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Sebastian Saavedra has been invited to join the Andretti Autosport/AFS Racing squad for the upcoming IndyCar race to be run at Sears Point in August.

It won't be the first outing for the Indy Lights driver with the team as he drove an AFS/Andretti car at this year's Indianapolis 500, and, according to reports, this could be the first step towards a full-time deal in 2013.

The Colombian, who won the 2009 Indy Lights Rookie of the Year honours, returned to Lights this season with Andretti's team after racing in IndyCar last year with Conquest.

Sebastian Saavedra drove for Andretti Autosport/AFS at this year's Indy 500. (Photo: IndyCar)

Penske Racing announced that Ryan Blaney will drive their No. 22 Nationwide Dodge “at selected events,” over the remainder of this year.

The 18-year-old Blaney made his Nationwide Series debut in Richmond this year starting eighth and finishing seventh for Tommy Baldwin Racing.

“Ryan is a driver with a great racing pedigree and we believe he has a very bright future in NASCAR,” said Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing. “We've been keeping an eye on Ryan's development and we feel he'll be a great addition to the No. 22 Nationwide Series team.”

“I'm very excited about the opportunity to drive for Penske Racing for the rest of this season,” said Blaney. ”With the team's strong tradition of success and the winning program they've established in the Nationwide Series, I believe I can learn a lot and hopefully we can produce some strong finishes in the No. 22 car.”

Brad Keselowski, Penske's Sprint Cup driver has driven the No. 22 Nationwide Dodge 14 times this year and has two wins and one pole. Last Saturday he won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from the pole.

Brad Keselowski won last weekend with the Dodge No. 22. (Photo: NASCAR)

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel has denied yet again that a picture of his future would prominently feature the colour red.

Asked mischievously by the German newspaper Bild if he has any red clothes in his wardrobe already, the 25-year-old answered: "Ok, I can guess what you are after".

"Well, I definitely don't have any Ferrari overalls," Vettel, who is contracted to stay at Red Bull at least for another season in 2013, added.

The speculation is rampant -- multiple media sources insist the German has signed some sort of 'pre-contract', while Ferrari bosses have been quoted as openly praising the reigning world champion's skills.

"I am honoured that Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo have said they could see me as a Ferrari driver," Vettel acknowledged.

"But that's it. The truth is that I have not signed, I have not shaken any hands. But if you would ask the 24 drivers in formula one if they would like to be with Ferrari at some point in their career, they would all say yes. It's just an awesome racing team. But everything has to fit," insisted Vettel.

"Who knows, maybe it will and suddenly I will go somewhere else. But it may be that I never go anywhere else simply because there is no better package than Red Bull," he added.

Photo: Pirelli

Sebastian Vettel denied that he has already made plans beyond 2013.

"No, no and no," he insisted. "I really have enough to think about this season; the here and now is so crucial because it's already hard enough to defend my title this year. I can not and will not concern myself with what is maybe going to happen in a few years. It is much, much, much too early."

He did not deny, however, that he has had some contact with Ferrari chiefs.

"There is always contact," he admitted, "but just because I stand in the paddock and talk with Stefano Domenicali does not mean that soon I'm driving for him."

And he dismissed suggestions all the Ferrari flirting could be a rival's tactic to destabilise reigning champions Red Bull.

"There's no problem at Red Bull," Vettel insisted, "and my bosses know exactly how I feel -- we deal with each other absolutely openly."

In 2002, as I was working on a TV special on Ferrari, I probably conducted the last interview with Gaston Parent, Gilles Villeneuve's manager. The former businessman died less than 12 months after that interview.

In 1976, Gaston Parent was a prosperous and acute businessman in the fields of marketing and advertising. He got to know Gilles Villeneuve as the young driver needed money to race in Formula Atlantic.

At the time, Villeneuve badly needed $5,000 to compete in a Formula Atlantic race in Halifax to secure the Canadian title. Parent was impressed by the young charger. He decided to pay the bill.

