Auto News 5

Force India's Paul di Resta will start a career best fifth in tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix following grid penalties for Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber.

The Scot originally qualified seventh, but following Hamilton's five-place grid drop after a gearbox change and Webber's three-place penalty as a result of his collision with Jean-Eric Vergne in the Chinese Grand Prix, the Scot will line up fifth for tomorrow's race, a career best result and Force India's best result of the 2013 season.

“We looked strong throughout all the sessions,” he said after qualifying. “As the tracked gripped up we didn't quite have the speed we expected, but I'm still pretty happy with what we've achieved, especially as I will move up to fifth with the grid penalties.”

Di Resta also believes there is every chance for Force India to score a good haul of points, given teammate Adrian Sutil - following Hamilton's and Webber's penalties - will line up one position behind in sixth.

“We're in a great position for tomorrow; the car is strong and our long run performance yesterday gives us every reason to be hopeful of challenging for some good points,” he concluded.

Sutil echoed his teammate's comments and believes both cars can move forward in tomorrow's race.

“The track suits us, we like the warm weather and things look promising for tomorrow,” he said.

“It's a good starting position to have both cars on the third row and we will be looking to move forward in the race.”

From GMM

Toyota could be set to follow its old Japanese rival Honda back into formula one.

Having pulled out of the sport amid the global financial crisis in late 2008, it is expected Honda is preparing a return for 2015 for the new turbo V6 rules.

"I think we've all heard the stories that Honda are coming in and there are other people looking at joining formula one," Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn said.

"I think it (the V6 rules have) regenerated that area, which it needed."

Honda is expected to team up for a works engine deal with McLaren, while Sauber has been linked with a customer supply of Japanese power.

Toyota, meanwhile, withdrew from F1 a year after Honda, at the end of 2009.

Swiss newspaper Blick's veteran correspondent Roger Benoit said in Bahrain: "Yes, even Toyota is toying with a comeback.

"The Japanese have Williams in sight, and they could get Japanese favourite Kamui Kobayashi back in a race cockpit."

Neel Jani and Dominik Farnbacher delivered pole for their respective team, ahead of the 2013 Long Beach Toyota Grand Prix.

Jani, driving Rebellion Racing's No. 12 Lola-Toyota coupe, turned his quickest lap 1min12.600s, over five tenths quicker than his quickest LMP1 rival, Guy Smith (Dyson Racing).

Smith's consolation prize was beating reigning champion Lucas Luhr (Muscle Milk), who had to make due with third on the grid.

In GT, Farnbacher's performance brought more than just a pole to Viper. It brought the returning manufacturer its first pole since coming back to the series last year.

"One year ago the car didn't exist," the driver reminded everyone.

Bryan Sellers (Team Falken) lines up beside him, followed by Jonathan Bomarito, in a second Viper.

By beating Extreme Speed's Scott Sharp, Ryan Briscoe (Level 5) earned himself a second consecutive pole in P2.

Bruno Junqueira (RSR Racing) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (Alex Job Racing) are the respective pace setters in LMPC and GTC.

Long Beach (Photo: Rebellion Racing)

Qualifying results - Long Beach Grand Prix
1.Heidfeld/Jani (Lola B12/60 Toyota) - Rebellion - 1'12"600
2.Dyson/Smith (Lola B12/60 Mazda) - Dyson - 1'13"282
3.Graf/Luhr (HPD ARX-03c) - Pickett - 1'14"004
4.Tucker/Briscoe (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 1'16"014
5.Junqueira/Ende (Oreca FLM09) - Rocketsports - 1'16"167
6.Bennett/Braun (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 1'16"222
7.Guasch/Diaz (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 1'16"630
8.Marcelli/Cumming (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 1'16"654
9.Nunez/Shears (Oreca FLM09) - Preformance Tech - 1'16"834
10.Drissi/Mitchell (Oreca FLM09) - BAR1 - 1'17"176
(...)
13.Goossens/Farnbacher (SRT Viper) - SRT - 1'18"845

Lewis Hamilton will take a five-place grid penalty ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix after, his team Mercedes having being forced to change the 2008 title winner's gearbox after the third free practice session.

Hamilton's WO4 suffered a left-rear puncture in the closing stages of final practice, as well as incurring suspension damage in a weekend where Mercedes have struggled to match the pace of the front runners.

Hamilton will be the third driver to incur a grid penalty this weekend in Bahrain along with Mark Webber and Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez who face three and five place grid drops following incidents over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.

Heavy rains have forced the cancellation of qualifying, ahead of the Grand Prix of Atltanta.

The grid was therefore set by championship standings, which means Memo Rojas and teammate Scott Pruett (BMW/Riley Ganassi) inherited the first spot on the starting grid.

