Auto News 5

Serbia and Fiat have rescheduled payments by the cash-strapped Balkan country to the Italian carmaker for their joint car-plant venture, which produces the 500L mincar in the central city of Kragujevac.

News 30 Aug, 2012

Plug-in versions of the Jaguar XJ will take part in the RAC Future Car Challenge in November

Videos 30 Aug, 2012

F1 champ and Infiniti ambassador Sebastian Vettel takes a starring role in the music video for Melanie Fiona's latest single

A senior Opel executive says he believes the brand's sales will reach 80,000 units this year, helped in part by the launch of the new Astra sedan.

There's nothing like getting a flat tire to break up the pleasant monotony of an otherwise splendid road trip. I know this because I got a flat tire a few weeks ago.

Pictures 27 Sep, 2012

Luxury cars to indulge the rich were the stars as the Moscow auto show opened on Wednesday, but it is the normal Russian citizen that the world's carmakers are targeting, as they hope to profit from one of Europe's few growing markets.

News 27 Sep, 2012

The new all-wheel-drive Fiat Panda 4x4 has made its world debut at the Paris Motor Show

Mercedes-Benz executives in China want the redesigned S class to make its global debut in the country next year, and they are taking their case to company leaders in Germany, a Chinese newspaper reported.

Hyundai Motor has reached a tentative wage deal with its South Korean labor union leaders, which if approved by members, would allow the carmaker to avert further production losses that have threatened to slow its sales growth.

It's 'a foregone conclusion' that Bentley will build an SUV based on the EXP 9F Concept, said Rodney Moore, regional general manager for Bentley Motors in the United States.

From GMM

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko is sure reigning back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel is still in the hunt for the 2012 title.

No longer with the season's dominant package, the 25-year-old German is 42 points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso, and he even trails his own teammate Mark Webber by a couple of points.

"The title is still entirely feasible for us," Austrian Marko, who is team boss Dietrich Mateschitz's right-hand man on motor racing matters, told Bild newspaper.

"But Vettel needs to do better in qualifying."

Indeed, after scooping 15 of the possible 19 pole positions as he cruised to last year's title, Vettel has started from the front row of the grid only 4 times so far in 2012.

His sole win so far was in Bahrain, while Fernando Alonso (3), Lewis Hamilton (2) and even Webber in the sister Red Bull (2) have all been multiple winners this year.

But the real problem is Spaniard Alonso's metronomic consistency.  In fact, the Ferrari driver can match Michael Schumacher's all-time record of 24 consecutive points finishes this weekend in Belgium.

Marko said: "Vettel doesn't need five wins, but he can't have any more failures.  Alonso's run is going to end sometime soon, and when it does we have to be there."

Marko also insisted Vettel, despite being two points behind Webber, will not receive preferential treatment as the 2012 title chase heats up.

"With us, both drivers may be world champion.  So Webber can go for the title too," he said.

We're nearly two full weeks removed from the NASCAR Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, yet I still can't swallow what I saw.

You call that a race? I certainly don't.

Okay, fine, I'll admit that I'm one of those snobs who prefer road courses. The action is clean and clear. In the case of NASCAR and other stock car series, the races are compelling only for fans of demolition derbies. I was in the pits after the race and I can assure you that every single car had suffered damage.

I have nothing against oval speedways per se; I'm just mad at NASCAR officials for fixing how the races play out.

The final laps in Montreal were pathetic. In my mind, Jacques Villeneuve had the win secured after completing a perfect race and keeping his Dodge Penske in top shape. More importantly, he had the perfect strategy, having saved enough fuel to avoid making a last stop before the end. However, all his efforts went to waste after a series of ridiculous interruptions.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

With only three laps to go, race officials decided to wave the yellow flag on three consecutive occasions. Are you kidding me? The race should have normally ended after 74 laps, but it lasted seven more, which meant an additional 31 kilometres!

Villeneuve was planning to run out of fuel right after the checkered flag. Unfortunately, he had to save some of it to cover those 31 kilometres. That allowed Justin Allgaier to overtake him on the very last lap.

Fans were understandably disappointed to see the race end under a yellow flag. If you ask me, such manipulation is completely outrageous. NASCAR should learn not to interrupt a race at the slightest incident, especially on road courses. Don't penalize the smart and talented drivers who had a winning strategy and executed it to perfection.

From GMM

Martin Whitmarsh on Thursday played down reports McLaren is set to follow Mercedes and Lotus' lead by racing a 'double DRS' system this weekend at Spa.

But the Woking based team's boss did not deny McLaren designers are working on the straightline-speed boosting concept.

"We are not announcing when, where and if we are going to be introducing it," he told reporters during sponsor Vodafone's regular media teleconference.

"I think we will see different wing variants, certainly on our car along with a number of visual items as they go through scrutineering later today and hit the track on Friday.

"We will see new bits, but McLaren will not have a double DRS in Belgium," Whitmarsh said from Belgium.

He also refused to rule out a scenario where Jenson Button, who is 41 points behind teammate Lewis Hamilton's points tally with nine races to go, might eventually fall in line to support the sister McLaren's title charge.

But "It will be quite a few races before we make that decision," Whitmarsh - who insisted McLaren's long-standing policy of driver equality remained in place - said.

"There may well come a point (when team orders are used), but there are still many races left and many points on offer -- things can change quickly."

