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Augusto Farfus (BMW) took his second win in-a-row at Zandvoort, for the penultimate round of the DTM season. Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) finished second, which was enough to secure the championship win before Hockenheim.

Both title contenders dominated the race in Zandvoort, as Farfus and Rockenfeller pulled away in front after pole sitter Marco Wittmann had a poor start and could not retain first position. The Brazilian driver was able to maintain his lead until the checkered flag, to take his second win in-a-row, his third one this season.

Mike Rockenfeller, Augusto Farfus, Timo Schedier (Photo: DTM.com)

But Mike Rockenfeller is now out of reach in championship classification, as the Audi driver secured a second place which gave him the title before the last round in Hockenheim. Timo Scheider (Audi) was third, which was a small consolation for the 2008-2009 champion, who had a very tough season.

The Canadian drivers had another race to forget in Zandvoort. Bruno Spengler (BMW) who started from 16th position, was on course to score points thanks to a good strategy, but only until a late incident with Pascal Wherlein's Mercedes damaged one of his wheel, forcing him to slow down in the last laps, and dropping him down to 20th.

Robert Wickens (Mercedes) could not secure better than 16th position.

The last round of the championship will be presented on october 20th in Hockenheim.

Zandvoort (Photo: DTM.com)

Race results - DTM (Zandvoort)
1 - Augusto Farfus (BMW M3) - RBM - 44 laps in 1.13'26"294
2 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1"603
3 - Timo Scheider (Audi RS5) - Abt - 2"149
4 - Mattias Ekstroem (Audi RS5) - Abt - 3"383
5 - Marco Wittmann (BMW M3) - MTEK - 3"652
6 - Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 3"834
7 - Joey Hand (BMW M3) - RBM - 4"444
8 - Filipe Albuquerque (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 5"060
9 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes AMG-C Coupé) - HWA - 6"795
10 - Miguel Molina (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 7"023
11 - Martin Tomczyk (BMW M3) - RMG - 7"397
12 - Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes AMG-C Coupé) - Mucke - 7"415
13 - Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Abt - 8"068
14 - Edoardo Mortara (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 9"992
15 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes AMG-C Coupé) - HWA - 10"596
16 - Robert Wickens (Mercedes AMG-C Coupé) - HWA - 11"117
17 - Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes AMG-C Coupé) - Mucke - 11"558
18 - Timo Glock (BMW M3) - MTEK - 12"043
19 - Andy Priaulx (BMW M3) - RMG - 12"890
20 - Bruno Spengler (BMW M3) - Schnitzer - 21"301

Fastest lap: 1'32"396 (Marco Wittmann)

Retirements
Lap 37 - Dirk Werner
Lap 1 - Roberto Merhi

Championship
1.Rockenfeller 142; 2.Farfus 116; 3.Vietoris 71; 4.Wickens 70; 5.Spengler, Paffett 67.

From press release

Brendon Hartley and Jonatha Hirschi won the last round of the European Le Mans Series at Le Castellet in the Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan, as Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues clinched the title driving their Signatech Alpine.

Natacha Gachnang and Christian Klien took second place driving their Morand Racing Morgan-Judd ahead of the Jota Sport Zytek driven by Simon Dolan and Oliver Turvey.

However the day belonged to the Signatech Alpine team and the driver line up Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues who were crowned 2013 ELMS Champions despite finishing 4th overall after a unscheduled pitstop for a replacement steering wheel.

Photo: Signature-team.com

Their nearest rivals for the title, Thiriet by TDS Racing and Pierre Thiriet had a torrid race after Mathias Beche lost a rear wheel forcing the car into the pits for several laps and destroying any title hopes they had.

The LMPC title went to Gary Hirsch and Paul Loup Chatin but the victory belonged to Soheil Ayari and Anthony Pons again despite technical issues for the championship winning car, forcing the team to take the car to the paddock for repairs.

However the Team Endurance Challenge crew got the car back on track and they secured enough points to be confirmed as 2013 champions.

