six times with Kennington.

But Kennington was way too strong on long green-flag runs and he finally pulled away to win by a margin of more than 3.453 seconds.

DJ Kennington, happy with his win at the Riverside Speedway. (Photo: NASCAR)

Mark Dilley finished third, followed by Scott Steckly and Ron Beauchamp Jr who rounded up the top 5.

Not a great day for Andrew Ranger who finished a distant 12th. Martin Roy finished 8th, winning the rookie title while Isabelle Roy and LP Dumoulin completed the event in 10th and 11th.

Kennington heads into the finale leading Fitzpatrick by 23 and Andrew Ranger by 30.

It was Kennington's 17th career win, which includes a win at Riverside in 2010. He led a race-high 188 laps Saturday to Fitzpatrick's 101.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 concludes the season with the Pinty's 250 presented by Dodge at Kawartha on Saturday, Sept. 22.

That's what humanitarian organization Empowerment Plan has decided to create in order to help Downtown Detroit homeless people. As part of its support, GM bought 2000 yards of car-insulation scraps and donated them to Empowerment Plan founder Veronika Scott.

This fabric, used to as interior insulating material in the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Verano, is also waterproof; it will be used as insulating material for the production of more than 400 jackets that can be transformed into sleeping-bags, which will be handed out to some of the many homeless in that city, giving them a fighting chance over the cold winter months.

Mrs. Scott employs eight homeless women full-time in order to produce these jackets, at a rate of 150 per month. What's more, because of this donation, GM also helps reduce the volume of waste created at its production facilities. Hats-off to these two organizations for this great initiative!

Photo: General Motors

Photo: General Motors

It was hard not to feel conspicuous, gliding down the main street of this working-class Ontario town in a $209,000 luxury sedan worth more than the cost of an entry-level home. The 2012 Panamera Turbo S doesn't exactly scream "ostentatious luxury" - it's more of a golf-whisper - but it attracted plenty of attention and comments during my week-long test drive.

And yet, not once did I encounter any resentment, nor derision towards a car that's provoked its share of both from media and German sports-car fans alike. For some reason it's in vogue among the more cynical of the automotive press to slam the Panamera, while the un-jaded see only a beautifully crafted luxury sedan with plenty of presence.


The 4-door Porsche
When first introduced in 2010, the Porsche Panamera drew clamourous objections from devoted Porschephiles the world over. The very anathema of what established Porsche as one of history's finest builders of pure sports cars, the Panamera was not only a four-door, it was large, heavy and - gasp - replete with cosseting, weight-adding luxury. Pundits dismissed its unusual styling as awkward and ugly.

But, such an impassioned response proves the strength of devotion among the disciples of Zuffenhausen. Perhaps, considering that expanding the lineup to attract deep-pocketed buyers of luxury sedans can only help offset the costs of producing limited production, extreme sports cars. The consolation is that there's a now a choice for the brand-conscious status seeker, leaving the raw driver's machines to the enthusiasts.

Certainly, the Panamera has proved a huge success with the well-heeled demographic, who've snapped up enough of them to make the plush four-door the top-selling Porsche in several markets - and No. 3 here in Canada. And this one, the top-spec Panamera Turbo S, has proclaimed itself the world's best-performing four-door.

Moving off, the Panamera feels extremely large, and it takes a few minutes to get accustomed to its width and length. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush)

Polarizing powerful Porsche
At first glance, the Panamera Turbo S appears a lot like an oversized and stretched 911 coupe. The front three-quarter view presents a beautifully proportioned sedan, particularly lush in my tester's rich chocolate brown. It's only when viewed from the side that any claims of ungainliness are justified: the roofline does not flow smoothly through the bulbous arc of the rear hatch. Pushing the button that deploys the jaunty rear spoiler (in itself a fascinating exercise of technical origami) offsets the large rear end rather nicely.

Speaking of which, the "S" badge fixed to that rump defines this Panamera as one of Porsche's specially tweaked turbo models. Underhood (yes, another buck against its usually rear or mid-engined tradition) is the same 4.8L V8 found in the regular Turbo model - but the turbos and engine controller have been modified to squeeze out an extra 50 hp and 37 lb-ft of torque (which rises to 74 with "over boost" engaged). The final specs are 550 hp/553 lb-ft, with a rather stupefying 590 lb- ft. of twist during over boost.

