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James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport) was the undisputed winner of the IZOD IndyCar Series event at Iowa Speedway: having led virtually the entire race while other championship contenders had their share of troubles.

The Canadian finished ahead of his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay with a 1.5-second lead while KV Racing Technology's Tony Kanaan was able to go on the podium with a late-race pass on Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman).

James Hinchcliffe. (Photo: IndyCar)

Right at the start, Hinchcliffe was able to pass pole-sitter Will Power (Team Penske) and, while some drivers, Graham Rahal being the closest, tried to challenge his position, no one was able to be a real threat.

Even thought the outcome was a happy one for Hunter-Reay, the race was not as easy for the current champion. After breaking his front wing following a contact with Rahal and the ensuing pitstop, he rejoined in 19th as the last car on the lead lap. But he picked his way back through the field and was back with the lead group with 90 of the 250 laps still to run.

Tony Kanaan had also to contend with an overheating problem but still managed to make a late move on Rahal and take the final podium spot, only to see Rahal lost another place to Ed Carpenter on the final lap.

Photo: IndyCar

Iowa race Results - 250 laps:
Pos  Driver  Team/Engine  Time/Gap
1. James Hinchcliffe  Andretti/Chevy   1h30m16.0266s
2. Ryan Hunter-Reay   Andretti/Chevy  +1.5009s
3. Tony Kanaan   KV/Chevy   +1.6891s
4. Ed Carpenter  Carpenter/Chevy   +2.7605s
5. Graham Rahal  Rahal/Honda  +3.0201s
6. Simon Pagenaud   Schmidt/Honda  +6.6654s
7. Oriol Servia   Panther/Chevy  +9.7006s
8. Helio Castroneves  Penske/Chevy   +10.6855s
9. Marco Andretti   Andretti/Chevy  +12.7133s
10. EJ Viso  Andretti/Chevy   +17.6157s
11. Justin Wilson   Coyne/Honda   +1 lap
12. Charlie Kimball  Ganassi/Honda   +1 lap
13. Tristan Vautier  Schmidt/Honda  +2 laps
14. Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon/Chevy  +2 laps
15. Josef Newgarden   Fisher/Honda  +2 laps
16. Scott Dixon  Ganassi/Honda  +3 laps
17. Will Power  Penske/Chevy  +3 laps
18. James Jakes  Rahal/Honda  +3 laps
19. Sebastian Saavedra  Dragon/Chevy  +3 laps
20. Dario Franchitti  Ganassi/Honda  +4 laps
21. Simona de Silvestro  KV/Chevy  +7 laps

Retirements:
Ana Beatriz  Coyne/Honda   183 laps
Takuma Sato  Foyt/Honda  162 laps
Alex Tagliani  Herta/Honda  139 laps

IndyCar Standings after Iowa
Pos.  Driver  Points
1. Helio Castroneves   332
2. Ryan Hunter-Reay  323
3. Marco Andretti   277
4. James Hinchcliffe   266
5. Tony Kanaan   253
6. Etc.

From GMM

Ferrari has admitted it is "disappointed" to have been used as part of Mercedes' defence as the German team escaped from the test-gate scandal with a light penalty.

Before the judges ruled that Mercedes be only reprimanded and banned from next month's young drivers test, its lawyer argued extensively at the international tribunal that Ferrari also did the wrong thing with recent private tyre tests.

Indeed, it emerged from last week's proceedings that while Ferrari used a 2011 car for its Pirelli tests, race driver Felipe Massa had been in action.

A Ferrari spokesman told Sport Bild that Mercedes' defence "disappointed" the Maranello team.

"It was unfortunate that we became the object of their defence in this way," a spokesman is also quoted by the German newspaper Bild.

More widely, the world of F1 is viewing Mercedes' penalties as overly light, particularly as the Brackley based camp is so happy with the outcome.

"The judgement is appropriate; indeed, the court largely followed the suggestion of our lawyer," motor sport director Toto Wolff, referring to Mercedes' offer to sit out the Silverstone tests, told DPA news agency.

