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From GMM

Rubens Barrichello's return to formula one could even happen this season.

It emerged late last week that the Brazilian veteran, who lost his Williams seat at the end of 2011, could be a shock contender to race alongside the highly inexperienced Sergey Sirotkin at Sauber next year.

Rubens Barrichello, in Brazil 2011, for his last grand prix. (Photo: WRi2)

But the highly respected Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio claims 41-year-old Barrichello - the most experienced driver in F1 history - could even race the Sauber at his home race at Interlagos for November's 2013 finale.

Oricchio said Barrichello is currently not answering his phone.

"He just sent a message saying 'who knows'," he wrote in O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

And Oricchio said F1 chief executive Ecclestone answered "good" when told of the prospect of Barrichello's return.

General Motors, introducing its first redesigned pickups since 2006, can't make enough of the most popular versions of its new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, three people familiar with the effort told Bloomberg.

Mazda is recalling 161,400 Mazda6 sedans in the United States over defective door latches. The recalls affect Mazda6 models built before Aug. 24, 2012, for the 2009-2013 model years.

America's love affair with the automobile was on full display this weekend as thousands of people converged on a muddy field in rural Nebraska for the auction of one of the nation's largest collections of vintage Chevrolets

Editors note: The auction is done, and so is the live stream. Be sure to check out our look at the top sales from day 2 here.

Day 1 of the

Bulgaria is stepping up efforts to win more auto industry investment to build on the success of attracting a new vehicle plant for China's Great Wall Motors.

Mitsubishi's U.S. dealers desperate for compelling new product will instead be getting the Mirage.

Carmakers in Brazil are anticipating leases will spur demand for new models as a tax incentive expires and companies such as Audi start local production.

Lapo Elkann, whose older brother John is Fiat chairman, has become as a global ambassador for Italian design after a past as the wild child of Italy's billionaire Agnelli family.

Lexus' F Sport lineup is moving into a higher gear.

The dashing Lapo Elkann is one of Italy's most eligible bachelors and habitué of male best-dressed lists. He has flirted with scandal and nearly died of a drug overdose in 2005. But those days are long gone.

From GMM

Former F1 team owner and boss Gian Carlo Minardi has raised doubts about the legitimacy of Sebastian Vettel's dominance in Singapore last weekend.

The 66-year-old, who sold his team before the 2001 season, was trackside at the Marina Bay circuit where Vettel commandingly won.

Vettel in Singapore (Photo: WRi2)

Minardi, whose Faenza based team was subsequently sold to Red Bull and became Toro Rosso, admits he has been troubled by Vettel's often multiple-second advantage over his rivals under the Singapore floodlights.

"It's not my intention to devalue Sebastian Vettel, who always manages his Red Bull in the best way," he told his website.

"I just want to tell what I personally saw and heard during the three day event," Minardi explained.

He said he is concerned that, while only just ahead of the likes of Lotus' Romain Grosjean and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg in the pre-race sessions, the reason for Vettel's subsequent dominance at key moments on Sunday is "not clear".

Referring to the stretch leading into the first chicane, Minardi said Vettel was able to negotiate it "without making any corrections, unlike all his rivals and also his teammate" Mark Webber.

"His laptime was also remarkable in T3, which is the track's sector with the highest concentration of corners," he added.

"On the same stretch, Sebastian was able to speed up 50 metres before any other driver, Webber included."

But the handling of the Red Bull was not the only thing troubling Minardi.

In the Red Bull garage (Photo: WRi2)

"The thing that surprised me the most was the engine's sound," he said.

"It sounded like none of the other Renault engines on track, including Mark's.  It sounded similar to the engines in past seasons when traction control went into action.

"Furthermore, that sound was only heard when Vettel chalked up his excellent performances," added Minardi.  "For example, after the safety car went in.  In those moments it was more powerful (sounding) than any other engines -- Renault and the other brands.

"I would like to have some answers," he continued.  "I don't want to blame anyone, I just want to get to the bottom of it."

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

Kevin Magnussen wins race 2 at circuit Paul Ricard, getting closer to title before the last round in Barcelona.

Kevin Magnussen (DAMS), the dominant force all weekend, was stripped of his Formula Renault 3.5 Series race victory on Saturday after his car was found to have breached technical regulations.

But the Dane bounced back on Sunday with victory in race two, finishing ahead of Nico Müller (International Draco Racing) and Antonio Félix da Costa (Arden Caterham).

The championship leader goes into the next round in Barcelona with a 43-point lead over Stoffel Vandoorne (Fortec Motorsports), who retired towards the end.

Winner of the first round at Le Castellet, championship leader Kevin Magnussen was excluded after his car failed a post-race check. Victory went to Antonio Felix Da Costa.

The win, that would have been the third of the season for Mangussen, would have allowed the Dane to pull away in the championship race, at the penultimate round in France. But the championship leader, who started from pole position, was disqualified because of... the paint used on his DRS' flap.

That gave victory to Antonio Felix Da Costa, as Stoffel Vandoorne moved up to second, and remains in contention for championship battle. Andre Neagrao took the last podium spot.

Team DAMS will appeal, so the results of race 1 remain provisional.

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)

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.

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

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.