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From GMM

Rarely do the worlds of formula one and the Olympics collide.

But casual viewers of the prestigious equestrian dressage event could hardly believe their ears when a commentator said a German competitor was riding in London "her lovely stallion (called) Damon Hill".

And while a little piece of F1 trotted and pranced for gold, a little piece of the 2008 Beijing games can now be found in the McLaren garage.

Olympic silver medallist Tom Stallard is Jenson Button's performance engineer.

Four years ago, he was among the world's elite 'men's eight' rowers.

"I'd always wanted to be in formula one," he said. "I did a motor sports-focused course at university and did some work experience in the sport. I basically joined the team straight after the 2008 Olympics."

McLaren's garage during a Grand Prix weekend. (Photo: McLaren)

And just so the story goes full circle, the most famous rower ever to grace a formula one paddock was Graham Hill -- former world champion Damon Hill's father.

Before he got serious about racing, two-time title winner Hill competed for the prestigious London Rowing Club, adopting its distinctive navy and white colours for his F1 helmet.

"The self discipline required for rowing and the 'never say die' attitude obviously helped me through the difficult years that lay ahead," 1962 and 1968 world champion Hill wrote in his 1969 autobiography, Life At The Limit.

Son Damon Hill raced the same London rowing colours to the 1996 title.

Former Formula 1 driver and CART series' champion Alex Zanardi will make his Paralympic debut in a few weeks at the London Games.

In September 2001, Zanardi, racing in the CART series lost both his legs in a terrible race crash at the Lausitzring oval in Germany. Zanardi's car was t-boned at 200 mph by another car after spinning out of control while coming back on the race track.

But having designed his own prosthetic legs, the likeable Italian made a successful return to motorsport in the World Touring Car Championship before turning to wheelchair sport, and has now qualified for the Paralympics as a hand cyclist.

Training really hard, Zanardi won the 2011 New York handcycle marathon.

“The fact that I've been able not only to turn a misfortune into an opportunity, but to turn it into a great opportunity,” said Zanardi during an interview at SPEED Center.

“I wouldn't do what I am doing if I didn't love it. The fact that I'm loving paracycling, what I am doing today, the fact that I've been able to qualify and represent my nation in the next Olympic games is something I will forever tell my friends,” the Italian declared.

Williams Formula 1 driver Pastor Madonado and GP2 series' competitor Rodolfo Gonzalez are currently in their native Venezuela in an effort to promote motorsport.

Both drivers are sponsored by PDVSA, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., the national petroleum company.

Pastor Maldonado (Photo: Williams Twitter)

Williams F1 enjoys tremendous support in Venezuela, not least because of Maldonado whose win at the Spanish Grand Prix this season has seen him become a national icon in his home country.

Pastor will be joined by Team Principal Sir Frank Williams for a series of exciting events in the country's capital, Caracus, including Pastor driving his Formula One car around the capital city's most renowned national monument, Los Proceres.

Rodolfo Gonzalez (Photo: Juan Eduardo Reina)

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To participate, visit Auto123.com's Facebook page.

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Quebec driver Andrew Ranger, a two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire series' champion intends to shine in the two categories he will be competing in during the NAPA Auto Parts 200 held in Montreal next weekend.

Ranger captured a brillant win last weekend at the Juliawine.com 100 of the Canadian Tire series at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres.

“That was a welcomed boost! Because honestly the first half of the season had its share of ups and downs,” Ranger told Auto123.com.

Photo: Getty Images/NASCAR

“We made a lot of changes to the car, because the Edmonton race was a real downer. I was running in third place when I completely lost the brakes. They overheated and at one point I had no choice but to put the car into a spin to slow down! It was a major failure. I eventuelly finished seventh but we lost a great deal of championship points that day. We had to do something. So the team worked really hard to make the changes. And the brakes worked perfectly on Trois-Rivieres street course. And that's encouraging for Montreal,” Ranger explained.