Photo: WRi2

He denied that boss Ross Brawn's position was ever in doubt.

"Ross is an important part of our team," said Wolff. "Now we can all get back to work."

Just before the hearing, Wolff's colleague Niki Lauda suggested that he had almost brokered an out-of-court peace deal, only for Mercedes chiefs to reject it.

"All sorts of things were discussed," Wolff admitted, "but in the end we chose to go the transparent way, with the assistance of Stuttgart, that everything is clear and harmonious."

Nonetheless, there are rumours Mercedes indeed 'did a deal' that would satisfy the FIA in terms of the rules breach but keep the German carmaker on the grid.

"Some," agreed Der Spiegel correspondent Ralf Bach, "have the feeling that the FIA negotiated a deal with Mercedes."

Indeed, former F1 boss Colin Kolles called the light penalty "inexplicable", and the world's press largely agreed.

Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport said the verdict is "a joke" and "ridiculous", while even Germany's Bild and Auto Motor und Sport described it as "wishy washy" and "surprisingly lenient".

Roger Benoit, the veteran correspondent for Switzerland's Blick, wondered if the judgement was light "because they feared Mercedes' withdrawal".

"Without Mercedes, formula one would be a disaster -- next year they're also supplying Williams, Sahara Force India and McLaren with the new turbo engines", he added.

It was not a gift; Martin Truex, Jr.'s dominating win at Sonoma ended his six-year drought of 218 races to earn that victory his second in Sprint Cup. “What streak?” Truex asked rhetorically. “Michael had 400 or so (races before a win)” he joked.

“Damn good to get a win, finally,” the Toyota driver said in Victory Lane. He led a race-high three times for 51-laps including the final 28-laps. “Quite a relief to be honest,” he added. “We should have run six or seven races,” Truex continued, regarding his second place finishes in the past, “we've had some tough breaks...but that's part of racing. Days when you do everything right,” and not win, “it's so frustrating.”

Photo: NASCAR

“Pit strategy worked out perfectly, just proud of Chad (Johnston his crew chief) and the team.”

“I was a little nervous about a caution,” Truex said about protecting his five-second plus lead before a bit of luck made that drought snapping win more likely.

Although Juan Pablo Montoya was running second, late in the 110-lap race around the 1.99 road course, the Colombian never got close to Truex and then ran out of gas on the last lap falling to 34th place. “It's a hard break,” said Montoya. “Cautions on earlier runs made it harder to calculate."

The race got off to a bumpy opening even before the green flag when David Reutimann stopped, suddenly, driving off of pit road. A chain collision involved Alex Kennedy and Paulie Harraka making his Sprint Cup debut.

Marcos Ambrose, who started second, jumped ahead of polesitter, Jamie McMurray, to take the lead and hold it for 18 laps. Then his car faded. The Australian, a favorite pick for road courses, explained “the weather cooled down a lot and we just didn't anticipate that when we set the car up and we just fought it all day.” He ended up seventh.

Photo: NASCAR

Jeff Gordon finished second in a Chevrolet and Carl Edwards finished third in a Ford.

Kurt Busch's hard luck saga at this track continued after taking the lead on lap 19, but, later suffered a pit road speed violation. Amazingly the 2004 Champion was hit again with another speeding violation while he was paying that penalty dropping him deep in the field. Last year he overcame a broken trackbar to finish third. This year he recovered to finish fourth.“We were fast, even on pit road, twice. I messed up, flat out. I was speeding both times,” he admitted.

Jacques Villeneuve, making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup start since the Brickyard 400 in 2010, had to stay on pit road due to being stuck in second gear he stopped for a quick repair, but, that wasn't a final fix. Although he was able to start the problem was bigger. It got stuck again and his engine was blown. He ran only 19 laps for the team which finished third last year with Kurt Busch.

Jimmie Johnson, who finished ninth, saw his points lead over Edwards lead shrink to 25 (573-548). Clint Bowyer, last year's winner in Sonoma, finished fifth and is third in the points with 528.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is all about pushing the boundaries of speed and endurance.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: The 2013 Mazda 2 Touring is all the car anyone will ever need.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is all about pushing the boundaries of speed and endurance.

