From GMM
Sebastian Vettel has extended his contract with Red Bull to the end of the 2016 season, according to Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung.
Previously committed to the energy drink-owned squad only to the end of next year, the report said the reigning triple world champion has now inked an extension for 2015 with an 'option' for the following season as well.
The report said team boss Christian Horner admitted the news to a small group of insiders in Melbourne.
Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko said: "I can't imagine Horner said something like that."
Audi has locked down the first row of the starting grid at this year's 12 Hours of Sebring.
Marcel Fassler put the No. 1 Audi R8 e-tron quattro on pole, only .009 second clear of Allan McNish in the sister prototype. By doing so, Fassler registered the first hybrid-powered pole of all Sebring's history.
Nick Heidfeld, in the Rebellion Racing No. 13 Lola-Toyota, placed third.
In GT, Risi Competizione earned the pole in its first race since coming back to the ALMS after a one-year hiatus. Gianmaria Bruni clocked the pole-winning lap aboard his No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia.
Corvette stands third, thanks to Oliver Gavin's performance in the No. 4 C6 ZER1, followed by Aston Martin, represented in the top 3 by Stefan Mucke and the No. 97 Vantage V8.
Ryan Briscoe took his first career Sebring pole in the P2 category, aboard Level 5's No. 551 HPD ARX-03b. He is followed by teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay in the sister car.
CORE autosport's Colin Braun set the pole in LMPC, while Andy Lally accomplished the same feat in GTC.
Qualifying results* - 12 Hours of Sebring (ALMS)
1.Fässler-Tréluyer-Jarvis (Audi R18) - Audi Joest - 1'43"886
2.Kristensen-McNish-Di Grassi (Audi R18) - Audi Joest - 1'43"895
3.Prost-Jani-Heidfeld (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 1'46"456
4.Graf-Luhr-Dumas (HPD ARX-03c) - Pickett - 1'46"478
5.Beche-Belicchi-Cheng (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 1'46"689
6.Dyson-Smith-Leitzinger (Lola B12/60-Mazda) - Dyson - 1'48"407
7.Tucker-Franchitti-Briscoe (HPD ARX-03b) - Level5 - 1'51"159
8.Tucker-Hunter-Reay-Pagenaud (HPD ARX-03b) - Level5 - 1'51"271
9.Kimber-Smith-Lux-Zugel (Zytek Z11SN-Nissan) - Greaves - 1'51"366
10.Sharp-Cosmo-Brabham (HPD ARX-03b) - Ext Speed - 1'52"703
(...)
*Unofficial
From GMM
Australian grand prix boss Andrew Westacott has ruled out organising a Melbourne night race.
Recently, from the paddock of the final winter test in Barcelona, drivers Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo, and team boss Christian Horner, called on the Australian promoters to install floodlights so that the action can be held after dark in future.
Bernie Ecclestone has been pushing for it for years, because the season opener could be beamed live to the bulk European audience at a better hour.
But Westacott is quoted by Speed Week: "How are we going to do that?
"We are in the middle of a city park, not to mention the huge cost to set up the lighting. And it wouldn't just be for the track, but for basically the entire park.
"It's unthinkable," he added.
Kyle Busch was almost surprised to break the qualifying record on the way to his first Sprint Cup pole at the .533 mile Bristol Motor Speedway.
“After a couple of years of getting used to wrecking here, it sort of all fell into place,” Busch said. “I've never sat on a pole here at Bristol and qualifying is not everything here. Most of my wins come from about 30th or worse...”
Driving a Toyota; Busch turned a lap in 14.813 seconds eclipsing the record held by Ryan Newman, who had run the first sub-15-second lap in 2003.
Friday's top nine qualifiers beat the 15-second-lap time, with Busch trailed by Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Brian Vickers, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr. Joey Logano rounded out the top ten.
One of the reasons for his pole, Busch opined, “the track is getting a little bit of age on it so it's getting a little bit rougher and that's about all that we felt different from what we've had here in the past years."
