Frenchmen Stéphane Sarrazin and Nicolas Minassian have signed with Brad Jones Racing to drive the Armor All Gold Coast 600, round 12 of the V8 Supercars series held at Surfers Paradise.
Every year, by rule, Australian V8 Supercars regulars must be paired with an international driver at the Armor All Gold Coast 600.
Therefore Sarrazin has been assigned to the No. 8 Team BOC Commodore alongside local co-driver Jason Bright, while Minassian's name appears beside Fabian Coulthard's in the No. 14 Lockwood Racing entry.
Both have been racing in this year's inaugural World Endurance Championship (WEC) with various teams, following Peugeot's withdrawal from endurance, but only Minassian has experienced V8 Supercars before.
The 39-year-old co-drove with Jan Magnussen at Sandown and Bathurst in 2003 for Team Dynamik.
IndyCar racer Mike Conway too has signed to race in the annual classic. He will share Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport's Holden with Taz Douglas.
Frenchman Guillaume Moreau has returned to his home region of Le Limousin after his violent crash at Le Mans.
Moreau spent the last two-and-a-half months recovering at specialist rehabilitation centre The Arch in Le Mans. The OAK racing team provided Friday an update on his physical condition.
His violent accident at Circuit de la Sarthe during the Le Mans Test Day on June 3 caused severe trauma to his spinal cord that required two operations at the University Hospital of Angers.
With the initial rehabilitation now complete, Guillaume will begin a new phase of recovery helped by the sports medicine department, headed by Dr Jean-Yves Salle, at the CHU Limoges.
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| Photo: Alexis Gourre |
Guillaume's speedy progress at The Arch prompted doctors to cut short his stay, allowing him to return home and enjoy everyday life while continuing daily rehabilitation. Indeed, Guillaume is now walking, albeit without full fluidity, driving his car and even succeeded in cycling.
The majority of his muscles have recovered their full movement in the timeframe expected by the medical team after his second operation, and in some cases even faster. And while complete sensitivity has not yet returned, the recovery process is continuing to follow a logical course that offers much hope for the future.
All of his energy has gone into this initial step of what will be a lengthy recovery process, but it is now vital that Guillaume spares some efforts while continuing rehabilitation to allow his body time to fully recover. It will only be after this phase that doctors can, at the end of the year, establish a prognosis for the level of ultimate recovery.
Generous cargo room, an impressive list of standard features and great fuel economy: the all-new 2013 Mercedes-Benz B-Class, which will arrive in dealerships across Canada in November, promises all that and more at a very competitive price.
The B 250 gets a 208-horsepower 2.0L turbocharged engine that's 55% more powerful than the outgoing four-cylinder. A new seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission (7G-DCT) combines the comfort of an automatic with the efficiency of a manual. Helping save even more fuel is a new standard Start/Stop system.
On the safety front, expect to find 11 airbags, a collision warning system, run-flat tires and rain-sensing windshield wipers, just to name a few.
The 2013 Mercedes-Benz B-Class will start at $29,900.
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| Photo: Mercedes-Benz |
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| Photo: Mercedes-Benz |
From GMM
As F1 emerges from its August slumber at Spa-Francorchamps, the chances Sergio Perez will be staying at Sauber in 2013 seem to have increased dramatically.
The cream of Ferrari's driver development programme, Mexican Perez has been tipped all season long as a likely successor for the struggling Felipe Massa.
But the 22-year-old said on Thursday: "Sauber is a great team doing a fantastic job.
"When I go to the factory and I see the people so motivated every day, I don't see any reason why I want to leave," he is quoted by The National newspaper.
"I'm happy here, and every day I'm more comfortable. I think the team can build a good car for next year, so I don't see any reason to step away from it."
Switzerland's Blick newspaper reports that, earlier this year, Perez and Sauber's backer Carlos Slim approached Ferrari, asking that the Italian team decide by August whether it wants to sign Guadalajara-born Perez for 2013.
Slim Domit is quoted by the French-language website f1i.com: "If I cannot continue to wait, it is simple.
"I will call Monisha Kaltenborn, buy the whole team and start a Scuderia Mexico."
Sauber's chief executive and shareholder Kaltenborn told Blick: "So far I haven't got the call!
