Auto News 5

The Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program that was to be held April 11th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been postponed to a later date due to poor weather forecast for the coming days.

Officials will announce the rescheduled date for the rookie program soon.

AJ Allmendinger (Team Penske), Conor Daly (A.J. Foyt Racing), Carlos Munoz (Andretti Autosport) and Tristan Vautier (Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian) are scheduled to participate.

Allmendinger and Vautier are entered in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 19-21, while Munoz will compete in the Firestone Indy Lights race on the temporary street course. Following Long Beach is the Sao Paulo Indy 300 in Brazil on May 5.

Ryan Briscoe will join Chip Ganassi Racing to compete  in the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 while Team Penske confirms that AJ Allmendinger will race in the upcoming Long Beach Grand Prix.

At the end of last season, Briscoe lost his drive with Team Penske and found himself without a drive for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar season.

But the Australian did not stand still and soon joined Level 5 Motorsports for the 12 Hours of Sebring in the American Le Mans Series.

Ryan Briscoe. (Photo: LAT/IndyCar)

Last year, Briscoe earned the pole position at Indy and he will now join defending Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, alongside Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball in the Honda-powered team.


Meanwhile, we have learned that IndyCar returnee, AJ Allmendinger will get one more race under his belt at Long Beach before making his Indy 500 debut. He may also contest one more race in the month of May. 

Although the Penske team has not confirmed anything for Allmendinger after Indy, he's rumored to have as many as eight total races planned in the No. 2 Dallara.


Adapted from Toyota Racing

Toyota Racing begins its first full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Six Hours of Silverstone this weekend.

The team based in Cologne, Germany competed in only six of the eight WEC rounds last season - five with only one car - and won three races, including the final two events of the season.

Photo: Toyota Racing

Toyota Racing arrives at Silverstone, where it set a new LMP1 lap record last year, with reason to be confident at the start of an eight-race season which concludes in Bahrain on November 30.

With development of an updated TS030 HYBRID continuing at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Cologne, the team heads to Silverstone with two cars in 2012 specification. The updated car is planned to make its debut at Spa-Francorchamps next month.

Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre will share the No. 7 car, with Kazuki Nakajima starting the defence of his Super Formula (formerly Formula Nippon) title at Suzuka this weekend. Anthony Davidson, Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Buemi are reunited in the No. 8 car for the first time since Le Mans last June.

Photo: Toyota Racing

Toyota Racing is once again unique in using super capacitor technology in its hybrid powertrain. This fast charging/discharging technology delivers 300hp of boost under acceleration and was a key factor in last year's race victories.

Action at Silverstone begins on Friday with two 90-minute practice sessions (12.25-13.55 and 16.26-17.55) before a final one-hour session on Saturday morning (09.00-10.00).

Qualifying takes place on Saturday afternoon (12.40-13.00) with the starting position for each car determined by the aggregate of two drivers' two fastest laps. The race begins at 12.00 on Sunday.

IndyCar current champion Ryan Hunter-Reay fought among the leaders all thru the race to finally earn his first 2013 IndyCar victory at the Barber Motorsports Park.

Hunter-Reay took the lead for the last time with 15 laps to go, taking advantage of his softer red tires to move pass Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) who was struggling but soon enough found himself prey to Ganassi's Scott Dixon insistent assaults.

The American was able to maintain his leading spot and crossed the finish line with only 0.6s to spare.

Castroneves finished third followed by Dixon's teammate Charlie Kimball and his own squad partner Will Power.

Ryan Hunter-Reay. (Photo: LAT/IndyCar)

Having had to start the race back in the 20th spot, St Petersburg winner James Hinchcliffe was involved in a clash with Oriol Servia and Graham Rahal only to be forced to retire early on.

Forced home also was Dario Franchitti (Ganassi Racing) who had also his share of problems with a qualification that placed him a distant 17th.

AJ Allmendinger's single-seater return ended with him finishing 19th after running in the top 10 early on.