Kahne, who drives a Chevrolet, went out after Busch's lap and was aware he had a big job ahead. “I knew Kyle (had put down a great lap and a track record. So I knew I had to go pretty hard,” he said.
“I just felt like I may have given up a little bit in (Turns) 1 and 2, which would have made it really close for the pole. But, we it was still really good between (Turns) 3 and 4. The car was balanced really nice. I wish we could have beat Kyle but he put down a great lap.”
Hamlin, Busch's teammate, said “Yeah, it was good. Our car has really had a lot of speed since we got here. We haven't been able to really mess it up too bad with any adjustments. It's really for us been more about getting our car off the race track, so we're pretty happy with what we've got and where we're headed so far this weekend.”
Vickers, who shares his ride with Mark Martin in the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota while running full-time in the Nationwide Series, was pleased. “It's good to be back in the Sprint Cup Series,” he said.
“The car was good -- it was really good, better than practice. Rodney (Childers, the crew chief) did a great job all weekend. I was trying to get too much out of the car and we ended up at a (14) .90 or .91 -- I think it probably had a mid to low .80 and trying to get a .70 was just too much.”
From GMM
F1 cars' standard electronic units, supplied by a McLaren subsidiary, are causing problems in 2013.
As the electronic control units (ECU) were upgraded ahead of the turbo V6 debut next year, teams struck trouble during recent testing.
McLaren Electronic Systems (MES) reacted to the bugs, but in Melbourne on Saturday, the telemetry links between the cars and FIA race control failed.
It meant drivers had to revert to watching trackside flags rather than cockpit lights, while race director Charlie Whiting was unable to automatically disable the cars' DRS systems, according to Auto Motor und Sport.
Meanwhile, a Melbourne power outage caused chaos among F1's international television broadcasters in the crucial buildup to qualifying -- which ultimately was delayed due to bad weather.
Sebastien Loeb Racing has announced it will not take part in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, nor in the 2013 European Le Mans Series season.
The team, founded by nine-time rally champion Sébastien Loeb and his associate Dominique Heintz, raced in last year's ELMS championship with an Oreca Nissan LMP2, and was gunning for a Le Mans entry this year.
 |
| Photo: Sébastien Loeb Racing |
But the team lost the backing of a major sponsor, so was forced to scale back its ambitions to the FIA GT Series, the French Porsche Carrera Cup and the French GT championship.
Loeb Racing's exit means the Race Performance's Oreca Nissan LMP2 can now join the field for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
Danica Patrick was pleased to hear Bernie Ecclestone talking about her.
"Yes I did see something about Bernie's comments and they sounded complimentary. It looked like he was kind of acknowledging my ability to drive a car. So that was kind," she said in Bristol, Tennessee.
The 30-year old has burst into the mainstream of North America again after winning the pole for NASCAR's biggest event, the Daytona 500. In the world of Formula 1, rumours have been coming and going about her.
"I've always said that unless that it would be something I would want to do for real, as in race a Formula One car, I don't see any point in testing it," Patrick clarified.
"It is a lot or work to get fitted in the car comfortable enough to go drive it. Then as a driver, for me at least, I run the risk of what if it doesn't go well, and then people judge me for that. So, unless it was something that I was really serious, I wouldn't do it."
That attitude hasn't stopped Ecclestone being nice.
"I will say that Bernie over the years has actually sent a lot of messages. Any kind of big high point that happens in my career, whether it be at Indy, or Daytona now, or winning in Japan - things like that, he has sent messages.
"He even sent me like a big picture one time that was signed by him. He's actually been really nice."
Then she referred to Bernie's quote from 2005 when she finished fourth at the Indy 500, the highest finish for a woman there until she finished third: "She did a good job, didn't she? Super," said Ecclestone in Indianapolis for the US Grand Prix.
"Didn't think she'd be able to make it like that. You know, I've got one of these wonderful ideas that women should be all dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances."
"I don't necessarily think that his comments a long while back are representative of his opinion of me."
While Danica felt complimented; it's not the start of a new venue for her.
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