If those numbers leave you feeling giddy, the $41,800 premium above the regular Panamera Turbo will have a cold sobering effect. But for that price, Porsche throws in as standard a host of features only available as options on the rest of the lineup. The Turbo S boasts the Sports Chrono package with launch control, a torque vectoring rear differential, Dynamic Chassis Control anti-sway system, and of course the Porsche Active Suspension Management System, or PASM, with settings that firm up the air suspension and lower the car by 25 mm.

The final specs are 550 hp/553 lb-ft, with a rather stupefying 590 lb- ft. of twist during over boost. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush)

Regal interior, rapid performer
The interior of the Panamera S is a very fine place to be. My tester's cockpit is a study in fragrant butterscotch hides culled from plump Austrian cows. The headliner is soft, creamy suede; the dash, console and steering wheel are wrapped with hand-stitched leather. The console itself is festooned with buttons, at first confusing but quickly becoming intuitive. My personal favourite is the one for exhaust enhancement, transforming the mellow burble into a surprisingly raunchy bark.

Moving off, the Panamera feels extremely large, and it takes a few minutes to get accustomed to its width and length.

Does it feel like a 911? Of course not. But the AWD Panamera is surprisingly balanced for such a big car. The ride is creamier, yet without wallow. Switch on sports mode and the hardened-up suspension combined with the tympanic thrumming of the low profile tires remove all illusions of soft civility. The throttle mapping adjusts the marvellous 7-speed PDK transmission shifts to machine-gun rapidity.

The speed-sensitive steering is lighter than that of its sports-oriented brethren and while it might not be as talkative as that of the Cayman R or Boxter, still provides plenty of feedback.
Despite the stupefying amount of power on tap, it's doled out in such a beautifully civilized, linear progression that it's startling to find the speedometer has crept into the big ticket zone.

The 1,995 kg sedan effortlessly sprints from zero to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, which makes the optional $10,100 Ceramic Composite brake package seem like good insurance.

The console itself is festooned with buttons, at first confusing but quickly becoming intuitive (Photo: Lesley Wimbush)

The posh Porsche
Although its prodigious display of power is certainly spine-tingling and thrilling, the Panamera Turbo S is equally satisfying when driven slowly. Effortless and easy come to mind. As a cruiser, it's majestic.

More expensive than competitors Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG, or Audi S8 and more polarizing than either, the Panamera Turbo S is also faster and more agile.

As for its looks - beauty is entirely in the eye of the beholder.

This 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S review was originally published on Auto-Venus.com.

Robert Kubica and team mate Gerder Jakub escaped unhurt from a crash in the Rally San Martino di Cartozza aboard their Subaru Impreza WRC.

During the shakedown on Friday, the Pole already went off but with no damage for the car, and was able to be back on the road to take the start on Saturday.

In the ESS9, his Subaru went off, before hitting a tree. Nobody was injured in the accident.

Kubica's Subaru, after the crash.

From WRC

Jari-Matti Latvala is six stages away from winning Wales Rally GB, round 10 of the FIA World Rally Championship, following a controlled, albeit rapid display at the wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC on day two of the gravel event.

Latvala left the overnight halt in Cardiff this morning leading by 12.1s. In largely dry conditions, the Finn bagged a further three stage bests to stretch his advantage out front to 24.5s. Team-mate Petter Solberg is second after staving off the attentions of Citroen's world champion Sebastien Loeb, who had closed to within 3.9s of the Norwegian after the morning stages but was then unable to respond when Solberg sped up in the afternoon.

Photo: WRC

Despite ending Ford's sequence of stage wins with the fastest time on Saturday's second test, Loeb will start day three trailing Latvala by 30.9s after he admitted to struggling to match the leading Fiestas.

Mads Ostberg made a hugely impressive start to day two by winning the first stage to close up to third-placed Loeb. However, his decision to carry two spare tyres for the afternoon loop adversely affected his car's handling and slowed the Norwegian's ultimate pace. Ostberg is more than half a minute clear of Mikko Hirvonen, who has struggled to make an impact in his works Citroen.

Classification after day 2:
1. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) in 2.16'18”4
2. P. Solberg-Patterson (Ford Fiesta Wrc) + 21”7

3. Loeb-Elena (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 29”0

4. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 45”6
5. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 1'16”8
6. Tanak-Sikk (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'29”3
7. Novikov-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'48"6

8. Neuville-Gilsoul (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 3'22”1

9. Wilson-Martin (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 4'30"6
10. Prokop-Hruza (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 5'21”4
Etc.

