Auto News 5

Visteon Electronics has officially opened a new automotive electronics factory in Rayong, Thailand.

Malaysia's APM Automotive Holdings plans to build an interior parts plant in Myanmar to support the CKD operations of Nissan from 2015.

China's Dongfeng, which is linked to a potential stake purchase in PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, should first examine whether the project is reasonable or not, a company executive said.

Former General Motors purchasing boss Bo Andersson has been slated to head Russia's largest carmaker, AvtoVAZ.

Four workers at Volkswagen's plant in Tennessee filed charges with U.S. labor officials alleging that German VW officials are coercing them to agree to UAW union representation.

A split in the Peugeot family over whether to invest more money in PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has led to fears that the French automaker could have a Chinese chairman, a scenario described by one newspaper as 'sacrilege.'

Former General Motors global marketing chief Joel Ewanick said signing the Chevrolet-Manchester United sponsorship deal that ultimately led to his ouster last year was a "no-brainer."

Former General Motors purchasing boss Bo Andersson may be recruited from GAZ to head Russia's largest carmaker, AvtoVAZ.

AvtoVAZ CEO Igor Komarov is stepping down as head of Russia's largest automaker, which Renault-Nissan plans to take control of by mid-2014.

From GMM

A few days ago, former Mercedes Formula 1 chief Norbert Haug said on German television he had "found a new challenge".

On Thursday, it became clear what it is.

The 60-year-old, who for two decades was Mercedes' motor sport vice-president until he was replaced by Toto Wolff, has joined Paravan Technology Group.

Paravan is a German company specialising in vehicle mobility for disabled people.

Haug will coordinate the "future strategic development" of the wheelchair company, it was announced.

From GMM

Valencia president Alberto Fabra his hit out at his Catalunya counterpart for reneging on plans to alternate Spain's two grands prix.

Fabra, president of the Generalitat Valenciana, this week confirmed reports the Spanish port city will no longer host a formula one street race.

He said the Valencian government has higher priorities than F1.

"I cannot say to an essential supplier 'I cannot pay you because we have formula one'," Fabra told Valencian regional television.

He confirmed that he had successfully negotiated with Bernie Ecclestone so that Valencia is not liable for up to EUR 54 million in breach of contract penalties.

"The document is being finalised," said Fabra, "but I can announce that we will not pay any financial penalty.

"What we have agreed is that we will not use any equipment in other circuits," he added.

Indeed, a Spanish website has published a series of photographs depicting the ruinous current state of the F1 circuit.

The photos can be seen at http://www.20minutos.es/galeria/9895/0/0/circuito-urbano/formula-uno/valencia/

Fabra said: "In meetings with Ecclestone I explained how difficult it is right now for us to cover the budget, but I left the door open for the future, if we have different economic conditions and with the collaboration of the private sector."

He also hit out at his Catalan counterpart Artur Mas, who initially agreed to alternate a single annual Spanish grand prix with Valencia.

"We had talks with (Catalunya president) Mas, but he changed his criteria. First he agreed, and then he did not," Fabra is quoted as saying.

"I regret the change of position, as administrations should be loyal to their word and commitments," he added.

From GMM

Marussia Formula 1 team has named McLaren protégé Kevin Magnussen as a potential race driver for 2014.

It is already known that the Ferrari-linked French rookie Jules Bianchi is staying with the team beyond this season.

But a few days ago, his 2013 teammate Max Chilton admitted his own future is not yet secure.

"I feel I'm showing I deserve a seat for next year," the Briton, who brings substantial backing to Marussia, is quoted by the Independent newspaper.

"I admit, at times, I haven't got things right, like at Silverstone and Germany, but on the whole it has been pretty good, and since the August break especially I couldn't have done much more," Max Chilton insisted.

Nonetheless, Marussia has admitted it is on the market.

Kevin Magnussen (Photo: WRI2)

Likely 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 champion Magnussen, the son of ex-F1 driver and Dane Jan Magnussen, is a protégé of the McLaren team.

McLaren, who it is believed has offered to forgive Sahara Force India's reported EUR 8 million debt in exchange for a 2014 seat for Magnussen, also has a technical partnership in place with Marussia.

"Certainly Kevin has impressed in the tests he has done, and as a team that has brought young drivers into formula one, he is in the frame," Marussia sporting director Graeme Lowdon is quoted by Sky.

But Lowdon said Chilton is also in the frame, and that Marussia is in "no rush" to make its decision.

Adrian Sutil
Over at Sahara Force India, reports have emerged that Adrian Sutil expects to keep his seat beyond 2013.

Paul di Resta's future is far less secure. His manager Richard Goddard on Thursday admitted the Scot is at risk of being pushed out by a pay-driver.

"Force India have always been very fair in that they have tended to put outright talent in the car, and they haven't looked to a driver to bring in income, which is great," he told Press Association. "That's because they are well funded by a couple of individuals and corporations who are able to do that, and hopefully they will carry on doing that."

Richard Goddard, who also manages Jenson Button, admitted 27-year-old di Resta's situation has not been helped by his recent run of poor form.