The rain ended Jon Fogarty's run of two consecutive poles. Luckily for Fogarty, he and teammate Alex Gurney (GAINSCO Corvette DP) are second in the championship, so they can at least start second.

John Potter and Andy Lally (Magnus Porsche 911) will start first in GT, alongside Jeff Westphal and Alessandro Balzan (Scuderia Corse Ferrari 458).

Jim Norman and David Donohue (BGB Porsche Cayman) lead the standings in GX.


Starting order - Grand Prix of Atlanta (Grand-AM)
1.Pruett-Rojas (Riley-BMW) - Ganassi
2.Fogarty-Gurney (Corvette DP/Riley) - Stallings
3.Angelelli-Taylor (Riley-BMW) - Taylor
4.Dalziel-Popow (Riley-Ford) - Starworks
5.Taylor-Westbrook (Corvette DP) - SpiritOfDaytona
6.Lamy-Sarrazin (Corvette DP/Coyote) - 8Star
7.Frisselle-Frisselle (Corvette DP/Coyote) - ActionEx
8.Cameron-Nonnamaker (Riley-BMW) - Sahlen
9.Fittipaldi-Barbosa (Corvette DP/Coyote) - ActionEx
10.Hartley-Legge-Mayer (Porsche 997) - Starworks
(...)

Nico Rosberg expects a difficult Bahrain Grand Prix despite claiming pole position for tomorrow's race.

The Mercedes driver set a fastest lap of 1m32.330s ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in a car which seemed unable to match the pace of the front runners throughout free practice.

Following the qualifying session, Vettel described his compatriot as ‘unbeatable', but Rosberg expects a different story tomorrow given Mercedes' lack of pace in the previous sessions. He also expects tire wear to play a major role in the race.

“It's difficult to say if we have enough pace to win tomorrow,” he said. “It will be difficult, especially with the rear tyres, and we know that other teams were stronger than us on the long runs on Friday.

It will be a big challenge to stay ahead but starting from the front helps”

However, the pole sitter will be trying to convert his third pole position into his second win for the team.

“We are going to try and [and win, but] I look forward to starting first,” he said.

The 2014 Acura MDX made its Canadian debut this week at the Edmonton Motor Show, where the automaker confirmed a mid-summer on-sale date.

Motivated by a 290-horsepower 3.5L V6 engine, the 2014 Acura MDX has fuel consumption ratings of 11.2L/100km city, 7.7L/100km highway, and 9.6L/100km combined. Expect enhanced dynamic performance, including quicker acceleration, more responsive braking, and even more precise steering feel.

Four trim levels will be available:

• MDX;
• MDX with Navigation package;
• MDX with Technology package;
• MDX with Elite package.

Pricing remains unknown.

Photo: Acura

The Ford Escort is backand#8212;at least as a concept at the China auto show.

Volkswagen's long-running Beetle is getting a technology overhaul.

On Monday, Ford and GM announced they would work together on nine- and 10-speed transmissions, we found out how to outrun a dust storm in a

LaFontaine Automotive Group -- a metro Detroit dealer with a large inventory of products from the General, cheesy ads and one of those

Kia has set the starting price of its new range-topping Cadenza sedan at $35,900, including shipping, to target the high-end of the large sedan segment.

Kuka AG has acquired the welding equipment and assembly supplier Utica Enterprises in suburban Detroit. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As weand#8217;ve said, Volkswagen made its plans known for a second new SUV model at the Shanghai motor show this weekend when it unveiled the

The United Services Automobile Association -- the insurer of 9.4 million U.S.

Senior motorsports editor Mac Morrison gives the rundown on this weekend's races with NASCAR at Kansas Speedway and Formula One in Bahrain.

The Ghibli is an early test of Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne's efforts to squeeze more cash out of the Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands.

Chevy said on Thursday that its diesel-powered Cruze sedan will get an astonishing 46 mpg on the highway and use a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. With a 15.

Toyota's Prius hybrids, after record sales in the United States last year, may not reach a target for growth in 2013 as gasoline prices fall faster than the automaker expected, its top North American executive said.

Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe Concept First Look

Another Plug-In Hybrid Crossover.

Volkswagen has shown several crossovers concepts with plug-in hybrid powertrains at recent auto shows, including the seven-passenger CrossBlue at Detroit and the five-passenger Cross Coupe TDI in Geneva. The latest is the CrossBlue Coupe, which makes its debut at China's Shanghai Motor Show and is claimed to influence future Volkswagen production models.

Photo Gallery: Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe Concept First Look - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe Concept First Look - Automobile Magazine

Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe Concept First Look | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us