Alabama Indy Results - 90 laps:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Dallara-Chevy
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 0.6363s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske Dallara-Chevy + 17.6821s
4. Charlie Kimball Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 20.6166s
5. Will Power Penske Dallara-Chevy + 26.6469s
6. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 27.2995s
7. Marco Andretti Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 27.7175s
8. Justin Wilson Coyne Dallara-Honda + 30.5504s
9. Josef Newgarden Fisher Dallara-Honda + 41.1029s
10. Tristan Vautier Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 50.6449s
11. Alex Tagliani Herta Dallara-Honda + 58.0458s
12. EJ Viso Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 1m01.4334s
13. Tony Kanaan KV Dallara-Chevy + 1m01.6834s
14. Takuma Sato Foyt Dallara-Honda + 1m03.1151s
15. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy + 1m03.1495s
16. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon Dallara-Chevy + 1m07.6880s
17. JR Hildebrand Panther Dallara-Chevy + 1m09.7447s
18. Simona de Silvestro KV Dallara-Chevy + 1m09.9130s
19. AJ Allmendinger Penske Dallara-Chevy + 1m11.0558s
20. Sebastian Saavedra Dragon Dallara-Chevy + 1m11.6523s
21. Graham Rahal Rahal Dallara-Honda + 1m14.0385s
22. Ed Carpenter Carpenter Dallara-Chevy + 1 lap
23. James Jakes Rahal Dallara-Honda + 4 laps

Retirements:
Ana Beatriz Coyne Dallara-Honda 65 laps
Dario Franchitti Ganassi Dallara-Honda 42 laps
James Hinchcliffe Andretti Dallara-Chevy 3 laps

From GMM

Kimi Raikkonen filled in the time between the recent Malaysian grand prix and round three in China this weekend with a spot of motocross.

Founded alongside his rallying team during his two-year F1 sabbatical, Raikkonen's 'IceOne' squad also includes a motocross arm.

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

So the Finn pulled on his leathers and goggles last week - during the three-week break between Malaysia and China - and headed to Belgium, according to the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

There, the 2007 world champion participated in the gravel practice session, with images depicting him in full airborne tilt.

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

Motocross riding would ordinarily be deemed too dangerous for F1 teams to allow, but Lotus team boss Eric Boullier admitted last week that "One of our drivers is famous for doing pretty much what he wants".

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

No active driver does it better in Martinsville than Jimmie Johnson. Driving a Chevrolet SS the five-time Sprint Cup champion won, from the pole, at the paper clip-shaped track for the eighth time leading 346-laps of the 500 lap event at the half-mile oval.

“Yeah, we had a great weekend and I know that the stats clearly show that,” said Johnson. “But probably the most calm, relaxed thought‑out weekend that we've had as the 48 (team), and mature weekend we've had.”

Photo: NASCAR

The only time the race was in doubt was on a restart with eight laps to go after Kurt Busch's car went into the wall catching fire and red-flagging the race. “Something let go in the brakes,” explained Busch. "The brakes got real spongy and then the pedal went straight to the floor. I had to turn the car to the right otherwise I was going to hit harder than what we did.

On the final restart Johnson had to watch out for Clint Bowyer and teammate Jeff Gordon who finished second and third respectively.

“I mean, I had a real nice comfortable lead at that point, and didn't want to see a caution at all and give those guys another chance at me, to get alongside of me,” Johnson explained.

“But over the years, I feel like I've learned that there will be cautions, that things you do inside the car to kind of preserve the life of the tire, and then also how to restart and run your best laps, best five, ten laps, whatever it is, on old tires. It's not an easy thing to do. And I've given away a few races over the years, really lost them to Jeff with his great experience here and how awesome he is at this track, and I've learned to adapt,” Johnson added.

Photo: NASCAR

Clint Bowyer felt an earlier incident, which damaged his car, hurt his chances at the win.

"We did -- disappointed for sure. We had a fast car all weekend long and really thought we were maybe going to be walking out of here with a Grandfather clock (Martinsville's iconic winner's trophy). I tore the car up pretty bad over here off of (turn) four. I checked up and I got hit from behind, pushed into the 1 (Jamie McMurray) and all hell broke loose. All in all, second place isn't bad, but it sure sucks right now."

Four-time Cup champion, Jeff Gordon, who was tied with Johnson and Rusty Wallace at seven times in Victory Lane, was just a bit envious of the winner. “Congratulations to Jimmie (Johnson, race winner) though; yes he is so impressive here but the thing that impresses me the most are those darn poles! Where did that come from? He used to at least give us a shot when he would qualify like 15th. So when those guys get that number one pit stall they're almost impossible to beat,” Gordon said.

With the victory Johnson moved into first place in the standings by six points over Brad Keselowski who finished sixth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. who previously led the points fell to third with a 24th place finish.

Universal Pictures has released the official trailer of the new Ron Howard movie, "Rush", expected to hit the screens in September 2013.

Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan have worked extensively on this Formula 1 movie that is a re-creation of the merciless 1976 rivalry between McLaren driver, James Hunt and Ferrari man, Niki Lauda.

