Auto News 5

Ricardo Mauricio won the Brazilian stock car championship, this Sunday at Interlagos.

The Eurofarma RC driver pipped rival Thiago Camilo (Ipiranga-RCM) for his second title with a second place finish behind former F1 driver Ricardo Zonta, who secured his first win in the series.

"I want to thank God," admitted a relieved Zonta after the race. "This victory (comes) at a very important time in my career."

Caca Bueno completed the podium, while problems dropped Camilo, who was leading four laps from the finish, to sixth at the checkered flag.

Other big names in the race included Luciano Burti (seventh), Rubens Barrichello (eighth) and Bruno Senna (15th).

Mauricio, Zonta and Bueno celebrate on the podium (Photo: Rodrigo Ruiz/Vicar)

Race results - Brazilian stock car finale (Interlagos)
1. Ricardo Zonta (BMC Racing) - 30 laps in 51min46s059
2. Ricardo Mauricio (Eurofarma RC) - 0.707
3. Cacá Bueno (Red Bull Racing) - 1.536
4. Allam Khodair (Vogel Motorsport) - 1.688
5. Max Wilson (Eurofarma RC) - 4.458
6. Thiago Camilo (Ipiranga-RCM) - 4.698
7. Luciano Burti (Boettger Competições) - 15.715
8. Rubens Barrichello (Full Time Competições) - 18.782
9. Átila Abreu (Mobil Super Pioneer Racing) - 18.797
10. Valdeno Brito (Shell Racing) - 23.636
(...)
15. Bruno Senna (Shell Racing) - 35.056

From press release

Porsche heads into the 2014 season with the most extensive motorsport programme ever. In addition to its new LMP1 project, Porsche Motorsport sends two GT works teams to compete on race tracks around the world.

Porsche AG Team Manthey again fields two Porsche 911 RSR in the Sports Car World Endurance Championship (WEC), as well as at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Porsche North America contests the new Tudor United Sportscar Championship with CORE autosport as the race team, with the new season kicking off at the Daytona 24 hour race on 25 January. 

Photo: Porsche

Porsche Motorsport's driver squad has also grown to record size. For the upcoming season, Porsche has signed on 20 drivers including four Porsche juniors and a scholarship candidate chosen from the international one-make race series. All current Porsche factory pilots have received a contract for the 2014 season. 

Porsche AG announces its driver line-up and the vehicle name for its return to the top category of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2014, with the season highlight in Le Mans: On the occasion of the Porsche Night of Champions this Saturday in Weissach, the young New Zealander Brendon Hartley (24) and long-standing Porsche works driver Marc Lieb (33) from Germany have been confirmed as regular drivers in the LMP1 race car, officially called the “Porsche 919 hybrid”.

Already signed on for the LMP1 project are the drivers Timo Bernhard (DE, 32), Romain Dumas (FR, 36), Neel Jani (CH, 30) and the Australian Mark Webber (37).

Photo: Porsche

Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki (33) will join the ranks of Porsche Motorsport's GT squad this coming season and pilot a 911 RSR.

Makowiecki, who prefers to be called Fred Mako, is a regular competitor behind the wheel of Porsche race cars. He has collected more than nine years of experience in the cockpit of the 911. One of his greatest achievements was clinching the title of the Porsche Carrera Cup France in 2010.

Porsche has acquired a 51 percent stake in Manthey Racing GmbH and as such continues to expand its long and successful collaboration with the race outfit from Meuspath at the Nürburgring.

Franck Lagorce (Renault Clio III) takes his first win of the 2013-2014 Andros Trophy season.

Seventh on Friday, Lagorce won the second day ahead of Jean-Baptiste Dayraut (Renault Clio III) and Jean-Philippe Dayraut (MINI Countryman).

Lagorce beat Rivière and Dayraut in race 2 (Photo: Trophée Andros)

Benjamin Rivière (Mazda 3) and Bertrand Balas (MINI Countryman) complete the top 5.

Dayraut remains championship leader after four rounds ahead of Dubourg, Lagorce and Rivière.

After weeks of speculations, Chip Ganassi has finally confirmed Ryan Briscoe would replace Dario Franchitti on his IndyCar roster.

32-year-old Briscoe spent most of 2013 racing in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), for Scott Tucker's Level 5 Motorsports, after being dropped by Penske Racing at the end of 2012. He nevertheless managed seven starts in IndyCar, including the Indianapolis 500 with Ganassi.

