Auto News 5

The Clarington 200 will be the third event of the 2013 season for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the second of eight oval-track events.

This will be the series' seventh and last visit at the old Mosport oval.

The Speedway at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport Speedway, will be closed to make way to an expanded driver development course.

Start of the 2011 Canadian Tire Series. (Photo: NASCAR)

However, the NASCAR Canadian Tire series will be back at the motorsport complex to race on the 2.459-mile road course and looks forward to the September 1st shared date with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The single-lap qualifying record is held by Pete Shepherd III of 21.517 seconds (83.655 mph) was set on June 16, 2012.

The 200-lap race record was established on May 28, 2011 by Scott Steckly at 1 hour, 30 minutes, 21 seconds for an average speed of 66.740 mph.

After six Canadian Tire Series visits on the oval, each of the three series' manufacturers - Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford - have been to Victory Lane twice.

Don Thomson Jr. took Chevy to victory in 2007 and 2010. Kerry Micks (2008) and Andrew Ranger (2009) drove Fords to the win. And Steckly (2011) and Kennington (2012) took Dodge to the winner's circle in each of the last two years.

From Lotus F1 Team

Lotus F1 Team has new part-owners as of today, with Infinity Racing Partners Limited (Infinity Racing) acquiring a 35% minority stake in the team. Infinity Racing joins Genii Capital, who retain a controlling stake in the team, with Gerard Lopez continuing as Chairman.

Infinity Racing is an investment consortium whose special purpose vehicle is comprised of private investors that include an American hedge fund manager, an Abu Dhabi-based multinational business group and royal family interests of a major oil producing nation.

Lotus E21. (Photo: WRi2)

Lotus F1 Team was previously 100% owned by an investment vehicle of Genii Capital - a global investment management and financial advisory firm headquartered in Luxembourg - which retains a controlling stake of 65% in the team.

Gerard Lopez, co-founder of Genii Capital, will remain Chairman of Lotus F1 Team. Eric Lux, CEO of Genii Capital, will continue his role on the team's Board of Directors.

Gerard Lopez, Chairman, Lotus F1 Team:
“Infinity Racing's principals have exceptional expertise and a proven strong track record in developing and delivering high quality technologies. This partnership will enable us to increase Lotus F1 Team's competitive advantage related to KERS technology as it becomes more central to Formula 1's push for environmentally sound racing, while also making Lotus F1 Team more marketable as a brand, opening up additional major sponsorship opportunities.”

Mansoor Ijaz, Chairman and Suhail Al Dhaheri, Vice Chairman, Infinity Racing:
“Gerard Lopez, Eric Lux and the entire Genii Capital team are building Lotus F1 Team to make it a serious competitor at every race and a winner on a par with the top racing teams in Formula 1. The recent developments at Enstone and results of the Team's high-quality drivers are testament to this. Patrick Louis, Chief Executive, and Eric Boullier, Team Principal, are continuing the time-honoured traditions of Lotus F1 Team and have re-established the Team as a competitive force in Formula 1. We are honoured to be part of the Team's forward march to the No.1 ranking and proud of the team spirit, down-to-earth nature and performance-oriented results that characterise the experts at Enstone, who endeavour to make Lotus F1 Team a title challenger in Formula 1 today.”

Several web sites are writing Tuesday that Ross Brawn will be the sole representative of the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team to face the FIA tribunal June 20.

A Mercedes spokesman on Tuesday apparently confirmed that Brawn will be at the FIA hearing while motorsport director, Toto Wolff and supervisory board chief, Niki Lauda will not be present in Paris.

Ross Brawn, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

The International Tribunal of the Paris-based FIA is to decide whether the “private” tire test by the German team and tire manufacturer Pirelli was illegal or not.

Mercedes AMG conducted a tire test apparently requested by Pirelli in May in Barcelona, Spain. Pirelli said the test was to evaluated 2014 tires.

However, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari lodged protests after the Monaco Grand Prix because they claim that the test was conducted with the 2013 car and its regular drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Mercedes and Pirelli insist they didn't violate F1 rules, and Mercedes AMG even revealed that it has an email from the FIA authorising the test.

The FIA and its president Jean Todt have referred the case to the International Tribunal.

From Formula1.com

Following the sad death of Argentinean Jose Froilan Gonzalez last weekend, three-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sir Jack Brabham, now aged 87, becomes the oldest living F1 race winner.

The Australian, known as 'Black Jack', is the only man to win a world title in a car of his own construction.

Jack Brabham's three world championships were the product of both his engineering expertise and driving skill.

Jack Brabham, Brabham BT-26 Repco, Monza 1968 (Photo: WRI2)

His first two titles, in rear-engined Coopers he helped develop, confirmed the obsolescence of front-engined F1 cars.

His third title, in a Brabham, made him the only driver to become champion in a car of his own make. For his lifetime achievements, which also included nurturing the talents of other notable drivers and pioneering the business side of the sport, he became the first F1 driver to receive a knighthood.

Always a man of few words - his nickname 'Black Jack' referred to both his dark hair and his propensity for maintaining a shadowy silence - he avoided small talk and was undemonstrative in the extreme. But behind the wheel he was anything but shy and retiring. He put his head down and drove exceedingly forcefully, opposite-locking his car dirt-track style, and was not averse to deliberately showering gravel in the face of a too closely following pursuer.

Sir Jack Brabham (Photo: WRI2)

Jack Brabham, whose final F1 victory came in the 1970 South African Grand Prix when he was 44, chose that season to retire as a driver.

The Brabham team was sold to Bernie Ecclestone and Jack returned home to Australia, where he busied himself running a farm, a car dealership and an aviation company, and helped his sons with their racing careers.

His contribution to British motorsport was officially recognised in 1985 and he became Sir Jack Brabham.

From wrc.com

Malcolm Wilson believes the new price-capped R5 specification rally car is a big step forward for the sport and could eventually become the top category of vehicle in the World Rally Championship.

Wilson made the comments as his M-Sport firm unveiled its new Ford Fiesta - the first R5 specification car to be launched.

Photo: M-Sport

The car, which costs 180,000 Euros, is expected to be homologated by the FIA on July 1st and will make its WRC competitive debut in Finland with Elfyn Evans at the wheel.

The turbocharged 1600cc four-wheel drive Fiesta R5 will compete in the WRC 2 category, alongside Super 2000 and Regional Rally Car (RRC) machinery.

Before Finland, Thierry Neuville will demonstrate the R5 as a course car at the European championship Ypres Rally in July.

“I really believe it's a big step for rallying for the future,” Wilson told wrc.com.

“I'm so excited about the car and also about the concept going forward, It's going to provide a lot of performance for a very realistic cost.”

“With the proper driver this car is going to surprise a lot of people. It's going to be quicker everywhere than a Super 2000 car and a lot of places it will be quicker than a regional car.

“Put it this way, I don't believe there's ever been a way for a young driver to drive a competitive car for so little money.

“I think that the R5 is a very strong car and has got the potential to become the top model in the future.”

Further R5 models are expected to be homologated this year, with Skoda, Peugeot and Citroen all currently developing cars.

A new collision warning system will be used at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend in France.

Bosch's long-range radar sensor (LRR3) will be fitted on the two velocity yellow Compuware Corvette C6.R race cars.

The new system is based on a third-generation Bosch long-range radar sensor.

Photo: Bosch

With an aperture angle of up to 30 degrees, the sensor can detect objects at a distance of 250 meters. It can also track up to 32 objects simultaneously, along with their distance and speed relative to the car.

The objective is to warn the drivers about the speed of the surrounding cars of various categories, and therefore avoid possible collisions.