Matt Griffin and Johnny Mowlem dominated the LMGTE proceeding to take the 2013 title in style with their third win of the season in the No. 52 RAM Racing Ferrari.

In GTC  the No. 69 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 of Fabio Babini, Viktor Shaitar and Kirill Ladygin took their 4th win from four starts in the 2013 ELMS to take the GTC title for the Russian team in their inaugural season on the European stage.

Rudolf Diesel, who invented the engine that bears his name, disappeared under strange circumstances on the evening of September 29th, 1913, while crossing the English Channel on the Dresden post office steamer.

Was it a suicide? A murder? No one knows exactly, even to this day, but Diesel was a German engineer born in France, and pre-WWI tensions were already high.

Diesel obtained patents for his design in Germany and other countries in 1897. Three years later, at the Exposition Universelle (world's fair) in Paris, he presented the first ''heavy oil'' engine on the market.

Mercedes (1936) and Peugeot (1938) sold the first Diesel-powered passenger cars in history.

From Grand-Am.com

Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor ended the 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series season with an exclamation point, winning Saturday's GRAND-AM Championship Weekend Presented by BMW at Lime Rock Park by 13 points to clinch the Daytona Prototype (DP) championship with their third consecutive victory.

At the Kansas Speedway race in August, Taylor held off Scott Pruett throughout the final half-hour to win the race in the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP to take the lead in the standings. In the most recent race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Taylor led the final 29 laps to extend that lead.

Saturday, the 22-year-old Floridian led the final 69 laps, winning by five seconds over Gustavo Yacaman with Pruett taking third.

DP winners (photo: Grand-Am.com)

Pruett and Memo Rojas of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sebates' No. 01 Telcel/TELMEX BMW/Riley finished the season 14 points ahead of GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing's Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney, drivers of the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP to round out the top three in points.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates won its seventh DP team championship in 10 years and fourth in a row, finishing six points ahead of Wayne Taylor Racing.

In GT, Alessandro Balzan and Scuderia Corsa did exactly what they needed to do to win a championship of their own, taking advantage of a second-lap crash by Magnus Racing's John Potter and Andy Lally.

GT champions (photo: Grand-Am.com)

Eric Curran and substitute co-driver Lawson Aschenbach were GT winners in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette, beating Balzan - and co-driver Leh Keen - by four seconds in Scuderia Corsa's No. 63 Ferrari 458.

Aschenbach took over for usual co-driver Boris Said, who missed the race due to travel difficulties. It was the second victory for Marsh Racing of Old Lyme, Conn., which will move to the Prototype ranks in 2014 in a Corvette DP.

After fixing their car, Magnus Racing and Lally and Potter went back out to finish 13th in class (106 laps down), and claim second in the team and driver points, respectively.

John Edwards and co-driver Robin Liddell entered the event third in points in the No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Camaro GT.R and had a fourth-place run to finish third in both the Rolex Series GT team and driver standings.

Jim Norman won the first GX championship, taking his ninth consecutive second-place finish in the No. 38 BGB Motorsports Calcium Pro Porsche Cayman co-driven by Spencer Pumpelly, behind Tom Long and Sylvain Tremblay, who took their fourth GX victory in the No. 70 Mazdaspeed/ SpeedSource Mazda 6. SpeedSource.