Magna International, the world's fourth-largest auto supplier, says it can squeeze more profit from Europe as it moves factories east to feed booming U.S. demand for German cars.

Magna International, the world's fourth-largest auto supplier, says it can squeeze more profit from Europe as it moves factories east to feed booming U.S. demand for German cars.

Magna International, the world's fourth-largest auto supplier, says it can squeeze more profit from Europe as it moves factories east to feed booming U.S. demand for German cars.

While Jamie McMurray has slowly been regaining contending form; he surprised some NASCAR folks with a pole run at the Sonoma Raceway road course.

McMurray turned a lap at 94.986 mph, in a Chevrolet, during Saturday's qualifying at the 1.99- mile road course. It was his ninth career Sprint Cup pole but his first since March 2011.

"I felt like I've always raced really well here," McMurray said of a venue to get back in to Victory Lane.

"For me, the last restarts have really got me. When you have a restart at this track, guys go from top-five to 30th in about 20 seconds. It can be a track that if you have a caution at the end, you can lose a lot," he said.

Another reason for optimism was his pole here in 2007.

This was the first time NASCAR's premier division adopted a new rule for groups of five or six cars qualifying rather than single car runs.

"I thought the qualifying format was really good," McMurray said. "You get to gap yourself from the guys who are in front of you and take it pretty easy. It was very similar to practice, which I thought was good."

The Australian Ambrose, a V8 Supercar champion, was just slightly off the pole at 94.924 mph in a Ford. Ambrose had an engine problem even before his session began

"The motor quit running when I came to green flag, so I lost all of my momentum," Ambrose said. "I thought about bailing out of that lap and rolling around for a second lap, but I wasn't sure about engine temperatures. And the tires go away so fast. I didn't know if I had already stressed them out.

"So I just went for it and pretty much lost my mind there and was really mad. But it was good enough for front row."

Teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle will start third and fourth, respectively.

"I was really happy with the lap," Edwards said. "I made a couple of little mistakes, and I think I could have done better. But still, it's the best position I've had starting here."

Jacques Villeneuve, Boris Said and Ron Fellows are among those road-racing specialists competing in this race. Villeneuve qualified 22nd, Said 24th and Fellows 25th.

Model: 2009 to 2013 Toyota Corolla

Vehicle Type: Compact Sedan

The Verdict: The 2009 to 2013 Toyota Corolla appears, once again, to be one of the safest used-car bets going. Most issues reported are minor in nature and easily fixed. Owners enjoyed a spacious, comfortable and fuel-efficient driving experience largely free of major issues.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Price: High resale values see this generation Corolla coming in from the $10,000 mark for a 2009 or 2010 with some miles, and climbing above $20,000 for a newer, loaded, low-mileage unit. There's plenty of selection in the low teens.

What Owners Like: Commonly praised in this generation Corolla are things like seat comfort, upscale interior trimmings, ride comfort, and spaciousness including the trunk. Many owners say they appreciate the abundant range of storage spaces, as well as excellent fuel mileage.

What Owners Dislike: Common complaints include “just adequate” power output, a lazy and numb steering feel, and the likelihood of losing your Corolla in the Costco parking lot with the large number of other Corollas parked there.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Continue reading 2009-2013 Toyota Corolla Pre-Owned

Team Penske's Helio Castroneves had earned pole for Sunday's IndyCar event in Iowa but because of an unauthorized engine change, the Brazilian has been penalized and will have to start 10th on the grid.

Castoneves will be able to keep the extra nine points he gained for having won the final heat, but teammate Will Power, who finished runner-up at the 7/8th mile oval on Saturday evening, will start on pole.

Castroneves is one of four drivers facing grid penalties for engine changes, with penalties also having been applied to Scott Dixon - who had qualified fifth - James Jakes and Josef Newgarden.

Castroneves had started the ultimate heat from pole and, apart from being challenged by Power in the final 10 laps, the veteran never had to look back until the checkered flag.