Meanwhile, Audi chose to fit their R18s with a camera that allows the drivers to see the road, and the traffic, better.

From GMM

Melbourne has all but confirmed news it has lost its status as the opening race on the formula one calendar.

It emerged recently that F1's hugely controversial Bahrain grand prix is provisionally scheduled to kick off an unprecedentedly-long 21-race schedule in 2014.

Bahrain's race will be in early March, which is a couple of weeks earlier than Australia usually hosts the season opener, in the third week of the month.

The Sunday Herald Sun newspaper reports that Bahrain next year will be held on March 2, followed by Melbourne two weeks later.

But Andrew Westacott, boss of the Australian grand prix corporation, said Melbourne is happy with the mid-March slot, due to the scheduling of other sports events in the city at that time.

"Our preference is to retain the third weekend in March," he said, playing down fears crowd numbers might be affected by the race's altered status.

"The grand prix ran on the first weekend in April (in 2006) and estimated attendance remained strong with crowds in excess of 300,000," Westacott insisted.

The 2014 calendar is expected to be confirmed by the FIA in August.

Bahrain track.

On the face of it, an unprecedented 21 grands prix should be listed, due to the new races in Russia and New Jersey.

But Speed Week claims teams may actually only end up travelling to a more comfortable 19 destinations, with the events in India and South Korea reportedly in doubt.

The report said Korea's current contract runs through 2016, but that the unpopular and poorly attended F1 host is losing the support of the local authorities.

As for India, Speed Week said: "We are hearing that the 2013 race is financially backed, but not the 2014 one.

"Indian sources suggest the (promoter) Jaypee Group is nearing bankruptcy."

Johnson Controls is speaking to private equity firms about selling its roughly $1 billion automotive electronics unit, after buyout interest from several rival auto parts suppliers faltered, according to several people familiar with the matter.

2013 Scion xB

Funky box-on-wheels styling conceals a mediocre driving experience.

The xB doesn't look at all like something I would enjoy driving, but I did indeed. Whereas the Nissan Cube, for better or for worse, drives exactly like it looks -- that is, like a living room on roller skates -- the xB feels like a sporty compact. The steering is tight, responsive, and has more weight than any Toyota product I can remember. The 2.4-liter engine happily winds up the rev range. I found myself chucking this box into corners, which must have looked rather funny to anyone behind me.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Scion xB - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Scion xB - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2013 Scion xB | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

The 2014 Audi SQ5 high-performance SUV will cost $51,900 when it hits showrooms later this summer. The first S variant of the Q-line makes power with a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 delivering 354 hp and 347 lb-ft of torque.

In 2009, Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt shattered the world record for the 100-meter sprint, crossing the line in just 9.58 seconds.

Bill Ludwig, CEO at longtime Detroit ad agency Campbell Ewald, is stepping down after more than 30 years at the company, executives familiar with the matter said. The agency is expected to tap an internal successor in a matter of weeks.

Advertising agency Doner has regrouped since losing a $150 million Mazda account in June 2010 to a consortium of WPP Group agencies in California.

NASCAR driver David Pearson's win at the Riverside 400, slumping small-vehicle sales and future vehicle predictions are the top stories of our June 19, 1976 issue.

The court battle to settle the fate of the long-lost Cunningham Corvette No. 1 continues.

Automakers are coming under increasing pressure to sell zero-emission vehicles to consumers in the United States who haven't shown much interest in them, with more states following California's lead in setting sales targets.

Nissan's take-no-prisoners approach to gaining U.S. market share has the auto industry worried that a price war is brewing that will erode the profit progress made since the recession ravaged auto sales.

Jaguar's F-Type convertible is on fire right now.

Alfa Romeo is doing a little public relations work on YouTube today. The Italian brand is hyping the new 4C sports car that is scheduled to hit American shores later this year.

GM has named a longtime labor relations and manufacturing executive to run its North American factories during one of its busiest-ever vehicle launch periods.