Auto News 5

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

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.

From press release

A premier for Marco Wittmann: in his debut season in the DTM, the 23-year old BMW driver claimed pole position for the first time in his career.

In the final qualifying heat, he set the fastest lap time at Circuit Park Zandvoort in 1:30.894 minutes. Fellow BMW driver Augusto Farfus, who, next to points' leader Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) is the only driver still in with a chance to win the 2013 DTM champion's title, ended up in second place with a lap time of 1:30.979 minutes.

Marco Wittman, BMW M3 DTM (Photo: DTM.com)

Rockenfeller was around three tenths of a second slower than Farfus and will be starting third into the ninth DTM round of the year. Gary Paffett was the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in twelfth.

29-year old Rockenfeller, is the leader in the drivers' standings of the most popular international touring car series with 124 points and a margin of 33 points from Farfus (91 points). His rival, 30-year old Brazilian Farfus, was happy with second place.

Augusto Farfus, BMW M3 DTM (Photo: DTM.com)

In order to keep his chances of winning the title alive and to postpone the decision to the season finale at Hockenheim (October 18 till 20), the BMW driver has to score at least eight points more than Rockenfeller at Zandvoort. For the Audi driver, however, victory or second place would be enough to secure the title early.

Mike Rockenfeller, Audi RS 5 (Photo: DTM.com)

Timo Scheider (Audi) was fourth ahead of Joey Hand (BMW) and Filipe Albuquerque (Audi).

That was a disappointing qualifying session for the Canadian drivers, with Bruno Spengler (BMW) only 16th, while Robert Wickens could not do better than 21st on the grid for tomorrow's race.

Qualifying results - DTM (Zandvoort)
1.Marco Wittmann (BMW M3) - MTEK - 1'30"894 - Show down
2.Augusto Farfus (BMW M3) - RBM - 1'30"979 - Show dowm
3.Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1'31"325
4.Timo Scheider (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'32"524
5.Joey Hand (BMW M3) - RBM - 1'31"439 - Q3
6.Felipe Albuquerque (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 1'31"443 - Q3
7.Edoardo Mortara (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 1'31"460 - Q3
8.Timo Glock (BMW M3) - MTEK - 1'31"614 - Q3
9.Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'31"621 - Q3
10.Miguel Molina (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1'32"106 - Q3
11.Mattias Ekstrom (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'31"382 - Q2
12.Gary Paffett (Mercedes AMG-C Coupè) - HWA - 1'31"414 - Q2
13.Dirk Werner (BMW M3) - Schnitzer - 1'31"442 - Q2
14.Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes AMG-C Coupè) - Mucke - 1'31"445 - Q2
15.Andy Priaulx - (BMW M3) - RMG - 1'31"539 - Q2
16.Christian Vietoris (Mercedes AMG-C Coupè) - HWA - 1'32"055 - Q1
17.Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'32"062 - Q1
18.Bruno Spengler (BMW M3) - Schnitzer - 1'31"546 - Q2
19.Martin Tomczyk (BMW M3) - RMG - 1'32"088 - Q1
20.Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes AMG-C Coupè) - Mucke - 1'32"145 - Q1
21.Robert Wickens (Mercedes AMG-C Coupè) - HWA - 1'32"241 - Q1
22.Roberto Merhi (Mercedes AMG-C Coupè) - HWA - 1'32"357 - Q1

From press release

The 2014 World Rally Championship calendar has been revealed for the first time.

The 13-round championship was signed-off by motor sport's governing body at a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Dubrovnik, Croatia today.

Like this year, the 2014 season kicks off in mid January with Rallye Monte Carlo and finishes with the Rally of Great Britain in November.

There has been one event substitution; with Rally Poland - which also includes a day of competition in bordering Lithuania - taking the place of the Acropolis Rally of Greece.

The finish date given is the Sunday of the rally weekend. Itineraries are however subject to final confirmation by event organisers.

Photo: VW Motorsport

2014 calendar
19 January: Monte-Carlo
9 February: Sweden
9 March: Mexico
6 April: Portugal
11 May: Argentina
1st June: Italy
29 June: Poland
3 August: Finland
24 August: Germany
14 September: Australia
5 October: France
26 October: Spain
16 November: Great Britain

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
(...)

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

Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed that his Chase hopes aren't going down without a fight as he put his Chevrolet on the pole at the Dover International Raceway.

It was his first pole at the one-mile oval, second this year, moreover he set a new record at the track known as the Monster Mile at 161.849mph (or 22.243) eclipsing the nine-year old record set by Jeremy Mayfield at 161.522mph. It was the 17th time this season that a qualifying record was beaten.

Even though NASCAR's most popular driver had a good day; Matt Kenseth the series points leader, and winner of the previous two Chase races, put his Toyota alongside Earnhardt's Chevy SS a mere .006 seconds slower at 161.805mph.

Rival Chase drivers Ryan Newman (161.740 mph) and Carl Edwards (161.609 mph) qualified third and fourth, respectively, while Aric Almirola (who drives for Richard Petty Motorsports) equaled Edwards at 161.609 mph, to earn the fifth starting spot.

With NASCAR single car qualifying, Earnhardt nervously awaited the remaining 17 drivers to take his provisional pole, but, that didn't happen.

"I was expecting to put a good lap down," Earnhardt said.

Photo: facebook.com/DaleJr

"I thought we'd be competitive enough to get inside the top 10 pretty easily... I made a couple of small errors out in the car, but you never drive every lap perfectly. You always kind of wish you could have done things a little differently. I think the car had maybe another half a tenth (of a second) or a tenth in it.

"I watched the lap tracker on a couple of guys. The 99 (Edwards), they were a tenth-and-a-half better than us by the time they got into Turn 3 or the middle of 3 and 4. So, yeah, I thought there was a good amount of time left out there for a lot of guys, myself included."

When Kenseth heard he had fallen .006 off the pole-winning lap, he radioed, "My bad," to his team, but changing conditions had more to do with Kenseth's second-place effort.

"I feel bad we missed the pole by just that little bit," Kenseth said. "(Crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) and I both had a feeling it was going to go like that when we saw the sun pop out before we left (on the qualifying run). It just got too free and lost too much time...

"I felt like from the seat I got everything it had in it... Gosh, we just missed it by a little bit -- just too loose, just couldn't stay in the gas."

Earnhardt who is 11th in the standings 62 points behind Kenseth added "he's having a great year, but hopefully we can beat him. We want to get up there and regain our ground and get back into this thing if we can."

Kyle Busch, second in the standings to his teammate, Kenseth will start 14th while five-time champ, Jimmie Johnson, who is third in the standings qualified 8th.

The newly remodeled Cobo Center will host the 11th annua lAmerican Cancer Society Cattle Baron's Ball this Saturday with Chrysler as the presenting sponsor.

Nissan's next-generation 2014 Rogue crossover will face some sales competition next year from -- the old-generation 2013 Rogue crossover.