Race results - Grand-Am (Lime Rock)
1 - Angelelli-Taylor (Corvette DP/Dallara) - Taylor - 173 laps
2 - Wilson-Yacaman (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 173
3 - Pruett-Rojas (Riley-BMW) - Ganassi - 173
4 - Cameron-Nonnamaker (Riley-BMW) - Sahlen - 173
5 - Di Guida-Bourdais (Corvette DP/Coyote) - 8Star - 173
6 - Negri-Pew (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 173
7 - Dalziel-Popow (Riley-Ford) - Starworks - 173
8 - Frisselle-Frisselle (Corvette DP/Coyote) - ActionEx - 173
9 - Taylor-Westbrook (Corvette DP) - SpiritOfDaytona - 171
10 - Potolicchio-Valiante-Sarrazin (Corvette DP/Coyote) - 8Star - 170
11 - Nonnamaker-Nonnamaker (Riley-BMW) - Sahlen - 167
12 - Fogarty-Gurney (Corvette DP/Riley) - Stallings - 163
13 - Curran-Aschenbach-Said (Corvette Z06) - Marsh - 162
14 - Balzan-Keen (Ferrari GTS3 458) - Corsa - 162
15 - Van Overbeek-Westphal (Ferrari GTS3 458) - Corsa - 162
16 - Edwards-Liddell (Chevy Camaro) - Stevenson - 161
17 - KimberSmith-Marsal (BMW M3) - Turner - 161
18 - Hedlund-Kaffer (Riley-BMW) - Starworks - 160
19 - Garcia-Magnussen (Chevy Camaro) - Stevenson - 160
20 - Tagliani-Segal (Ferrari GTS3 458) - AIM - 159
21 - Greenberg-Lietz (Porsche 997) - Muehlner - 156
22 - Long-Tremblay (Mazda 6) - Speedsource - 154
23 - Pumpelly-Norman (Porsche Cayman) - BGB - 152
24 - Lindsey-Long (Porsche 997) - Park Place - 151
25 - Miller-Nunez (Mazda 6) - Speedsource - 133
26 - Faulkner-Stanaway (Aston Martin Vantage) - TRG - 106
27 - Carter-Lux (Audi R8) - Fall-Line - 105
28 - Lally-Potter (Porsche 997) - Magnus - 83
29 - Barbosa-Fittipaldi (Corvette DP/Coyote) - ActionEx - 67
30 - Auberlen-Della Lana (BMW M3) - Turner - 50
31 - Dollahite-Dollahite (Lotus Evora) - SDR - 2
32 - Doyle-Marcelli (Porsche 997) - Muehlner - 1

The "unflappable" Sébastien Loeb has overtaken Walter Rohrl as the best ever rally driver, according to the boss of M-Sport, Malcolm Wilson, as the World Rally Championship (WRC) gears up for the Rallye de France, probably Loeb's last ever WRC appearance.

It's a special relationship that bonds Loeb and Wilson, himself a former rally driver and two-time British champion, as the 57-year-old heads a rival team. Wilson's M-Sport is Ford's official partner in the WRC since 1997.

"I feel privileged that I've been here to see all of his nine championship wins," he admits in an interview with WRC.com, before adding "and sad too, because he's probably cost me seven out of the nine."

But Wilson doesn't seem to hold a grudge against the Frenchman: "He's my all time number one. It used to be Walter Rohrl, but then, sadly, his achievement was way surpassed.

The legendary Walter Rohrl (photo: WRC.com)

"To win nine consecutive championships is incredible."

Loeb is better than anyone else in the eye of Wilson because of the way he deals with pressure, and because of the way he deals with all types of surfaces.

"I think he's the complete all-rounder. He's won on every surface possible and has always had the speed," Wilson analyzes.

"But for me, the most important thing is the way that he's managed his rallies and, in fact, his whole career. He's totally unflappable and pressure just doesn't seem to faze him."

Sébastien Loeb is now looking for new challenges (Photo: V-Images.com/Eric Fabre)

We spent the preview day of the

Editors note: Day 1 is all over but the shouting; for the live stream from Day 2, go here. For a look at the

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen is holding talks with Dongfeng to deepen their partnership, CEO Philippe Varin said after the French automaker's 4th Chinese factory opened.

GM's partnership with PSA would survive even if China's Dongfeng Motor takes a stake in the French automaker, GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky said.

Ford began mailing checks to customers this month to compensate them for the company's lowering of the estimated fuel economy for the C-Max Hybrid.