Gaston Parent. (Photo: Musée Gilles Villeneuve)

Villeneuve raced in Halifax, won the race and the title. Weeks later, Parent attended the Trois-Rivieres Atlantic race where he beat F1 World Champion James Hunt who was driving an identical car.

Early 1977, Teddy Mayer of the McLaren F1 team proposed a four-race contract to Villeneuve. “I was too busy to go in England. I told Robert St-Onge (his right-hand man) that he would go with Villeneuve to sign the contract,” Gaston Parent told us. And the two later returned to Canada with a McLaren contract in pocket.

Villeneuve raced a year-old McLaren in the British Grand Prix in Silverstone and made a strong impression.

A few weeks later, Mayer faced a dilemma. He had signed Frenchman Patrick Tambay as a teammate to James Hunt for 1978 and he needed to get rid of Villeneuve. “Negotiations began between Teddy Mayer and Ferrari. Mayer did not want Gilles to go to Wolf - the new Canadian team. He wanted him to go to Ferrari,” Parent explained.

“One day, Gilles called me. He was overly excited. He said that Ferrari had called him and offered him a contract. We needed to go in Italy. In fact, Niki Lauda had decided to quit Ferrari and the Italian team needed a replacement driver. I did not want to go in Italy. But my friend Walter Wolf - who was the owner of the new Wolf Formula 1 team - convinced me to go.”

Villeneuve was ecstatic about the idea of meeting Mr. Enzo Ferrari in person. “For me, it was totally different,” Parent told us. “I was a Canadian businessman who was going to Italy to meet an Italian businessman. Period.”

Fiorano track. (photo: Ferrari)

Continue reading Gilles Villeneuve: A few stories from his business manager, Gaston Parent

From GMM

Caterham has announced it will move into its new factory after this weekend's Hungarian grand prix.

It emerged in January that the Tony Fernandes-led team would relocate to the former Arrows and Super Aguri facility in Leafield, Oxfordshire.

From its 2010 inception, the former Team Lotus has been based in Hingham, Norfolk.

"With Leafield open for business, we have put in place the next vital stage for the continuing development of all the Caterham Group businesses," said Malaysian entrepreneur Fernandes, referring not only to his F1 team, but also Caterham's GP2 and road car arms.

"The first task is to refurbish the whole site and prepare it for a long and successful future," he added.

Tony Fernandes said the refurbishment will be finished in late October.

Factory in Leafield, Oxfordshire.

Roush Fenway Racing announced today that Bob Osborne, the long-time crew chief of Carl Edwards #99 Ford Fusion would be replaced by Chad Norris.

Edwards had been a Cup contender up to the final lap of the 2011 season, but this year is a very different story with only 2 top-five finishes in 19 races so far this year. Worse Edwards, who is eleventh in the points, hasn't seen victory lane since Las Vegas in 2011, 52 races ago.

RFR said that Osborne will remain with the organization as a senior member of the organization's management team and steering committee.

Bob Osborne and Carl Edwards. (Photo: NASCAR)

“I have had the pleasure of working with Carl Edwards for the past nine years and, during that time, my focus has been building a championship-caliber program,” Osborne said. “I'm proud of the 18 wins we've had together in Sprint Cup Series competition and our two second-place points finishes.”

“At this time in my life, however, concerns with my health have necessitated that I change my role within the organization,” Osborne added. “This transition is not an easy one, but I'm thankful to have the full support of Jack, Carl and the entire organization. I also have every confidence in Chad Norris, and I look forward to working with him as we continue to pursue a championship in 2012. I also appreciate the privacy and respect that the community will give me and my family during this difficult time.”

Osborne was Edwards' first crew chief for his Sprint Cup debut in 2004, and the two have combined for 18 wins and two runner-up finishes in season-ending Sprint Cup Series point standings.

“I cannot say enough good things about Bob Osborne,” added driver Carl Edwards. “I'm so thankful for what he's done for me as a driver, and he is without a doubt one of the smartest guys in the sport. I'm also appreciative of the fact that he'll continue to be a resource for me and our team as we focus on these final races. We're very fortunate to have Chad Norris as part of our organization to take over for the No. 99. I've known Chad for a long time and he is a fierce competitor. We've got our work cut out for us over the next seven races, and I've got every confidence Chad can lead our team to where we need to be.”

