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TOYOTA Racing arrived at the Le Mans 24 Hours for its very first race in the FIA World Endurance Championship, expecting a challenge for its new TS030 HYBRID prototypes.

The cars qualified third and fifth. After six hours of racing, Nicolas Lapierre executed a dramatic overtaking move to lead the race. However, seconds later a heavy accident for Anthony Davidson eliminated car No. 8 and changed the mood.

Then, Kazuki Nakajima made contact with another car soon after the Safety Car came in, while an alternator problem caused a delay in the pits. Ultimately, an engine failure after 10-and-a-half hours forced the retirement of car No. 7.

Photo: Toyota Racing

Team president Yoshiaki Kinoshita talked about the race in a press release published by the team based in Cologne, Germany. “It was very promising but ultimately disappointing. It was our dream to lead the race and to do so, even for only a short time, was fantastic. Of course Anthony's accident was a scary moment, and a turning point in the race. We all wish him a speedy recovery; it was difficult to enjoy the race after that,” Kinoshita said.

“Unfortunately we faced some problems on car No. 7 and had to retire. It is normal we had to deal with some technical issues in the race because our car is very young and we have not had enough testing, but nevertheless it was an extremely sad moment for us. We leave Le Mans with several areas to improve for future races but we can also be proud; the whole team gave everything they had and I want to say thank you for their great efforts,” he added.

He said he was happy that the hybrid system worked well during the race. “In the first place, it is a significant achievement from Motor Sport Division and the TOYOTA Motor Corporation Hybrid Department to bring such technology to Le Mans. In terms of performance we are happy with how the hybrid system contributed to our overall speed. I think we showed that our concept has strong promise and we continue to work hard on reliability,” Kinoshita said.

“We will compete in the rest of the FIA World Endurance Championship races with one car. That means five races in which to learn about our car and hopefully improve; our target is simply to show our best possible performance at each race,” Kinoshita ended.

So says a report published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization (WHO) body.

It was first classified as a potential carcinogen in 1988. Now that the IARC has proved beyond any doubt that exposure to particles contained in exhaust fumes of diesel engines significantly increases risks of lung cancer, the classification was reviewed and changed to "certain".

Director of powertrain and chassis engineering, Christian Chapelle immediately voiced his answer to the report: "Conclusions made by the WHO are based on old data, and new diesel engines, including my group's, cannot be regarded as such."

In Eastern Europe, diesel vehicles accounted for 55.7% of new car sales in 2011; in France, the numbers ramp up to 72.4%. Luxembourg, Norway and Belgium follow closely behind in the statistics. In Canada, according to 2009 data, diesels only powered 3% of all vehicles (heavy equipment excluded).

Source: cnetfrance.fr

From GMM

Mexico is not quite ready to confirm the country's return to the formula one calendar, key figure Carlos Slim has revealed.

We reported a month ago that the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City, the scene of the last Mexican grand prix in 1992, is being lined up to host formula one again in 2013, replacing Valencia.

The original report in Spanish sports newspaper Marca said the race will be backed by many of Sauber driver Sergio Perez's sponsors, including billionaire Slim.

Photo: Sauber F1 Team

Telmex's Slim, however, told Marca this week that he cannot confirm the news.

"There are many variables to make a grand prix a reality," he insisted. "We still need a few more things before we come to a formal proposal and everything takes its time. Hopefully it can be a reality soon."

But Slim agreed that Mexico has proved it deserves a place on the calendar, given the amount of tickets for the forthcoming US grand prix that have been bought by Mexicans.

And amid the economic troubles elsewhere, Slim argued it is a "great time" for Mexico, which has "all the characteristics to (host) large events".

"We are working on a formal proposal," he reiterated. "As far as I know everything is being done in optimal time."

Where I'm from, driving anywhere requires lengthy travels on boring highways with fairly high speed limits. It's easy to go into ‘auto-pilot' mode and zone out, especially if you drive said highways extensively, and often, and at night.

So, the other night when a large black bear got in front of my 2012 Subaru Impreza tester just south of Sudbury, Ontario, I was glad I hadn't zoned out.


Maybe Yogi was trying to escape the ravages of infinite droves of mosquitoes, activated by late-spring rain across Northern Ontario. Maybe he was just confused. Or maybe, he forgot to look both ways. Whatever the case, this is a common occurrence in my neck of the woods - and one that can be fatal if not handled properly.

Anyhow. Yogi.

Alight, Justin.

Don't tense up. Gently onto the brakes, locate the escape path behind the bear, gently steer towards that escape path, eat the gravel shoulder a little, gently back onto the pavement. Breathe again. Then, jam on the horn to hopefully scare Yogi off the road. Engage four-way hazard lamps to advise oncoming motorists of the potential threat if not.

Crisis averted.

I'm not a driving instructor, nor do I have superhuman driving skills. What I am is a northerner that puts on thousands of kilometres a week, each and every week in a variety of different cars that sometimes face a variety of different wildlife.

Here are a few tips I've learned (and been taught) to help evade wildlife-related accidents on the road.