Martin Whitmarsh makes contacts with the Mexican driver and Carlos Slim to explore a potential replacement for Lewis Hamilton.

Simple pressure or real "plan B"? The Daily Mail reports that Lewis Hamilton is more and more close to Mercedes. Team McLaren team appears to be preparing to departure of the 2008 world champion.

The British team wants to reduce the revenues of Hamilton, while Mercedes AMG is ready to pay 74 millions Euro over three years, plus bonus for victories.

Luca di Montezemolo claimed last week that Sergio Perez is too young and in experimented to drive for Ferrari. On his end, Martin Whitmarsh praises the performance and the maturity of the Sauber driver.

Sergio Perez is reportedly free for 2013, for now, even the Ferrari Academy to which he belongs, has no option on him.

Sergio Perez celebrating his 2nd place at Monza, with Sauber team. (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

Two days before a strike deadline, the head of the Canadian Auto Workers said the union has made more headway in contract talks with Ford Motor Co. than with General Motors and Chrysler Group, but that any deal remains far off.

PSA may sell a majority stake in its Gefco trucking unit to Russian Railways after the state-owned company made the highest offer, a union official said.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said German carmakers are sticking to their opposition to his efforts to form a united front to push the EU to address overcapacity in the region.

Canada's unionized autoworkers, perhaps the best rewarded in the world, may have a choice in the next few days: Give the Detroit 3 automakers concessions in current talks over new contracts or watch some of their jobs head for the United States or...

When Daimler introduced the diminutive Smart car in 1998, the vision included a smog-reducing electric version to cement the brand's image as an urban transport leader.

When Daimler introduced the diminutive Smart car in 1998, the vision included a smog-reducing electric version to cement the brand's image as an urban transport leader.

According to IZOD IndyCar officials, 14 drivers, including both championship contenders Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay will get a ten-spot grid penalty at the upcoming event at Fontana.

Of those 14, 11 have been penalized for having change engine and the three remaining for having use a sixth engine, one more than the total of 5 allowed by the IZOD IndyCar rules.

Photo: IndyCar

Drivers penalized:
No. 3 Helio Castroneves (fitting sixth engine)
No. 12 Will Power (fitting sixth engine)

No. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay (fitting sixth engine)
No. 9 Scott Dixon (unapproved engine change)

No. 14 Wade Cunningham (unapproved engine change)
No. 15 Takuma Sato (unapproved engine change)
No. 18 Justin Wilson (unapproved engine change)
No. 38 Graham Rahal (unapproved engine change)

No. 67 Josef Newgarden (unapproved engine change)
No. 78 Simona de Silvestro (unapproved engine change)

No. 83 Charlie Kimball (unapproved engine change)

No. 77 Simon Pagenaud (unapproved engine change/fitting sixth engine)

No. 98 Alex Tagliani (unapproved engine change/fitting sixth engine)

No. 27 James Hinchcliffe (unapproved engine change/fitting sixth engine).

After being offered a seat at Team Penske, Ryan Hunter-Reay has decided in the end to remain with Michael Andretti and his Andretti Autosport's squad for the coming years.

According to reports, Reay has now signed a multiple-year deal with Andretti, the same team that gave him the chance to rekindle his career a couple of seasons ago.

In order to replace Ryan Briscoe, Team Penske had first approached Simon Pagenaud but due to contractual obligations with his current team Sam Schmidt, the Frenchman had to decline. Penske then spoke with Hunter-Reay.

But it wasn't going to be a clear decision, the 31-year-old veteran being loyal to Andretti for having helped him stay in the sport back in 2010 when Hunter-Reay did not have anywhere to go.

Ryan Hunter-Reay recently won the race at Baltimore. (Photo: IndyCar)

Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti set the best time early in the session to take pole ahead of the IZOD IndyCar season's finale that will be presented Saturday night on the 2-mile oval in Fontana.

Andretti reached an average speed of more than 216.069mph that would end-up being unreachable by all his adversaries.

Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske) was the only other racer to pass the 216 mph mark in qualifying and finished second in front of his teammate and series leader Will Power but who will get a ten-spot grid penalty for an unauthorized engine change.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for Marco Andretti teammate and championship contender Ryan Hunter-Reay who set the 17th fastest time with a 10-place penalty to be added.