Norris has been with Roush Fenway Racing since 2005, and since 2011 has led Roush Fenway's research and development test program that has seen him serve as crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., in his limited Sprint Cup Series schedule and Trevor Bayne in his limited Nationwide Series schedule.

Norris' first role as crew chief at Roush Fenway came in 2005 with the No. 17 Nationwide Series team. In his eight years with Roush Fenway, Norris has led multiple teams to victory lane, including Bayne's inaugural Nationwide Series win at Texas Motor Speedway in November of 2011.

“Our commitment to winning a championship with the No. 99 in 2012 has not waivered,” said team owner Jack Roush. “I'm committed to providing the resources to Carl and to his team to do that, and this restructuring of Bob's role and the introduction of Chad Norris as the crew chief for the No. 99 will put us in the best possible position for these final seven races before the ‘Chase' begins.”

After he secured his third season's victory at Brands Hatch, Gianmarco Raimondo, from St Catharines, Ontario, takes European Open F3 championship lead.

The F3 Open international championship is the former spanish F3 national serie, which grew up to an international calendar, now running on eight different countries in Europe. Last year, swiss driver Alex Fontana was crowned, before he moved to Formula 2 this season.

Beginning of the race at Brands-Hatch. (Photo: F3open.net)

After he ran the italian F3 championship in 2010, then the Euroseries F3 in 2011, 22 year old Raimondo moved to the Open F3 with team RP Motorsport. That was to be a successfull move. Raimondo claimed his maiden win at the Nürburgring, then won again at Spa. He took his third victory of the seasn at Brands Hatch, which allows him to take the championship lead.

Fiat is tapping into the American immigrant spirit with its new 500 commercial.

Lexus today announced pricing for the first-ever ES 300h hybrid sedan, as well as the 2013 ES 350 luxury sedan. The 2013 ES 300h hybrid will start at $39,745, including an $895 shipping charge, Lexus said in a statement today.

Also in this episode: An Austin-Healey stolen in 1970 finds its way home, Travis Pastrana grabs a Global RallyCross win in Loudon, N.H., and

The Nissan Versa hatchback will be redesigned, with styling similar to that of the new Note subcompact that the automaker revealed in Japan on Monday.

Toyota Motor Sales USA has tapped Bill Fay to lead the Toyota Division and has promoted division chief Bob Carter as part of a broad shuffling of its sales and marketing ranks, effective today.

Continuing with a recent run of in-car race footage, this video gem is sure to be a treat for vintage Cobra and racing fans.

2012 Nissan Quest 3.5 LE

Although the slab-sided styling isn't very appealing to us, we generally were impressed with the Nissan Quest.

Although the slab-sided styling isn't very appealing to me, I generally was impressed with the Nissan Quest. I get the impression the entire vehicle has been carefully designed to make it as practical and as sensible as possible. The extremely low step-in height and quick power sliding doors are very convenient. All the switches and instruments are incredibly easy to use. The third row of seats offers enough space for me to sit there comfortably, and it can effortlessly be folded flat.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Nissan Quest 3.5 LE - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Nissan Quest 3.5 LE - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2012 Nissan Quest 3.5 LE | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

PSA's bond-insurance costs surged to a record, trading as if the French automaker has a 51 percent chance of defaulting as it cuts thousands of jobs and closes a plant in its home market.

What is it?

The 2013 Honda Fit carries a base sticker price of $16,115 including $790 destinationand#8212;the same as that of the 2012 modeland#8212;when it arrives in dealerships on Tuesday.

Ford Motor Co. is bringing its Auto-Start-Stop system to the United States, the first time it has offered the system in this country in a nonhybrid application.

Ford is recalling about 8,200 copies of the redesigned 2013

News 16 Jul, 2012

Audi opens the world's first digital car showroom in the heart of London, with 20 more to follow around the world