"We are going on our way, with our goals and with the responsibility of our more than 300 employees."
Team boss Peter Sauber added: "I can hardly believe that Slim said that. But I suppose in this world full of rumours, everything is possible."
Kaltenborn said Hinwil based Sauber is in no rush to decide its 2013 driver lineup.
"We are not busying ourselves too much over the driver question," she insisted.
One rumour is that Sauber is shopping around, because the Mexican tie-up with Perez, Slim and reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez was not as lucrative as first thought.
On that suggestions, Peter Sauber replied: "No comment."
From GMM
Andrea Stella, Fernando Alonso's race engineer at Ferrari, has singled out Kimi Raikkonen as a challenger for the 2012 championship.
The buzz in the sodden Spa paddock is that four-time Belgian grand prix winner Raikkonen is a true contender for Sunday's victory at the wheel of a Lotus.
And the Finn, who in 2007 won the title for Ferrari, is still within shouting distance in the drivers' standings, just a point shy of Lewis Hamilton's fourth place.
"Of course Kimi can challenge Fernando in the championship," Stella told Finland's Turun Sanomat. "He has a good car.
"I remember 2007 very well, when we came from far behind with him right to the top."
Raikkonen, 32, agrees that his 48-point deficit does not mean he cannot win in 2012.
"I have almost as good a chance as anybody else," he said in Belgium.
But Raikkonen also admitted he is not desperate to add a second title to his tally.
"I've always said I am happy that I won one championship," he said. "It's good if there are more, but whether I win more championships or not would not change my life.
"When I have the opportunity, I will try my best," added Raikkonen.
From Prodrive
As we mentioned here August 24, Prodrive has confirmed Friday that reigning World Touring Car champion, Yvan Muller will compete in the MINI John Cooper Works WRC at Rally France in October.
The Prodrive WRC Team will run Muller alongside Dani Sordo in identical MINI WRCs at the Strasbourg-based tarmac event from 4-7 October.
Muller is a three-time World Touring Car champion and is currently competing in the 2012 series. While circuit racing is his speciality, he has also competed in the Dakar Rally, as well as competing at Rally France in 2010 and 2011.
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| Photo: WRI2 |
Muller tested the MINI WRC at Prodrive's proving ground in July and will spend a further day in the car at Prodrive's track the week before Rally France.
"I am really looking forward to competing in my home event in a top level world rally car after last year's run in an S2000,” said Muller in a press release.
“I have only had a day to familiarize myself with the MINI, but the balance of the chassis immediately gave me a great deal of confidence. As both my Chevrolet touring car and the MINI use similar 1.6 turbo engines, the performance was nearly the same. I am sure it will take me a little while to get used to driving with pace notes again, even so my target would still be a finish in the points,” Muller added.
"In Prodrive's British Touring car days in 98, 99 and 2000 I engineered several cars and we had great battles with Yvan,” Dave Wilcock, Prodrive WRC Team principal said.
“This will be the first time we have been on the same side. He is a tremendously talented driver with great sympathy for a car and I think the MINI WRC chassis will suit him perfectly for the fast flowing stages in France. He has competed here twice before and once he has settled in for a few stages I can see him setting some impressive times,” Wilcock declared.
You might think spending seven days traveling the countryside in the company of 100 car people would be great fun, and you would be right.
Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla Motors and founder of Space Exploration Technologies, said he's interested in creating a holding company for shares of his electric car and rocket launch businesses.
Also in this episode: Lada debuts a sleek crossover concept at the Moscow motor show, and GM makes plans for expansion in the Russian market.
Volkswagen AG is concerned about a possible unauthorized use of some of its patents by Chinese joint venture partner FAW and will protect its patents rigorously, CEO Martin Winterkorn told a German newspaper.
Volkswagen AG is concerned about a possible unauthorized use of some of its patents by Chinese joint venture partner FAW and will protect its patents rigorously, CEO Martin Winterkorn told a German newspaper.
Volkswagen is concerned about a possible unauthorized use of some of its patents by Chinese joint venture partner FAW and will protect its patents rigorously, CEO Martin Winterkorn told a German newspaper.
Car sales in Brazil have surged August to what may be their best month ever, a source with access to registration data said today, as customers rushed to take advantage of a tax break they expected to end this week.
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