Andretti Autosport's James Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti ended-up third and fourth while Ganassi's Scott Dixon finished best of the Honda-powered drivers in fifth.

The two previous heats were quite different, the first one being more of a procession, where the other one was hard-fought, especially between Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter with only four laps to go that ended early when James Jakes lost control of his car two laps later.

Qualifying results - Iowa (IndyCar)

Heat 1
1 - Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 50 laps
2 - Takuma Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 0"7768
3 - Alex Tagliani (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Herta - 2"2856
4 - Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 2"6547
5 - Josef Newgarden (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Fisher - 6"2337
6 - Ana Beatriz (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 11"0839
7 - Sebastian Saavedra (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 14"2120
8 - Sebastien Bourdais (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 14"6719
9 - Dario Franchitti (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 15"9379

Heat 2
1 - Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 50 laps
2 - Ed Carpenter (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 0"5428
3 - Simon Pagenaud (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 2"1748
4 - Justin Wilson (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 3"9980
5 - Tristan Vautier (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 16"5997
6 - Charlie Kimball (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 17"4519
7 - Ernesto Viso (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 24"3545
8 - James Jakes (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 2 laps
9 - Simona de Silvestro (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 3 laps

Heat 3
1 - Helio Castroneves (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 50 laps
2 - Will Power (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 3"1480
3 - James Hinchcliffe (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 4"4390
4 - Marco Andretti (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 4"9046
5 - Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 6"5829
6 - Ed Carpenter (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 8"3003
7 - Takuma Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 11"2950
8 - Tony Kanaan (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 16"0737
9 - Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 1 lap
10 - Oriol Servia (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Panther DRR - 1 lap

The #2 Audi led the Le Mans 24 Hours at night after the #1 and 3 were hit by trouble on Saturday evening. Both Toyota now stand 2nd and 3rd.

After the three Audi R18 dominated the race from the start, two of them were hit by troubles almost at the same time. At lap 100, the leading car, the #1 Audi, had to stop for several minutes in the pits due to an alternator issue. Meanwhile, the #2 had a spin following a puncture, Oliver Jarvis driving the car. The Brit was able to join the pits to change tires, but he also lost ground in the incident.

While Audi remains in the lead, with the #2 driven by Duval, Kristensen and McNish, both Toyota moved up to 2nd and 3rd. The leading Audi hold the first position all night, now leading by almost one lap over the #7 Toyota. Both Rebellion's Lola Toyota were running 5th and 6th on Sunday morning, with 7 hours remaining, behind the #3 Audi, and ahead the #3 that was catching up fast.

In LMP2, the OAK Racing's Morgan Judd were holding the top two positions, the #24 leading the #35. Greaves Motorsport's Zytek was running third.

There was a great battle during the night in GTE Pro class between the Ferrari, the Porsche and the Aston Martin. After the Ferrari led the way on Saturday evening, Aston was back in the lead, but had to stop once more in the pits, which put the Porsche in first position. A 7:00 PM, Aston was back in front with the #99 (Senna, Makowiecki and Bell), but only 30 seconds ahead of the #92 Porsche, and the second works Aston Martin, the #97.

In GTE Am, the #76 IMSA Performance Porsche was holding the lead, with the #55 AF Corse's Ferrari one lap adrift, while the #77 Dempsey/Del Piero's Porsche was running in third.

There was another terrific accident at night, when the HVM Status's Lola driven by Anthony Burgess was split in two after a huge impact in the barriers at 2:30 PM. This time, the driver was lucky to escape unhurt from the crash.

In order to significantly increase its market share in China, General Motors will invest $11 billion through 2016, including for the construction of a Cadillac assembly plant that has just begun in Shanghai.

By launching a new model every year through 2016, GM hopes to triple Cadillac sales in China by 2015, reaching 100,000 units annually.

That's a big challenge given that demand for luxury products in China has fallen since President Xi Jinping, who took over as Communist Party secretary in November, ordered officials to cut down on lavish spending.