The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives.

There seems something strange about Formula 1 this year. Much like it was after the opening races of 2006; there's no Michael Schumacher, a man who had become part of the F1 furniture after 21 years of involvement in the sport and two careers.

Whilst Schumacher failed to reach the successes he experiences with Ferrari during his return to the sport with Mercedes, there was something comforting about having him back. It was like having a favourite pair of shoes; an element of comfort, if you will...

... and now he's gone. And that's sad.

Whilst Michael - in the early to mid 2000s - didn't manage to win himself any fans by dominating Formula 1 in a fashion we're unlikely to ever see again, it's this dominance which is something worthy of celebration.

Michael Schumacher, F2002. (Photo: Ferrari)

Instead of lambasting him for making the sport boring, how he managed to make Ferrari an organic entity, a place where driver and team, car and tyres became one unit should be saluted.

In light of the Multi-21 scandal at Red Bull and his retirement, it seems an appropriate time to give one of F1's most polarizing characters a revision. History has a habit of being kind to winners.

It seems impossible to think that Schumacher would have gone against the team in such a fashion like Vettel or publically trashed the team like Webber in the aftermath. Whilst Schumacher put in some ethically dubious performances in his career, it seems unthinkable that he would have bitten the hand that made him the statistically most successful driver in history.

It was Schumacher's spirit in losing that galvanized the team to do their best for him because they knew that irrespective of triumph or defeat, he would make sure they lose together and win together. Naturally, the relationship between team and driver became one of the closest in history and when people are happy, they perform at their best.

This is why the Ferrari/Schumacher era should be celebrated; it was a time of joy within Ferrari, a unit of people striving for one goal, a time when the relationship between driver, car and team was so symbiotic they reached a level of perfection which is unlikely to ever be witnessed again in F1.

So whilst Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull could be well on their way to usurping Michael's seven titles and 91 wins by turning in consistently stunning performances and smashing records, the Red Bull/Vettel partnership is something that isn't yet on a par with the dominance shown by Michael and Ferrari. The division of camps Vettel and Webber in Milton Keynes are evidence of this and for as long the team continues to operate in this fashion, then Red Bull will have a long way to go in terms of reaching the level of perfection achieved by Schumacher and Ferrari in the mid to early 2000s.

One-two finish in Malaysia, but no joy at Red Bull. (Photo: WRi2)

EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: This 2013

At car dealers across the United States, loans to subprime borrowers like Nelson are surging -- up 18 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, to 6.6 million borrowers, according to credit-reporting agency Equifax Inc.

IndyCar current champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) earned pole position for this weekend's IndyCar race at Barber Motorsports Park in an action-filled session.

Will Power (Penske) finished a close second having tried to have the best on his final flying lap but to no avail in the end.

Ryan Hunter-Reay got away with the pole (Photo: IndyCar)

Rookie Tristan Vautier continued to show remarkable pace and ended-up third in the Fast-Six shoot-out in which he was allowed to run after Takuma Sato was disqualified for having blocked Justin Wilson.

Ganassi's Scott Dixon was fourth fastest while his teammate Charlie Kimball and Penske's Helio Castroneves rounded out the top six.

The winner of the inaugural race in St Petersburg James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport) had his share of problems and finished a distant 20th.

AJ Allmendinger (Penske) made it through to the second phase in his open-wheel comeback, and will start in the middle of the field.


Qualifying results - Barber Motorsport Park
1.Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'07"0871
2.Will Power (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1'07"3304
3.Tristan Vautier (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 1'07"3616
4.Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'07"3642
5.Charlie Kimball (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1'07"4987
6.Helio Castroneves (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1'07"5106
7.Marco Andretti (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1'07"4893
8.Justin Wilson (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 1'07"4964
9.Sebastian Saavedra (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 1'07"6317
10.AJ Allmendinger (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1'07"6962
(...)

Price Range: $29,250 and up

Description: Thanks to a finely honed recipe consisting of equal parts lightweight engineering, peppy powerplants and agile, dynamic and track-ready handling, the Mazda MX-5 enters 2013 just as popular as ever. Since 1989, this best-selling sports roadster has been a popular item for how simply, purely and efficiently it captures the joy of open-topped motoring.


A slew of enhancements, grade-level content revisions and cosmetic updates are applied for the 2013 model year as well, making the MX-5 an even more appealing overall package.