Canadians Alex Tagliani (BHA) and James Hinchcliffe (Andretti) had set respectively the 6th and 12th time but, as in the case for a total of 14 drivers, they will go down the order by 10 places.

IZOD IndyCar Fontana event - Qualifying speeds

Pos Driver Team/Car Speed
1. Marco Andretti Andretti Dallara-Chevy 216.069
2. Ryan Briscoe Penske Dallara-Chevy 216.058
3. Will Power Penske Dallara-Chevy 215.940
4. Josef Newgarden Fisher Dallara-Honda 215.919
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi Dallara-Honda 215.391
6. Alex Tagliani Herta Dallara-Honda 215.226
7. Tony Kanaan KV Dallara-Chevy 214.877
8. JR Hildebrand Panther Dallara-Chevy 214.749
9. Ed Carpenter Carpenter Dallara-Chevy 214.684
10. Helio Castroneves Penske Dallara-Chevy 214.409
11. Graham Rahal Ganassi Dallara-Honda 214.015
12. James Hinchcliffe Andretti Dallara-Chevy 213.726
13. Rubens Barrichello KV Dallara-Chevy 213.527
14. Katherine Legge Dragon Dallara-Chevy 213.308
15. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Dallara-Honda 213.282
16. Takuma Sato Rahal Dallara-Honda 213.222
17. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Dallara-Chevy 212.773
18. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy 212.533
19. Dario Franchitti Ganassi Dallara-Honda 211.999
20. Charlie Kimball Ganassi Dallara-Honda 211.531
21. Sebastian Saavedra AFS/Andretti Dallara-Chevy 210.619
22. EJ Viso KV Dallara-Chevy 210.134
23. Wade Cunningham Foyt Dallara-Honda 209.526
24. James Jakes Coyne Dallara-Honda 208.056
25. Simona de Silvestro HVM Dallara-Lotus
26. Justin Wilson Coyne Dallara-Honda

A recent study released by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and three other organizations reveals that the most Canadian infrastructures are in dire straits.

More than half of the total municipal road infrastructures in the country are in need of important work. FCM President Karen Leibovici confirms the findings, stating that '' the study shows that basic municipal infrastructures, like roads and waterworks are at risk. The investments that have been made these past few years have helped, but without a major long-term strategy we are heading for a crisis.''

120 municipalities representing more than 60% of the Canadian population were polled: 25% of Canadian roads are overloaded, supporting much more than the loads that they were designed for, thanks in great part to the rise in vehicle traffic using these roadways. If no action is taken, the cost of repairing and maintaining these roads will explode.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

From WRC

Jari-Matti Latvala has reached an overnight halt of an FIA World Rally Championship round in the lead for the first time since Portugal in late March following an impressive charge on Wales Rally GB on Friday.

Latvala was slightly hesitant through the opening brace of tests while he found the “feeling” on board his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. But a quartet of stage wins has put him out front by 12.1s heading into Saturday's seven runs.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford. (Photo: WRC)

Indeed, it's been a day dominated by the works Ford squad with Petter Solberg moving into an early lead after going quickest on the first two stages. The Norwegian, a four-time winner in Wales, holds second with Citroen's multiple world champion Sebastien Loeb 9.2s further back after conceding that he couldn't live with the pace of the Fords on the slippery gravel stages.

Loeb, who is on course for his ninth world title and can help Citroen secure its eighth world crown in Wales, carried two spare tyres for each loop in the event of his soft compound tyres losing performance in the drying conditions. Latvala and Solberg both relied on one spare.

Mads Ostberg is fourth overnight in his Adapta Fiesta having lost precious seconds in the morning when he slowed in the mistaken belief he'd picked up a puncture on stage two. His decision to use an old set of pace notes on stage three also led to a loss of confidence. Mikko Hirvonen is fifth in the second factory Citroen with Ott Tanak sixth despite reporting a powersteering glitch in his M-Sport Fiesta.

Classification after day 1:
1. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) in 1.25'05”7

2. P. Solberg-Patterson (Ford Fiesta Wrc) + 12”1

3. Loeb-Elena (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 21”3

4. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 32”6
5. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 53”8

6. Tanak-Sikk (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'19”2

7. Novikov-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'32”8
8. Neuville-Gilsoul (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 2'27”9
9. Wilson-Martin (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 3'17"0
10. Prokop-Hruza (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 3'36”8
Etc.