PSA dealers in China are giving away French wine and perfume to persuade customers that a country that produces such fine luxuries must also make good cars. China is key for PSA as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Europe's weak car market.

General Motors will wait until its next round of labor talks in 2015 before negotiating with the UAW about the automaker's U.S. blue-collar pension obligation, GM's vice chairman said on Friday.

Once again, Audi is standing up for its lights. This year, the German luxury brand was thwarted in its attempt to win quick regulatory approval in the United States for its auto-dimming Matrix Beam headlights.

From Grand-Am.com

Team Sahlen and Dane Cameron scored their second DP TOTAL Pole Award of the season at Lime Rock Park, but it was a spin that may affect the DP championship race that highlighted Saturday morning's qualifying session for the GRAND-AM Championship Weekend Presented by BMW.

Championship hopeful Chip Ganassi Racing was slated to start seventh after Memo Rojas in the No. 01 Telcel/TELMEX BMW/Riley brought out the final black flag period at the end of the session by spinning in Turn 3. Rojas was second at the time of his spin, but was penalized his fastest lap.

An engine change after qualifying, however, moves the No. 01 to the back of the DP grid.

 Meanwhile, points leaders Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli in the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP for Wayne Taylor Racing will roll off fifth.

Dane Cameron, BMW/Riley No. 42 (Photo: Grand-Am.com)

Cameron ran a lap of 48.795 (108.749 mph) for the pole in the No. 42 Sahlen's BMW/Riley, followed by Christian Fittipaldi, 49.204, for Action Express Racing and Jon Fogarty, 49.229, in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP. Fittipaldi sits fourth in driver points while Fogarty and co-driver Alex Gurney are third.

Lawson Aschenbach earned the GT pole filling in for Boris Said in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Corvette for Marsh Racing with a lap of 53.404 (99.363 mph). Leh Keen was second in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 co-driven by championship hopeful Alessandro Balzan.

GT points leaders John Potter and Andy Lally will start 11th in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3.

Tom Long led the GX field with a lap of 56.916 (93.232 mph) in the No. 70 Mazdaspeed/Speedsource Mazda 6, his sixth of the season. Points leader Jim Norman will start fourth.

Qualifying results - Grand-Am (Lime Rock Park)
1.Cameron-Nonnamaker (Riley-BMW) - Sahlen - 48"795
2.Barbosa-Fittipaldi (Corvette DP/Coyote) - ActionEx - 49"204
3.Fogarty-Gurney (Corvette DP/Riley) - Stallings - 49"229
4.Wilson-Yacaman (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 49"360
5.Angelelli-Taylor (Corvette DP/Dallara) - Taylor - 49"397
6.Frisselle-Frisselle (Corvette DP/Coyote) - ActionEx - 49"466
7.Dalziel-Popow (Riley-BMW) - Starworks - 49"686
8.Potolicchio-Valiante-Sarrazin (Corvette DP/Coyote) - 8Star - 49
9.Negri-Pew (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 50"961
10.Hedlund-Kaffer (Riley-BMW) - Starworks - 52"256
(...)

From press release

The provisional 2014 European Le Mans Series calendar has been unveiled, with four of the five venues remaining the same from this season and the addition of Estoril in October for the season finale.

After running with the World Series by Renault three times in 2013, the ELMS will have five standalone rounds as there will be extra track time for the competitors and grids are set to expand as more interest is shown by teams and drivers for the relaunched European endurance series.

2014 calendar
1/2 April: Official testings at Paul Ricard (Fra)
19 April: Silverstone (GB)
11 May: Imola (Ita)
20 July: Red Bull Ring (Aut)
14 September: Paul Ricard (Fra)
12 October: Estoril (Por)

On September 28th, 2008, SpaceX (founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk) managed to put a satellite into orbit using the Falcon 1 launch vehicle.

It was the fourth try for SpaceX after three failed attempts -- March 2006, March 2007, and August 2008.

Man, that Musk guy can do just about anything!

