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The last two rounds of the World Touring Car Championship in Austria were won by the Chevrolet Cruzes of Michael Nykjaer and James Nash after an epic battle during the qualifying.

James Nash, Chevrolet. (Photo: FIA WTCC)

No less than 12 drivers have been penalized after Saturday's qualifying session. As the Salzburgring is a very fast race track, slipstream played a big role.

As Tom Chilton was the first car of the pack during the final moments of the session, no one wanted to pass him to benefit from his slipstream.

As a result, everybody stayed behind Chilton at low speed, with a pack of cars running at just 40 km/h. That was even more laughable that no car was able to reach the finish line before the chequered flag was dropped, and no one managed to improve his time.



The race stewards decided to hand out massive fines and grid penalties to all 12 drivers, including Yvan Muller who lost the benefit of his pole position, being dropped down to 13th on the grid. Michael Nykjaer inherited the pole position.

Michel Nykjaer, Chevrolet. (Photo: FIA WTCC)

Nykjaer was able to maintain his lead during Race 1, and took his second win of the season ahead of James Nash and Yvan Muller, who made a great recovery.

In race 2, James Nash had a great run and claimed his  maiden WTCC win ahead of Muller and Norbert Michelisz's Honda Civic.

Yvan Muller extended his lead on the points table, and is now 80 points ahead of Gabriele Tarquini (Honda).

Race 1:
1 - Michel Nykjaer - Chevrolet Cruze - Nika
2 - James Nash - Chevrolet Cruze - Bamboo - 0"298
3 - Yvan Muller - Chevrolet Cruze - RML - 0"645
4 - Mehdi Bennani - BMW 320 TC - Proteam - 1"586
5 - Alex MacDowall - Chevrolet Cruze - Bamboo - 4"374
Etc.

Race 2:
1 - James Nash - Chevrolet Cruze - Bamboo
2 - Yvan Muller - Chevrolet Cruze - RML - 1"438
3 - Norbert Michelisz - Honda Civic - Zengo - 1"818

4 - Tiago Monteiro - Honda Civic - Honda-Jas - 3"483

5 - Michel Nykjaer - Chevrolet Cruze - Nika - 4"064
Etc.

Championship:
Muller 198 points ; 2. Tarquini 118; 3. Nash 108; 4. Nykjaer 96; 5. Huff and Chilton 77, etc.

From GMM

World champion Sebastian Vettel has called on Pirelli to consider a fundamentally different approach to its role as F1 tire supplier.

The 'T-word' has been the buzz of the paddock throughout 2013 so far, and the controversy came to a head after Barcelona, when tempers flared over the widespread four-stop strategies.

Following rampant criticism, mainly from Red Bull and Mercedes, Pirelli announced it would make changes for next month and beyond, but Lotus and Ferrari hit back, supported by the FIA who insist any changes should be minimal.

Bernie Ecclestone and Paul Hembery. (Photo: Pirelli)

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone backs his sport's Italian partner.

"I asked Pirelli to make tires that would not complete 50 per cent of a race -- meaning we need pitstops," he told F1's official website this week. And that's what they did."

Ecclestone said problems have arisen because Pirelli's task is "very, very difficult" given race-to-race differences in circuit, temperatures, cars and driver styles.

For once, however, Red Bull's world champion Vettel disagrees completely with his backgammon rival.

"It is not just about considering changing one ingredient in the recipe," the German told Kicker magazine. "It's more about the recipe itself."

From GMM

Honda is looking for an English base for its new formula one foray with its great former partner McLaren.

The two marques announced late last week that they have linked up for a new 'works' partnership that will see Honda supply turbo V6 engines to McLaren from 2015.

"Honda will develop its engines at its facility in Tochigi, Japan, where it has already begun development," read the media statement last Thursday.

But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Honda is also looking to operate out of an English headquarters.

"Rumours refer to Cosworth's properties," said correspondent Michael Schmidt.

Cosworth, currently the supplier of V8 engines to Marussia, is expected to pull out of formula one before the change of regulations for 2014.