"You have to build a brand in a market like China," GM CEO Dan Akerson said. "Twenty five, 30 years ago, you didn't see many Audis in the United States, not that many BMWs. If you bring good products to the market, then it's up to us to sell, make the public aware of the features, functionality and quality of the car."

Source : Automotive News

Photo: GM

The No. 2 Audi R18 driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loïc Duval has won the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the tragic death of Allan Simonsen early in the race will mark the 90th edition of the event forever.

The event was also hit by frequent rain showers that made the track particularly hard to navigate.

Toyota pressured Audi, but could not take advantage of the problems encountered by the No. 1 and 3 German prototypes Saturday evening. The Ingolstadt firm therefore celebrated its 12th win in 14 years at Le Mans, Kristensen his ninth, McNish his third and the young Duval his first.

The start of the race (Photo: Audi Motosport)

Aboard their TS030 prototypes, Toyota drivers Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin and Anthony Davidson ran a consistent race to second place. Toyota could have placed a second car on the podium, but an off in the final hours set the No. 7 back.

2011 and 2012 winners Andre Lotterer Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler, took advantage to snatch the last place available on the podium for Audi.

Strakka Racing edged Rebellion Racing as the best independent team in LMP1, despite the pace of the Lola-Toyota coupes. Slow and steady rewarded Strakka.

No. 8 Toyota TS030 (Photo: Toyota Motorsport)

The two Morgan-Judd prototypes of OAK Racing, led by Baguette, Gonzalez and Plowman, finished 1-2 in LMP2.

Aston Martin was controlling the GTE Pro race until Frederic Makowiecki lost control of his car. Porsche made good use of the opportunity to win the class.

The German manufacturer who is returning to LMP1 next year accomplished the same feat in GTE Am.

No. 1 Audi R18 (Photo: Audi Motorsport)

Race results - 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans
1. Duval/McNish/Kristensen (Audi R18 e-Tron) - Audi Joest - 344 laps (1st LMP1)

2. Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin (Toyota TS030 Hybrid) - Toyota - + 1 lap
3. Genè/Di Grassi/Jarvis(Audi R18 e-Tron) - Audi Joest - + 1 lap

4. Wurz/Lapierre/Nakajima (Toyota TS030 Hybrid) - Toyota - + 7 laps

5. Lotterer/Fassler/Trluyer (Audi R18 e-Tron) - Audi Joest - + 10 laps

6. Leventis/Watts/Kane (HPD ARX 03c-Honda) - Strakka - + 16 laps

7. Baguette/Gonzalez/Plowman (Morgan-Judd) - OAK - + 19 laps (1st LMP2)

8. Pla/Heinemeier Hansson/Brundle (Morgan-Judd) - OAK - + 20 laps

9. Martin/Rusinov/Conway (Oreca 03-Nissan) - G-Drive - + 21 laps

10. Ordonez/Mardenborough/Krumm (Zytek Z11SN-Nissan) - Graves - + 21 laps

(...)
16. Lietz/Lieb/Dumas (Porsche 911) - Porsche AG - + 33 laps (1st GTE Pro)
(...)
26. Bourret/Narac/Vernay (Porsche 911) - IMSA - + 42 laps (1st GTE Am)
Etc.

Although Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge didn't know her late grandfather, Dale Earnhardt the seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion, she's intent in following in his tire tracks.

“I didn't get to meet him, but I know that it makes my mom and my dad proud that I run this number,” Earnhardt Elledge said. “I've only heard how great it was with this number and this legacy and I am excited to carry it on.”

The 12 year old niece of NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will race a 250cc mini Outlaw sprint car in the western United States in 12 races with sponsorship of the Nickelodeon children's cable television network.

Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge (Photo: HHP/Harold Hinson)

And, in a tribute to her late grandfather, her car will carry the No. 3 which is synonymous with the Hall of Famer.

“This is huge. It is a really neat deal and it's a neat day.  None of this was planned, none of this was scripted but here we are today with her standing in victory lane by something that is 50 horsepower.”

The Mini Outlaw Sprint cars weigh about 450 pounds.