Ryan Briscoe (Photo: LAT/IndyCar)

In 2014, he will return to Ganassi Racing, where he also spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons, to drive a Dallara-Chevrolet alongside series champion Scott Dixon, Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball.

"This is sort of full circle and I feel like one of the luckiest guys out there at the moment," admitted Briscoe, whose statistics include seven wins in 111 starts.

"I can't wait to get integrated into the team again and with my new teammates. I think it's going to be an unbelievable year."

The deal also includes a selection of sports car races for Chevrolet, among which the 24 Hours of Daytona behind the wheel of a Corvette.

Porsche's ultimate one-make series has extend its deal with Formula 1 to continue running alongside the world championship at least until 2016.

"We're delighted to be able to continue offering our partners and fans exciting racing in such an attractive environment like the top league of motorsport," Porsche Motorsport boss Hartmut Kristen said.

The 2014 calendar will visit nine grands prix, in Spain, Monaco, Great Britain, Spa and Russia, according to British magazine Autosport.

The Supercup, based on the 911 GT3 Cup car, has been on the Formula 1 calendar as a support series since its inception, in 1993.

Photo: Porsche

Feature Flick: Pacing the NASCAR Nationwide Finale with Ford Mustang Cobra GT500

Justin Bell paces race going 45 mph in a 662-hp Mustang

It may seem like a waste to drive a 662-hp car at just 45 mph, but when you're pacing a NASCAR race, now America's biggest spectator sport, the role is still plenty important. That's just what Justin Bell did in this episode of the World's Fastest Car show, driving a Ford Shelby GT500 pace car at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. When race day finally came, Bell's heart was beating plenty fast with race cars riding his bumper waiting for the action to begin.

Photo Gallery: Feature Flick: Pacing the NASCAR Nationwide Finale with Ford Mustang Cobra GT500 - Rumor Central

Photo Gallery: Feature Flick: Pacing the NASCAR Nationwide Finale with Ford Mustang Cobra GT500 - Rumor Central

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NHTSA Administrator David Strickland Stepping Down

NHTSA Administrator David Strickland stepping down, deputy administrator David Friedman to fill in.

Other than changing consumer tastes, no other group has more influence on automotive design and engineering than government agencies. Whether you see government influence in the automotive industry as positive or negative, there's no denying they have made their mark in Detroit and beyond. One of the most influential government agencies, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is about to see a change in leadership as administrator David Strickland announced earlier this week he plans on stepping down, The Detroit News reports.

Photo Gallery: NHTSA Administrator David Strickland Stepping Down - Rumor Central

Photo Gallery: NHTSA Administrator David Strickland Stepping Down - Rumor Central

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Michelin is recalling 1.2 million tires in the United States -- including some used as original equipment on full-sized Ford Motor Co. vans -- because the tread might come apart.

Replacement for Lamborghini Gallardo Named Huracan

Future entry-level Lamborghini Coupe to Carry Huracan name

The decade-long production of the Lamborghini Gallardo has wound down, but a place for a slightly more affordable, attainable Lambo has not disappeared from the lineup. It was believed the Gallardo's successor would carry the Cabrera name, but now it looks like the everyman's Lambo will carry the Huracan name, if a report from Britain's AutoExpress is to be believed. The name comes from the Mayan god of fire, wind and storms, also the Spanish word for Hurricane.

Photo Gallery: Replacement for Lamborghini Gallardo Named Huracan - Rumor Central

Photo Gallery: Replacement for Lamborghini Gallardo Named Huracan - Rumor Central

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In a 24-hour span this week, GM slammed the lid on a five-year chapter that will forever be defined by bankruptcy, bailout and caretaker management.

Toyota wants the driver to remain the most important decision-maker in the car despite the influx of technology that can take away that responsibility and rising pressure from rivals determined to debut self-driving vehicles by 2020.

As North American vehicle production rises, suppliers are scrambling to find many types of engineers.

Jean-Philippe Dayraut (MINI) who had already won both rounds last week at the Val Thorens season opener, added another success, Friday in Andorra during the second event of the Andros Trophy.

The championship leader led another MINI Countryman driven by Bertrand Balas. Benjamin Rivière (Mazda 3) took the third podium spot, as Jean-Baptiste Dubourg (Renault Clio III) and Olivier Panis (Mazda 3) complete the top 5 of the day one.

Former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve is only a few days away from signing a contract to race in Whelen Euro Series, the Europe-based NASCAR championship.

According to US-Racing.com, the French-Canadian will sign with Austrian team DF1 Racing on Tuesday.