From GMM

Charlie Whiting has admitted Michael Schumacher should not have been given a drive-through penalty in Hungary recently.

After the Mercedes driver stopped his engine after lining up in the wrong grid spot, he then sped in the pitlane to await the re-start.

Stewards gave Schumacher, 43, a drive-through penalty for the speeding, but FIA race director Whiting has now admitted the punishment was wrong, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Because the race had not officially started, Schumacher's penalty should in fact have been only a monetary fine, the report explained.

The story illustrates how the sporting regulations define a race start.

It means that, in actual fact, Schumacher should be celebrating only his 299th race start this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, not his landmark 300th.

That is because at Magny Cours in 1996, the then Ferrari driver did not actually start the race, because his engine failed on the formation lap.

The A.C.O., the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, organiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has change the date of the next edition of the classic endurance race.

The 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours will take place on 22-23 June. It will mark the 90th anniversary of the event.

The test day will now be held on Sunday 9th June, and the scrutineering (technical and administrative checks) will be performed on Sunday 16th and Monday 17th June.

The dates of the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours, initially scheduled for 15-16 June, have been put back by a week at the request of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in order to harmonize the world calendar of motor racing events.

The full calendar of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, of which the Le Mans 24 Hours race is the blue riband event, will be announced in September 2012.

It is worth recalling that this event was conceived at the 1922 Motor Show in the Grand Palais in Paris.

The idea emerged from a meeting between Charles Faroux, a journalist from La Vie Automobile, Georges Durand, the ACO general secretary, some eminent members of the club, and Emille Coquille, the French representative of the Rudge-Whitworth detachable wheels company.

From GMM

Vitaly Petrov's manager Oksana Kosachenko has admitted the Russian driver's Formula 1 career is hanging in the balance.

Kosachenko, a former journalist who has managed the 27-year-old's career at Renault and Caterham since 2010, told Russian news agency Ria Novosti that the government has pulled its financial backing.

The R-Sport website said Petrov has lost the government-linked sponsors Russian Helicopters and Lada.

Vitaly Petrov with Oksana Kosachenko. (Photo: WRI2)

"We have now lost government support," Kosachenko is quoted as saying.

"There's never been interest from sponsors. I've always said that it's impossible to find sponsors in Russia for a project like formula one.

"When there was support at the top level of government, this project worked commendably.

"I don't rule out a scenario in which we have to end this Russian driver's competition in formula one," she added.

From WTCC

The Honda Racing Team JAS completed their second track test with the Civic WTCC car, at the Slovakia Ring on Monday and Tuesday.

Italian Gabriele Tarquini took the wheel for most of the time, then Tiago Monteiro replaced him on Tuesday afternoon.

“It was a very good test. We were able to go through the full programme we had planned without meeting with the lesser technical issue,” said Team Principal Alessandro Mariani.

Gabriele Tarquini in the new Honda Civic. (Photo: WTCC)

“The track is excellent for testing as it offers both fast and slow corners. So we had the opportunity to work on the engine and the chassis set-up, and we also completed some long runs. We are very satisfied with the outcome. The performance is there, especially in terms of race pace. During the previous test at Vallelunga, we sensed the potential of the car; at the Slovakia Ring we have had the confirmation that this potential is really promising'” he added.

“The Civic is a very good racing car to work on. We have tried some different set up, testing its reaction. The results were encouraging,” said Tarquini, a former Formula 1 driver.

“Our relationship with the Civic has just begun and I think we have only unveiled 25/30 percent of its potential. Performance is already there, so we are optimist. However we still have a long work to do and we must wait until we measure ourselves with the competitors,” the Italian added.

After tremendous success in the heydays of the Atlantic Series up until 2009, Swift Engineering is working now on its own proposal for the 2014 Indy Lights Series' car.

As it is now being called by the California-based company, the 020.I would follow in the path of Swift's most recent American ladder series car, the 016.a Atlantic chassis that was used through 2009.

Swift came to prominence in the early 1980s with its championship-winning DB1 Formula Ford chassis, and went on to produce open-wheel chassis for F2000, Formula Atlantic and the CART Indy car series.

With the demise of Champ Car, the company had focused its racing endeavours on Formula Nippon, and also submitted a proposal to supply the 2012 Indy car.

It is widely believed that Swift has spoken with some engine manufacturers, including Honda Performance Development, which is located near Swift in southern California but it has also looked outside the familiar pool of open-wheel engine manufacturers to power the 020.I.

It is expected that the Indy Lights Series will make his final choice public during this week-end in Baltimore.

Porsche will once again host Camp4 Canada at Mécaglisse, the renowned proving grounds on the north shore of Montreal. Next February, 20 participants from all over the world will live a unique winter driving experience and even be among the first to try out the new 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4.

Drivers will put their skills to the test on snow and ice-covered road courses as well as a giant winter skid pad. You see, Porsche wants to dispel myths that high-performance sports cars should stay in the garage for the cold season.

"Camp4 Canada is [...] designed to convince potential customers that all Porsche vehicles, including the sports cars that form the foundation of the Camp4 Canada program, are all-weather machines and can be driven through the winter with a bit of preparation and the proper driving techniques," said Laurance Yap, Director of Marketing at Porsche Canada.

You want in? Prices begin at $4,995 for Camp4 and $5,995 for Camp4S, and include accommodations, food and transfers between the hotel and the driving centre. For more information, go to www.porsche.ca/camp4.

Photo: Porsche