The Gilles Villeneuve circuit is really hard on the brakes. “In fact, this track is extremely hard on every component of the car: engine, brakes, transmission, suspensions. It's like an endurance race. One year, the race lasted four hours and a half! That's an eternity!” Ranger added.

Psychologically, the young Quebecer is in a much stronger position than last year. “I have a new agent in Steve Meehan. Steve is the owner of the GC Motorsport International - a team that races in the NASCAR Nationwide series. He took me under his wing,” Ranger continued.

Andrew Ranger, winner at Trois-Rivieres. (Photo: Yanick Gougeon)

“At the NAPA Auto Poarts 200 in Montreal, I will race in the two series. I'm going to have little time to breathe as I have to drive two different cars as well as do the media and public appearances. I'm going to be pretty busy!” he added.

Will the Quebecer push harder in one series in comparison to the other? “No. I am currently second in the standinsg of the Canadian Tire series and I know I can clinch a third title. But on the other hand, I would also like to become the first Quebecer to win the Nationaide race! I have the right car to do it. My goal is to run withtin the top five all race long and to give it all during the last laps of the race,” Ranger ended.

Magna International reported a 24-percent jump in quarterly profit on Thursday and said it was buying the controlling, minority stake in its electric car business.

A123 Systems' CEO said the company's financial rescue by China's largest auto-parts maker will preserve U.S. jobs, after the agreement drew criticism from a member of Congress.

The best thing about Detroitand#8212;besides our stellar sports teams and sparkling reputationand#8212;is that the car industry lives here. In addition to the Detroit Three, nearly every maker has a presence in the Motor City.

2012 Fiat 500 Sport - Cuteness Prevails

A niche car, like the Fiat 500, doesn't have a lot of candidates for simple and straightforward comparisons.

A niche car, like the Fiat 500, doesn't have a lot of candidates for simple and straightforward comparisons. You can stretch to compare it to a car that's a little bigger or more expensive, or you can look at it next to some cars you'd usually skip, such as the Fiat's stable mate, the 500C.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport - Four Seasons Update - July 2012 - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport - Four Seasons Update - July 2012 - Automobile Magazine

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Also in this episode: Details of the next BMW M3 emerge, and we learn more about the departure of GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick.

BMW, one of the official sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics, has gotten its brand into the Olympic stadium -- which is supposed to be free of all commercial activity -- via a fleet of cute Mini Minis.

Porsche will preview plans for a Panamera-based wagon concept in September at the Paris motor show. It is set to provide telling clues for the direction of a production version that could arrive in several years.

2013 Acura RDX

The 2013 Acura RDX is a bit of an anomaly.

The 2013 Acura RDX is a bit of an anomaly. While most automakers are switching to smaller, turbocharged engines to achieve higher EPA numbers and entice buyers (as well as meet new government-mandated CAFE requirements), Acura has chosen instead to drop the RDX's turbocharged four-cylinder in favor of a normally aspirated V-6. The crossover still manages to improve upon its previous fuel economy figures, although the increase is fairly small: the all-wheel-drive model sees the most significant increase with a combined rating of 22 mpg, up from 19 mpg. This might not sound like a particularly good number for a small crossover but when compared to others in its class, it stacks up pretty well: six-cylinder all-wheel-drive versions of the Audi Q5, BMW X3, and Cadillac SRX achieve 20, 21, and 18 mpg, respectively.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Acura RDX - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Acura RDX - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

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ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Now this is a Fiat

Pictures 9 Aug, 2012

News 9 Aug, 2012

R8 e-tron will be the first production car to get a digital rear-view mirror

News 9 Aug, 2012

Scheme will offer similar arbitration service to council-run car parks

Suzuki says it is unable to provide further details of the arson attack at its Indian Maruti unit at Manesar that left a senior manager dead and scores of severely injured staff hospitalised.

News 9 Aug, 2012

Audi workshops will now video problems, then post the footage online for customers to see

Days after vowing to be 'relentless' in getting GM back on track, CEO Dan Akerson is putting his money where his mouth is. On Wednesday, Akerson bought 25,000 GM shares at a price of $20.