"It's difficult to determine," he said, "because this last half of the season he has been adversely affected by the tires. He hasn't produced the results he would want to produce, but overall it is the team under-delivering on what it should have delivered."

From GMM

Red Bull Racing is also set to lose its 'number 2' aerodynamicist to McLaren, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport is reporting.

It emerged recently that the world champions' Peter Prodromou (photo) will head to McLaren after his current contract expires.

It is believed that move may take some time, with Prodromou reportedly under contract until 2015.

"The content of any contract is obviously confidential," said Red Bull boss Christian Horner, "but it runs for quite a while yet and we are certainly in no rush to release him early."

Auto Motor und Sport has now revealed that Prodromou's "number 2 in the aerodynamics department" is also moving to Woking. The report did not name the engineer.

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko is quoted as saying: "We'll see in a year where the two men are working."

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh also apparently confirmed the signing of Prodromou's colleague.

"We have had signed contracts with them for some time," he said. "We respect the fact that they are still under contract to Red Bull, but they will work for us in due course."

From NASCAR

Calgary, Alberta's Cameron Hayley out-dueled polesitter and race leader Derek Thorn following the ninth and final restart of the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 Saturday night at All American Speedway to earn his first career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory.

Hayley, a 17-year-old Canadian, battled Thorn for five laps following the last restart and made the decisive move on the outside to take the lead four laps from the finish and capture his first win in a championship points' race. After five runner-up finishes, the breakthrough victory came in Hayley's 32nd career start.

"It was amazing," Hayley said of his win. "Our Cabinets by Hayley Ford Fusion was just perfect all night. We really wanted to save tires at the beginning, so that we had stuff at the end and it's just what we did. We stuck to our game plan and made sure we had stuff left at the end and it paid off."

Thorn, who earned his fourth career Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the evening, held on for second after leading 138 circuits of the 150-lap race.

Eric Holmes, who led on four occasions as he battled Thorn side-by-side through much of the event, came home third.

Michael Self and Greg Pursley brought home the top five. Patrick Staropoli, Dylan Hutchins, Shane Golobic, Daryl Harr and Luis Tyrell completed the top 10 finishers.

The race featured nine lead changes among three drivers.

With his win, Hayley moved back to second in the championship standings. He trails Thorn 554 to 536. Pursley slipped to third with 529 points, followed by Self with 521 and Lupton with 469.

Sixth and seventh are Carl Harr and Taylor Cuzick, with 420 each. Daryl Harr is eighth at 410, followed by Giles Thornton at 394 and John Wood at 381.

IZOD IndyCar team KV Racing Technology has signed a two-year contract with Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais to replace the departing Tony Kanaan in 2014.

The former Formula 1 driver with Toro Rosso is very optimistic about his new team since his IndyCar future had been uncertain due to question marks over the 2014 plans for his current team, Dragon Racing.

"The fact that we have an agreement so early, and that I have a two-year contract, means we have the opportunity to develop as a team," Bourdais said.

"I am looking forward to meeting the crew and getting started with testing as soon as possible.

One of the other candidates for the KV seat was James Hinchcliffe and the Canadian's options are understood to include remaining where he is at Andretti Autosport.

Elliott Sadler will drive the No. 55 Toyota in the 2013 season's final four NASCAR Sprint Cup races filling in for Brian Vickers.

Michael Waltrip, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, will be driving the car at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend.

Vickers informed MWR on Oct. 14 that he would be unavailable for the remainder of the season due to anti-coagulation medications he will be taking to treat a small blood clot in his right leg. Doctors have told Vickers he will be on the medication at least two months.

This is the second time that Vickers has missed races due to his heart and clot situation.

The 38-year-old Sadler, who currently drives a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (where he's fifth in the standings), will begin racing the No. 55 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 27. He will finish the season for the Scott Miller led team at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

“First, I am already a teammate of Brian's at Joe Gibbs Racing and it is really tough to see him going through this again,” said Sadler. “Both of us have fought hard to get back in a position to win at NASCAR's highest level. I am honored to have this opportunity to drive for MWR because I know their cars are competitive. I want to thank Rob Kauffman, Michael and Aaron's for giving me this chance. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers will be for Brian to have a quick recovery.”

Waltrip explained how Sadler came to drive the No. 55.

“Elliott has all the attributes we were looking for. He's experienced, familiar with Toyota, has a great attitude plus he's a heck of a driver,” said the two-time Daytona 500 champion. “We'll pair him with Scott Miller and the No. 55 guys and I know they'll have the Aaron's Dream Machine at the front of the field. I also want to thank everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota for letting us borrow Elliott for a few races.”

Sadler has 431 Sprint Cup starts driving for the Wood Brothers, Robert Yates Racing and with Petty Motorsports with victories at Texas and Fontana in 2004, Bristol in 2001, 19 top-five and 69 top-10 finishes. His last full-time year was 2010 with Petty.

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson announced an all-new Chevrolet Impala that can operate on either gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG). It will be available to retail and fleet customers next year for MY 2015.