1) Be able to see and react well. Do your eyes a favor at night and have a properly-aimed lighting system, preferably of the xenon-fired variety. Note that a quality set of driving glasses during the day will keep your eyes ‘fresh' into the evening as well. Fight eye fatigue - as it can prevent you from quickly recognizing hazards up ahead.

2) Don't go Hollywood. Stabbing and thrashing at the brakes and steering, respectively, is a good way to plow directly into what you're trying to avoid. Apply the brakes and steering inputs smoothly and you'll have more grip for evading dangerous situations.

3) Dodge to the rear of the animal if you can. Most animals don't like to walk or run backwards.

4) Be prepared and don't panic. Use an empty stretch of road to practice slamming on your brakes and steering quickly and smoothly when it's safe to do so. You'll be more confident and successful when a situation requires this reaction for real.

5) Maintain your braking firmly, even if you're taking the gravel shoulder. Be firm but smooth with the inputs.

6) Don't cause an accident for a bunny. If faced with running over a small critter or having to dodge into oncoming traffic, the animal loses. An unfortunate fact of life.

7) Eyes up for advanced warning. Look as far as you can up the road. Your peripheral vision is more sensitive to changes on the edges of your sight (ie, in the bush), anyways. Look to the end of your headlights, and let your peripheral vision locate hazards to the side.

8) Get off the road. If you hit an animal and suffer an accident, engage your four-ways, and pull as far as you possibly can onto the shoulder.

Following a string of disappointing results in the early season, Brazilian Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa has been smiling a lot more since the last few Grands Prix.

“It's true, I'm much happier, because I can drive the Ferrari F2012 much more in the way I like now,” Massa said to Ferrari web site.

“This means I am much more pleased with my driving, and with the balance of the car and the pace I can run at. When that happens, of course, you feel good and for sure, all the modifications and updates introduced on the car helped in this process, but also important was the way we worked on the set-up with my engineers. We changed many things in terms of the balance and found a good direction that suits me,” he said.

Felipe Massa (Photo: Ferrari)

Massa admitted that the set-up that suits his teammate Fernando Alonso does not necessarily fits him. “Every driver has his own style, the way he turns the steering wheel, or uses the throttle pedal and if you don't feel comfortable with something then it definitely doesn't help,” Massa added.

“You know how it is with Formula 1 and in fact, not just F1 but all sports at the top level, it involves working on the very small details. When something is not working for you, you move away from the right direction and lose performance, as you are not operating at 100% yourself.”

The Ferrari F2012 has improved considerably in recent weeks, however, it is still not the quickest car on the grid. However, Massa is pleased with the current rate of development work.

“For sure, we have many new parts, compared to the beginning of the season when we were far from how happy with our development. In the last three races, things have started to move much more in the right direction, with the right level of development producing a good level of performance. We have seen that in Barcelona, Monaco and Canada and from now on, I know there are many more updates coming and I expect that improving trend to continue,” Massa explained.

The recent good from of the F2012 is not only due to running soft tires.

“Certainly, if we could choose, we still prefer soft tires,” conceded Felipe.

“This year the tires are much softer than last year, but anyway this year's car struggles much less than in the past when it comes to bringing tires up to temperature quickly. So, running the medium and soft this weekend in Valencia should be fine for us.”

Marketing veteran Scott Keogh is taking the helm of Audi of America.

McLaren Automotive celebrates one and 1,000 today. The one is for the first anniversary of the opening of the British supercar maker's first dealership to retail the MP4-12C.

The new Land Cruiser Heritage Museum will open on June 23 in Tooele, Utah. Located in

Earlier this month, we brought you word of the online auction

Remarks by two aides to President Obama this week calling fuel cells part of the solution for improving automobile fuel efficiency gave boosters some optimism the U.S. will help create a market for the technology.

PSA, Ford, GM, Kia, Volvo and Johnson Controls were among the companies to have an executive named as a Rising Star by Automotive News Europe.

Chrysler is getting its piece of the hype surrounding the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Also in this episode: The Salmon car collection sells at auction, Bentley releases its fastest production model yet, and a behind-the-scenes video of the Tesla Model S being painted.

A proposed Pacific trade region may capture an additional $3 trillion in economic output, while boosting North American automotive trade, after Canada and Mexico were invited to take part in talks with nine other nations.

Nissan will trim its production capacity in Japan by 15 percent next month, the Nikkei said on Thursday.

Jaguar, Porsche and Cadillac posted the biggest improvements in new-vehicle quality for the 2012 model year, while the Mini, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Subaru brands fell back in a year that saw overall industry quality advance nearly 5...

The three most important things about a one-day driving school are track time, track time and track time. Monticello Motor Club in upstate New York offers that, plus hours of class instruction, on a 22-turn, 4.1-mile track 90 minutes from Manhattan.

In this interview, Matthew Beecham talked with Les Hill, Automotive Test Systems Product Planning Department of Horiba Ltd. The Horiba Group of worldwide companies provides an array of instruments and systems for applications ranging from automotive R&D, process and environmental monitoring, in-vitro medical diagnostics, semiconductor manufacturing and metrology, to scientific R&D and QC measurements.

Monticello Motor Club is a 4.1-mile road course located about 90 miles from Manhattan in upstate New York.