Her father, Jimmy Elledge, is a former Sprint Cup crew chief who worked on cars driven by A.J. Allmendinger at the defunct Red Bull Racing team and on Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team from 2003-2008.

Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge (Photo: HHP/Harold Hinson)

“It's been really easy for her from the start. She hasn't had to have a lot of guidance or direction," her father Elledge said.

"She won the first three races she ever drove, so the fourth race was really hard because she lost. So I felt like it was safe because of the full containment seats and the wings, and I thought it was going to be able to teach her a lot of life lessons about sportsmanship and competing and life in general."

Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge (Photo: HHP/Harold Hinson)

Earnhardt Elledge has a pretty good resume for success on the track winning most of her races in mini sprint cars at Millbridge Speedway in North Carolina, where she leads the points standings in her division.

As the say in racing the youngster is aware of the bloodlines running in her veins.  But, other than that, Earnhardt Elledge is also hoping to follow in the footsteps of another famous female driver. “I am a very big Danica Patrick fan,” she said. “She's like my idol, because she's a girl and she races and she shows that girls can do it, too.”

And Karsyn has spent time with Patrick doing television interviews.

“She always asks me how my racing is going and wishes me luck and it's different every time we talk,” she said. “It's just always fun when I talk to her, because I'm talking to Danica Patrick. What's better?”

Sage Karam (Schmidt Peterson) won the Sukup 100 at Iowa Speedway and is now the new leader of the Firestone Indy Light Series' championship, having taking over from Carlos Munoz.

Karam, who started fifth, was able to resist the repeated attacks of Gabby Chaves to win by .2660 of a second in a caution-free race on the .875-mile oval. Jack Hawksworth completed the podium sweep for the team co-owned by Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson. Firestone Freedom 100 winner Peter Dempsey placed fourth.

It was the second consecutive victory for Karam, who leads Munoz atop the standings by nine points. Munoz, the pole sitter for the fourth time this season, finished eighth (three laps down) in the No. 26 Dialy-Ser car for Andretti Autosport.

It also was the fourth consecutive year that Karam has won at Iowa Speedway in the Mazda Road to Indy. He won in USF2000 in 2010 and in Pro Mazda the succeeding years.

Next up is the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, where the series -- then known as the CART American Racing Series -- last raced in 1989.

Adapted from GMM

The curious outcome of the 'test-gate' saga is that, although found guilty of breaking the rules, Mercedes is reacting with relief at the outcome of the international tribunal' verdict.

Unhappy, Red Bull submitted to the tribunal that Mercedes should be fined $100 million - a la McLaren 'spygate' scandal - and docked 150 constructors' championship points, Bild newspaper claimed.

Ferrari, too, sounded furious that Mercedes got away with breaking the rules "virtually scot-free", after the German squad had pleaded to the judges that a light penalty - like sitting out the forthcoming three-day Silverstone test - was adequate.

"One only has to suggest to the judge what the penalty should be and even better, why not make it something light like a rap across the knuckles?" Ferrari said via its 'Horse Whisperer' online column.

The anonymous columnist ridiculed Mercedes' young drivers test ban, wondering what the judges would have decided if that event was not looming.

"Would they (Mercedes) have been forbidden from holding an end of year dinner?" said the Horse Whisperer.

Furthermore, the Telegraph newspaper reported that tyre supplier Pirelli, also officially reprimanded by the tribunal, "may yet decide to sue the FIA" for having wrongfully pressed charges and damaging its image.

Pete Shepherd III won the Claringon 200 at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Saturday, earning him a second NASCAR Canadian Tire victory in as many weeks.

Shepherd III, who is not a series' regular for the 2013 season, has been more than competitive. His victory on the facility's half-mile oval was the second straight for him, who drove the No. 7 National Exhaust/Diamond Material Handling Dodge to Victory Lane last week at Delaware Speedway.

The Clarington 200 is Shepherd's fifth career win in 18 starts over the last four years.

Scott Steckly rebounded from a slow start to the season to finish second. He had finished 21st and 24th in his two previous races.