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Le Mans (Photo: nascarwheleneuroseries.com)

Turned F1 commentator for the French television, Villeneuve only took part in a few races last season, mainly in France's GT championship but also in NASCAR.

In July, he race to a DNF when the Sprint Cup visited Sonoma. He also finished second in the NASCAR Canadian Tire event at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, in August.

In 2013, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series visited France (Nogaro, Dijon, Le Mans and Tours), Italy (Monza) and Great Britain (Brands Hatch).

From GMM

Sergio Perez has defended F1's controversial new 'double points' rule for the 2014 season finale.

With the sport moving to ensure the championship stays alive throughout the season, the 'double points' rule was greeted with uproar among fans and slammed by dominant 2013 champion Sebastian Vettel as "nonsense".

But Mexican Perez, a McLaren driver this year who is moving to Force India for 2014, admitted on Thursday he does not agree with the naysayers.

Perez: "I see the positive" (Photo: sergioperez.mx)

"For some it will be right and for some it will be wrong, but I see the positive," he is quoted by Reuters.

"I think it will create a much better final race where things can completely change for everyone," added Perez, 23.

"I see it positive -- I am ok with the rule."

Perez also revealed that his first pick for his new, permanent race number in formula one will be 11, dating back to his karting days.

Also for reasons of karting nostalgia, it is believed Fernando Alonso will plump for 14, while Jean-Eric Vergne - and probably many of his rivals - has selected F1's iconic number 27 as among his top three preferences.

Drivers have been asked by the FIA to make their nominations before Christmas.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg reportedly wants the number 6, which was carried by his Finnish father Keke to the 1982 title.

The sport has also introduced a new, official trophy for the driver with the most amounts of pole positions per season, according to the 2014 regulations published by the FIA on Thursday.

From GMM

Caterham has become the second Formula 1 team to announce its 2014 chassis has been homologated after passing mandatory crash tests.

The team said its car had passed the frontal impact and the fuel cell integrity tests to finish off homologation ahead of the start of testing next year.

"We have successfully completed the two crash tests for homologation of our 2014 chassis," said the team. "Great news for us."

Sauber was the first team to announce it had passed the mandatory crash tests earlier this week.

Watch the Caterham crash:



Source: Caterham F1 Team

From GMM

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko thinks Sauber has made a good choice by signing Adrian Sutil for 2014.

The Swiss team Sauber, a constant midfield presence on the F1 grid since 1993, struggled through last season with financial problems.

Nico Hulkenberg, who often shone in the increasingly-competitive 2013 Sauber, has jumped ship to Force India for 2014.

So Force India refugee Sutil, who has spent his entire grand prix career with the Silverstone based team, now replaces German Hulkenberg at Sauber.

Adrian Sutil left Force India to join Sauber (Photo: Force India)

"Sutil is a very good and experienced driver," world champion team Red Bull's Marko told the German publication Sport Bild.

Marko acknowledged Sauber's financial struggle in 2013, but insisted the Hinwil based team remains "reputable and highly professional".

Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger agrees: "It would be a huge loss to the sport if Sauber would ever disappear from formula one.

"I fervently hope they get back to where they should be," he added.

Sauber said it will announce Sutil's teammate "at a later date".

Saskatchewan native Matt Campbell will take part in the 2014 Dakar rally-raid, aboard a Rally Raid UK-prepared Dodge Durango.

Campbell started racing a MINI a couple of years ago, but had to stop for professional reasons.

The Calgary, Alberta resident got back in the racing game recently, taking part in off-road competitions such as the Baja California to prepare himself for the famous Dakar, where he will share a purpose-built Durango with Mexican Luis "Fito" Ramirez.

Matt Campbell, Luis Ramirez, Carlos Olmoz (assistance-truck driver) et Nicolas Ambriz (Photo: El Martillo Racing)

Ramirez, a former Baja 500 winner, will help Campbell drive, and fellow Mexican Nicolas Ambriz will do the co-driving. The former promoter of the IndyCar race in Vancouver, Paul Clark, is heading the endeavour.

Rally Raid UK, the company that built El Martillo Racing's Dodge Durango, is the same company behind ALDO Racing's David Bensadoun and Patrick Beaulé.

The 2014 Dakar will take Campbell, Ramirez and Ambriz from Rosario (Argentina) to Valpraiso (Chile).

Audi plans to feature the new A3 sedan in an advertisement during the 2014 Super Bowl, a clear sign of Audi's high hopes for its rival to the Mercedes-Benz CLA in the fast-growing compact-luxury segment.

Last month, a