The Octagon, the Cosworth's factory. (Photo: Google Street)

From GMM

McLaren on Tuesday played down reports linking its new Honda engine deal with Paddy Lowe's early release to Mercedes.

British broadcaster James Allen claimed McLaren's decision to drop Mercedes as its engine supplier after 2014, paving the way for Honda, gave Mercedes "a bargaining chip" to end former technical director Lowe's 'gardening leave'.

On his F1 blog, Allen said Mercedes is "very unhappy" about the turbo V6 data that could flow to Honda next year, "so it appears they have leveraged this situation to trigger the early release of Lowe".

Paddy Lowe. (Photo: McLaren)

But McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh on Tuesday told reporters releasing Lowe six months early simply "seemed like the right thing to do".

Briton Lowe, 51, will start work at Brackley in two weeks.

"It's not related to the Honda deal," Whitmarsh insisted. "The Honda deal and the Mercedes deals had been done, so there was no pressure brought to bear.

"It was entirely our decision and we hope that it creates some goodwill. Paddy's a good guy."

Tesla Motors may repay its federal Department of Energy loan as early as Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said in a message on Twitter on Monday.

Porsche, after a six-month review of advertising agencies, has opted to keep its creative advertising account for the United States parked at Cramer-Krasselt, the incumbent agency that has held the account since 2007.

Toyota has overtaken BMW as the world's most valuable automotive brand, an annual ranking of the world's top brands shows.

Toyota has overtaken BMW as the world's most valuable automotive brand, an annual ranking of the world's top brands shows.

2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium

The new Forester doesn't feel much different than its predecessors, and that's just fine by us.

The big story with the 2014 Subaru Forester is that you get a lot of car for the money. Just $24,320 buys a spacious crossover with plenty of cargo room, all-wheel drive, heated front seats, Bluetooth, and a backup camera. Getting that level of equipment on rival all-wheel-drive crossovers would cost considerably more. While the Forester is hardly a sexy or exciting vehicle, it represents very good value.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

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Last week, we told you about the Gumball 3000's Team Galag and its Dark Knight-inspired Tumbler vehicle.

Chevrolet brought some more attention to its role in "Mad Men" on Twitter after last night's episode.

Noise, Vibration & Harshness: The Slightly Eco Supercar: LaFerrari Versus P1

Thousands thronged the Ferrari stand at Geneva’s motor show for the debut of the machine called simply, and not a little curiously, LaFerrari.

Thousands thronged the Ferrari stand at Geneva's motor show for the debut of the machine called simply, and not a little curiously, LaFerrari. Earlier that same day, rather fewer had made their way to the first showing of the production version of English Formula 1 constructor McLaren's new roadgoing hypercar, an equally badass monument to overqualified overkill, blandly named P1. Proving in sum what we already knew: nothing.

Photo Gallery: Noise, Vibration & Harshness: The Slightly Eco Supercar: LaFerrari Versus P1 - Automobile Magazine

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Formula One driver Mike Spence died from injuries sustained in a crash while testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway May 7, 1968. He was 31.

B456 Systems, the bankrupt electric-car battery maker formerly called A123 Systems, won court approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy that pays creditors from the proceeds of selling virtually all its assets.

AutoNation's lead-referral subsidiary today unveiled an online service that lets consumers search dealership Web sites for new and used vehicles based on monthly payments.

Experian has named John Gray president of its automotive business unit, effective immediately, with responsibility for the strategic direction, leadership and overall growth of the business.

From the folks who brought you the Venom GT and countless other cars and trucks capable of putting up ridiculous numbers, Hennessey Performance is back with another concoction, the VelociRaptor SUV.

A spokesperson for the company's UK importer has told just-auto that the replacement for the Mazda2/Demio will use the same platform as the far larger CX-5 crossover.

If Lego couldn't see fit to release a kit of Captain Malcolm Reynolds' plucky "Serenity," we doubt they'll be selling a 1:7-scale edition of a

2014 Volkswagen XL1 First Drive

A hypermiling supercar.

Geneva, Switzerland

Photo Gallery: 2014 Volkswagen XL1 First Drive - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Volkswagen XL1 First Drive - Automobile Magazine

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