Source: Futura-Sciences.com

From Sauber F1 Team

Between the Singapore and Korean Grands Prix the Sauber F1 Team headed to Russia for a first taste of the Sochi International Street Circuit, which will be hosting the 2014 Russian Grand Prix.

Sergey Sirotkin, who is set to make his race debut next year, drove a Formula One car for the very first time during the show run, which was part of the 12th International Investment Forum.

Blasting the C31 along the 700 meters of tarmac that are already finished, Sirotkin was able to get a taste of what lies ahead of him next year.

Sergey Siroktin, Sauber C31 (Photo: Sauber)

“These were my first metres in a Formula One car, which obviously is something very special, even though it was only a short part of the Sochi track.”

“We are proud to be part of this historic event - a Russian driver drives a Formula One car for the first time at the track in Sochi,” added team principal Monisha Kaltenborn.

“The show run marks an important milestone in the lead up to the inaugural Russian Formula One Grand Prix, which our team is looking forward to.”

Mazda Canada is recalling 25,155 Mazda6 sedans from 2009-2013 due to a door locking problem.

In some cases, door latch screws could loosen over time, causing the door(s) to fail to latch when closed and illuminating the door ajar warning light. If the car is driven in this condition, the door(s) could open, increasing the risk of an accident.

Mazda dealers will therefore inspect and re-tighten or replace the latch screws.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

From press release

Formula Race Promotions today confirmed that the Atlantic Championship Series will race in 2014, as the Series will expand to include five full-event weekends with two races each, comprising a 10-round Championship calendar presented by Hoosier Racing Tire.

Formula Race Promotions operated the Atlantic campaign in 2012, running an exhibition season with three race weekends and six rounds.

A hiatus year was taken in 2013 to formulate an expanded operation, and a schedule including top race tracks in the country is nearing completion with dates at Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta, Virginia International Raceway and more already booked.

“The enthusiasm I experienced last weekend from the Atlantic entrants at the 50th Anniversary SCCA Runoffs at Road America convinced me that the time is right to present the racers, teams and fans an expanded season for this iconic class of spectacular cars in 2014,” said Series Managing Director Michael Rand.

Photo: atlanticchampionshipseries.com

“An exciting season of one double-race weekend per month starting in April and winding up on Labor Day weekend at great race tracks holds great promise for all.”

While other forms of the pro class have focused on a spec chassis, Formula Race Promotions will, like in 2012, allow all Atlantic cars a level playing field.

Fans can look forward to seeing and hearing the likes of Swift 014/Toyotas going up against the current generation Swift 016/Mazdas, and the occasional Ralt RT40 or RT41 challenging at the front of the field.

In 2012, David Grant cruised to the title for Polestar Racing Group, winning four of six races in his Swift 014. Grant moved laterally in 2013, racing in the F2000 Series, and even making a pair of F1600 starts, with two second place finishes.

The Atlantic cars will join the F2000 and F1600 Series on all their race weekends in 2014.

Similar to the business model behind F2000 and F1600, Atlantic drivers and teams can expect hefty amounts of track time, reasonable entry and registration costs, a controlled spec tire from Hoosier, and a dedicated and hard-working Series staff at every event.

The full F2000, F1600 and Atlantic schedule will be released shortly.

According to reports, veteran IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan will join the Target Chip Ganassi squad for the 2014 season and drive alongside Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball.

Although the deal has not been signed yet, we believe that the 2013 Indianapolis 500 champion will be announced shortly as the new member of the four-entry Ganassi team.

Kanaan has been previously associated with KV Racing Technology for the past three years and with Andretti Green Racing/Andretti Autosport (where he won the 2004 IndyCar championship) before that.

Some weeks ago, the Brazilian had contacts with the Sprint Cup Joe Gibbs Racing team but, has it was the case with other IndyCar teams, he would have had to bring a budget to have a drive.

An official announcement could be made shortly although all parties involved have refused so far to confirm the reports.