All models are two-seat convertibles, featuring either a simple, fast-acting manual cloth roof, or a motorized Power Retractable Hardtop (PRHT) unit comprised of composite panels. Both roof assemblies fold compactly into their own specially designed storage spaces, leaving the 150 litres of trunk space untouched.

Drivetrain: All MX-5 models are powered by a proven and robustly built MZR-series 2.0L 4-cylinder dual-cam powerplant that generates 167 horsepower when paired with a manual transmission. An automatic with paddle-shift control is available for drivers who prefer not to shift their own gears.

The MZR powerplant at the heart of the 2013 Mazda MX-5 is track validated, fuel-efficient and noted for its eager mid- and high-rpm pull. All models are rear-wheel drive, and most get a Limited Slip Differential (LSD) for optimal power delivery in all driving situations.

Consider it if: fuel efficient, sensible and affordable fun are deliverables required of your next sports car. The MX-5's modest power and light weight mean it's great on fuel while still being a blast to drive. Engineered from square one as a drop-top, the 2013 Mazda MX-5's stiff chassis encourages high handling limits. This is also an ideal car for someone interested in participating in motorsports.

Skip it if: you need a rear seat, or if you need more than 167 horsepower. Performance should prove pleasing for most shoppers, though no up-level engine is available.

Other Notes: Power accessories, xenon lights, satellite radio, a Bose audio system, and heated leather seats are all available to enhance long-haul comfort. Automatic climate control furthers that goal. A wide range of dealer accessories is available, too.

All models get an anti-theft alarm, dual front airbags, side-impact door beams, side airbags, and seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters. At-hand storage space is surprisingly generous, too.

Thanks to “best practices” learned through years of engineering lightweight sports cars, Mazda's MX-5 boasts a virtually perfect weight balance between the front and rear axles which results in more stable, predictable handling at the limit, and a feeling of increased agility all around.

Don't Miss: the aerodynamic “barrier” that forms over the top of the MX-5 at speed, trapping warm air in the car when the roof is stored away. Combined with a powerful heater that features special vents for roof-off operation, sub-zero topless driving is possible without heavy clothing.

The Bose stereo self-adjusts its equalizer to fine-tune audio delivery between top-up and top-down modes.

Billstein shocks and a sports suspension calibration are standard on most Mazda MX-5 models.

The MX-5 GS gets its hardtop lid painted in gloss black for a unique look.

Photo: Mazda

From GMM

Sainsbury's, the UK supermarket giant, has denied rumours it could lose its boss to formula one.

Last week, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone failed to deny rumours Sainsbury's Justin King is being lined up to replace him.

"I've no idea whether the boss of a company like Sainsbury's could do my job," the 82-year-old told the Guardian.  "Maybe he could."

A Sainsbury's spokesman has now replied: "This is pure speculation.

"Justin's made his commitment to the business clear and is excited about Sainsbury's long-term prospects for growth.  Any discussion of succession is entirely premature."

Max Angelelli held off a persistent Alex Gurney in the final phases of the Porsche 250, round three of the Grand-Am season, held at Barber Motorsport Park.

Max Angelelli, Barber Motorsport Park (Photo: Grand-Am.com)

Angelelli and teammate Jordan Taylor denied Alex Gurney and teammate Jon Fogarty a second consecutive win. Fogarty and Gurney had to settle for second, despite starting from pole.

Championship leaders Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas managed to keep their championship lead, just, with a third place. They head the standings by only two points over Fogarty-Gurney.

Robin Liddell and John Edwards pulled off the GT win. The Camaro duo led Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal's Ferrari 458 to the checkered flag. Boris Said and Eric Curran round out the top three in their Marsh Racing Corvette.

Porsche prevailed from Mazda in GX, even though the Japanese manufacturer had the front row all locked out in qualifying. Jim Norman and Spencer Pumpelly drove the winning Cayman to the top step of the podium.



Race results - Barber Motorsport Park
1 - Angelelli-Taylor (Corvette DP/Dallara) - Taylor - 84 laps
2 - Fogarty-Gurney (Corvette DP/Riley) - Stallings - 84
3 - Taylor-Westbrook (Corvette DP) - SpiritOfDaytona - 84
4 - Pruett-Rojas (Riley-BMW) - Ganassi - 84
5 - Pizzonia-Yacaman (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 84
6 - Dalziel-Popow (Riley-Ford) - Starworks - 84
7 - Cameron-Nonnamaker (Riley-BMW) - Sahlen - 84
8 - Valiante-Pew (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 84
9 - Barbosa-Frisselle (Corvette DP/Coyote) - ActionEx - 84
10 - Potolicchio-Sarrazin (Corvette DP/Coyote) - 8Star - 84
(...)
14 - Edwards-Liddell (Chevy Camaro) - Stevenson - 78
15 - Balzan-Westphal (Ferrari 458) - Corsa - 78
16 - Curran-Said (Corvette Z06) - Marsh - 78
Etc.