J.R. Fitzpatrick was third, followed by Jason Hathaway and Steve Mathews.
Martin Roy, L.P. Dumoulin, Jeff Lapcevich, Hugo Vannini and D.J. Kennington completed the top 10.

Kerry Micks was the fastest in qualifying and led a race-high 86 laps, but wound up 19th as iginition issues ended his nights after 146 laps.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will return to the road course with the Jiffy Lube 100 presented by Snap-on at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec, on Sunday, July 7.


Clarington 200 Results - 200 laps
Pos. Driver Make Laps
1. Pete Shepherd III Dodge 200
2. Scott Steckly Dodge 200
3. J.R. Fitzpatrick Chevrolet 200
4. Jason Hathaway Dodge 200
5. Steven Mathews Ford 200
6. Martin Roy Dodge 200
7. L.P. Dumoulin Dodge 200
8. Jeff Lapcevich Dodge 200
9. Hugo Vannini Ford 199
10. D.J. Kennington Dodge 198
11. Jason White Dodge 198
12. Ryley Seibert * Dodge 198
13. Dave Connelly Dodge 197
14. Bradon White * Chevrolet 196
15. Ray Courtemanche Jr. Dodge 196
16. Noel Dowler Dodge 184
17. Alex Guenette * Dodge 149
18. Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Dodge 148
19. Kerry Micks Ford 146
20. Larry Jackson Dodge 81
21. Trevor Seibert Dodge 30

From WRC.com

Sebastien Ogier claimed his fourth World Rally Championship victory of the season today after leading Rally Italia Sardegna from start to finish in a Volkswagen Polo R.

The Frenchman won round seven of 13 on the Mediterranean island by 1min 16.8sec from Thierry Neuville, who claimed a career-best result in a Ford Fiesta RS. Jari-Matti Latvala completed the podium in a Polo R.

Ogier was the class of the field throughout the two-day rally, covering 304.50km of dusty gravel tracks. The Frenchman ended the first leg with a 46.6sec lead, extending it this morning before cruising home. He claimed maximum bonus points in the penultimate Power Stage, too, and his series lead is now 64 points.

Neuville took his second consecutive podium. Stiffening the set-up and adjusting the brakes in his Fiesta RS transformed its handling and he climbed from sixth to end yesterday in third, hot on the heels of Mikko Hirvonen.

When Hirvonen went off the road in SS10, the pressure was off and the Belgian eased home - despite a bizarre last stage drama.

Latvala's rally began perfectly with victory in Thursday's qualifying stage. However, his hopes were shattered in the opening test when he punctured the front left tyre after just 8km. He lost almost two minutes and lay 12th.

He was fifth last night and his recovery was complete when he climbed to third following Hirvonen's demise and a mistake from the under-pressure Dani Sordo. The Finn finished 31.2sec behind Neuville and 1min 31.2sec clear of Sordo.

It seemed unlikely Sordo would resist Latvala's challenge, but a spin sealed his fate. With Citroen team-mate Hirvonen stranded in a ditch, the Spaniard was under firm instructions to come home safely and net vital manufacturers' points.

Robert Kubica (Citroën DS3 RRC) took 9th position overall, and his second WRC2 victory in a row.

Sébastien Ogier lifting the winner's trophy (Photo: VW Motorsport)

Final classification:
1. Ogier-Ingrassia (VW Polo Wrc) in 3.22'57”9

2. Neuville-Gilsoul (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'16”8
3. Latvala-Anttila (VW Polo Wrc) + 1'48”0

4. Sordo-Del Barrio (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 3'19”2

5. Prokop-Ernst (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 8'34”1

6. Evans-Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 11'51”8
7. Kosciuszko-Szczepaniak (Ford Fiesta RSWrc) + 11'52”7

8. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 13'21”5
9. Kubica-Baran (Citroen DS3 Super2000) + 16'47”6

10. Al Qassimi-Scott (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 17'19”9
Etc.

Championship:
Ogier 154 points, 2. Latvala 90, 3. Neuville 70, 4. Loeb 68, 5. Hirvonen 61, etc.