Photo: Chevrolet

The announcement came during “OPEC Oil Embargo + 40: A National Summit on Energy Security,” where prominent political, business and military leaders assessed the current state of America's oil dependence since the 1973 oil embargo.

Akerson said the bi-fuel Impala is an example of using affordable technology to reduce oil consumption and save consumers money at the pump. Total range is expected to be up to 500 miles (about 800 kilometres).

In related news, GM is committed to saving 12 billion gallons of gasoline in its 2011-2017 model year vehicles -- offsetting nearly a year of crude imports from the Persian Gulf -- with technologies that include lighter materials, alternative fuels such as clean diesel, and electrification.

So the 2013 season is coming to a close, as usual, with one last visit to Hockenheim, the track that hosted the season-opener in April.

Same time last year, the drivers' championship was coming down to an epic duel between Gary Paffett (Mercedes) and Bruno Spengler (BMW). No showdown this year, as consistency brought Rockenfeller the coveted crown in Zandvoort already.

Mike Rockenfeller, Audi (Photo: DTM)

Behind the first-time king, vice-champion Augusto Farfus (BMW) is also out of reach. But four drivers can still claim third spot overall: Christian Vietoris (Mercedes), Robert Wickens (Mercedes), Spengler, and Paffett.

The fight for the manufacturers' title promises to be much more interesting. Last year's undisputed champion (driver, manufacturer and team) BMW had a rough year, but could still win a second consecutive championship, as it only trails Audi by eighth points. Two consecutive bad races in Oschersleben and Zandvoort (with a total tally of only two points) took Mercedes out of the running.

Augusto Farfus, BMW (Photo: DTM)

As far as Canadians Wickens and Spengler are concerned, it will be about finishing on a high in Hockenheim.

Spengler, the defending champion, suffered one of the worst seasons of his career, in his second year with BMW. He was leading the championship with one win after three races, but plummeted soon after.

Christian Vietoris, Mercedes-Benz (Photo: DTM)

With his BMW M3 losing its edge, he was pilling one bad incident on top of the other. He hit rock bottom at Oschersleben, when he collided with his countryman. If he does do well in Hockenheim, he could put 2013 behind him.

On the other hand, Wickens will want to top a great season, his second in the DTM, that saw him clinch his first win at the Nürburgring, at the wheel of his C-Coupe. Had he not clashed with Spengler at Oschersleben, he would have had a shot at the title. With a good result in Hockenheim, he could forget about the last two races (two scoreless contests) and finish as the best Mercedes driver.

You can follow all the action with us, as Auto123.com will be covering this week-end's race live from the Hockenheimring.

From GMM

Ferrari's two chiefs have apparently clashed over the priorities heading into the final four races of 2013.

After Suzuka, where Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel moved his title campaign into check-mate, Stefano Domenicali (photo) said: "The 2013 (Ferrari) car will have some new parts, but the technical staff is 100 per cent focused on the new (2014) project."

In the lucrative constructors' world championship, Ferrari is a distant second behind Red Bull, but only 10 points ahead of Mercedes. Lotus is also within striking distance.

"Lotus have achieved a good pace in qualifying," team boss Domenicali is quoted by Russia's f1news.ru, "very close to ours, or even a little better. They control their tire wear very well, so if they qualify ahead it is very difficult to deal with them. Mercedes has an advantage in qualifying speed, so if they are fighting ahead with Lotus, then our task is very difficult."

Mercedes has already said it is determined to overhaul Ferrari, and Lotus is also bracing for the battle that is worth many millions in official prize money.

Lotus' Eric Boullier is quoted by Brazil's O Estado de S.Paulo as targeting the "very ambitious plan" that is achievable "if we can keep up this pace".

Former F1 driver turned television pundit Mika Salo agrees: "It is still quite possible that Lotus can take second place, because they can now rely not only on Kimi (Raikkonen) for big points, but also (Romain) Grosjean."

So Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari's indomitable president, declared this week: "I read about assumed bellyaching or about the team concentrating only on 2014.

"I don't even want to hear that kind of talk," he insisted. "There are still four races to go where we will field Ferraris that are fighting for the podium with maximum determination from the drivers and the whole team."

Indeed, Stefano Domenicali says Ferrari is still fighting to get the most out of 2013 -- which is second place behind Red Bull.

"The fight with Mercedes and Lotus has intensified," he is quoted by France's L'Equipe. "It is very tight and we must ensure that we improve the car."

From GMM

German Formula 1 driver, Nico Rosberg on Thursday urged his fans to keep an eye out for a stolen race helmet.

The Mercedes AMG driver said his distinctive yellow F1 helmet was stolen at 2am in the hours before his home grand prix at the Nurburgring in July.

Nico Rosberg's crash helmet (Photo: Mercedes)

Rosberg, who published a photo of the theft taken from the FIA's security camera in parc fermé, said the helmet was stolen from Mercedes' "security-guarded garage".

Rosberg also gave details of the helmet's unique registration and FIA labels.

"Let us know if any of you see (the helmet) on eBay or somewhere else," he wrote on his personal website.

Schuberth's F1 helmets are worth thousands of euros.