From GMM

Toto Wolff, a new shareholder at Mercedes alongside Niki Lauda this year, has denied rumours of a 'power struggle' between the Austrian duo.

"I am going to use Niki's words by saying that is the biggest bullshit I have ever heard," Wolff told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Actually, the rumours of a power struggle between the German-speaking faction and the old guard led by Briton Ross Brawn are much stronger.

After Malaysia, both Wolff and Lauda were said to have loudly disagreed with Brawn's imposition of 'team orders' that kept the faster Nico Rosberg behind Lewis Hamilton for the last rung of the podium.

"From a sporting point of view, team orders are an absurdity," Wolff insists.

"I speak as a fan, as a sportsman, as a race car driver.

"From the team's point of view, you need to make sure you don't throw away the team result.

"If we had let Lewis and Nico race each other, we would certainly have had a fuel problem with both cars.  We knew this and so we used the team order.

"We did it because we didn't want to look like idiots at the end."

Those "Race with Insulin" paint schemes and decals on Chip Ganassi's Race teams this weekend are more than a sponsorship. It's actually a wake-up call of diabetes awareness and treatment.

Jamie McMurray's No. 1 Chevrolet in Martinsville and Charlie Kimball's Dallara-Honda, at Barber Motorsport Park this weekend will have those paint schemes. And all of Ganassi's cars and drivers (Grand-Am, IndyCar and NASCAR) will have some form of identification of this initiative.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 26 million people are currently living with diabetes in the United States.

The pressure surrounding racing is obviously intense. Just imagine the additional pressure for a diabetic crew member who has to monitor his own blood sugar while his focus is more on the car than his health.

One of those crew guys is Randall Burnett the engineer on Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's No. 42 car driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Burnett has type 1 diabetes. That's the type which is genetic and requires constant monitoring and application of insulin.

During the gruelling NASCAR season Burnett is home only three nights a week.

“It's very intense,” Burnett explains adding “a lot of go-go-go. It's totally different for me on the weekends then it when I'm home I know what I eat for breakfast everyday and do what most diabetics do. Unfortunately this sort of life style doesn't leave a lot of time to do all that.”

Burnett says he must take his blood sugar level readings at least six times a day.

Good thing his mind works like an engineer's: “It's something I've developed over the years. I don't have a constant reminder. I just know I have to keep up with it.

“It's kind of second nature now.”

Dario Franchitti, Charlie Kimball and Scott Dixon (Photo: Charlie Kimball@Twitter)

IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball too, suffers from diabetes.

“Charlie is an emerging talent in the race car, and he is an even better human being. A program like this speaks volumes about him,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi.

“If our team can help others understand that even with diabetes, you can live life to the fullest, then we are glad to help .

• During the weekend CGRT NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Chevrolet SS) will carry a special "Race with Insulin.com" paint scheme at Martinsville Speedway.
• Charlie Kimball will compete with a special Race with "Insulin.com" paint scheme at Barber Motorsports Park in the IZOD IndyCar Series race.
• In addition, all other Chip Ganassi Racing drivers will run special blue wheels to emulate the blue circle that is the International Diabetes Federation's global symbol for diabetes.

Cars running the special blue circle on the wheels include:

• Juan Pablo Montoya's No. 42 Chevrolet SS at the NASCAR race in Martinsville
• Scott Dixon's No. 9 Honda - at the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama
• Dario Franchitti's No. 10 Honda - also at Barber Motorsports Park
• Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas' No. 01 BMW - in Saturday's GRAND-AM race in Alabama

EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: I'm concerned that people will buy this 2013

Europe's automakers are concerned that a proposed free-trade agreement between the EU and Japan may end up favoring their Japanese competitors.

Fisker Automotive, hours after dismissing about 75 percent of its employees, was hit with a federal lawsuit accusing the company of breaking the law that requires employers to give workers advance notice of mass layoffs.

At his Houston Cadillac store last weekend, Carl Sewell had an unusual experience: He helped a mother secure a baby seat into a car she was considering. Young-shopper sightings were once a rarity for Sewell.