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Cuba has finally opened its local market to new cars. That's great news for drivers... who can afford the minimum $100,000 price on new imports, even run-of-the-mill compacts.

The average Cuban earns just $20 a month, or one 5,000th the cost of a 2013 Peugeot 206+!

Maybe that used 2011 Hyundai Accent (over $49,000) or 2002 Toyota Yaris ($27,000) doesn't sound so expensive after all...

Source: caradisiac.com

The first round of the 2014 Word Rally Championship (WRC) is only days away now. Drivers Robert Kubica and Mikko Hirvonen are looking forward to the Rallye Monte-Carlo, which they are entering with M-Sport.

The event will mark Kubica's first outing in the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, and only his second WRC event after he made his debut at last year's Wales Rally GB at the wheel of Citroën DS3.

Robert Kubica, Ford Fiesta (Photo: FIAERC.com)

"As a new chapter in my rally career begins, I am really looking forward to next week's Rallye Monte-Carlo," Kubica said. "It is a big challenge that should never be underestimated. My priority is to gain priceless experience while I participate there for the first time."

Hirvonen has a lot more experience with the Fiesta, having driven for M-Sport in 2011, before joining Citroën the following year. The Finn also accumulated close to 600 kilometres in testing in preparation for the season opener, which marks his return with the British squad.

Mikko Hirvonen (Photo: M-Sport)

"I was quite surprised about how different the car felt to last time I drove it," he told WRC.com. "There was a big difference in how it was handling and working and the feeling with the car was really good.

"It took a little bit of time to get used to some of the details. The seating is a little bit different and it took me a while to find the handbrake going into the hairpins - small things like that - but I really enjoyed it a lot."

The 2014 Rallye Monte-Carlo starts January 14th.

2013 IndyCar rookie of the year Tristan Vautier could be switching to sportscar racing if he cannot find a seat in IndyCar.

The Frenchman was dropped by Schmidt Peterson at the end of his rookie season to be replaced by Russian Mikhail Aleshin, and is now having a hard time finding another seat without substantial backing.

"There are really no seats available unless you're bringing a significant budget," Vautier is quoted saying by British magazine Autosport.

Although his first choice would be to stay in IndyCar, the 24-year-old is now trying to secure a seat with Mazda to race a prototype in the United SportsCar Championship (USCC).

Mazda's SKYACTIV prototype (Photo: IMSA.com)

He already tested the car at Daytona.

"The test went well," he also told Autosport.

"They've already got their full-time drivers but they still need co-drivers for the longer races, and I'd really like to be involved with them this season. But we'll see."

Two more wins at Isola 2000 have brought Jean-Philippe Dayraut (MINI Countryman) even closer to a fifth title in Andros Trophy.

During the first day of racing, the defending champion won ahead of Franck Lagorce (Renault Clio III) and Andrea Dubourg (Renault Clio III), while Olivier Panis (Mazda 3) and Bertrand Balas (MINI Countryman) completed the top 5.

The next day, Dayraut earned another victory ahead of Lagorce and Jean-Baptiste Dubourg (Renault Clio III). Behind, Toomas Heikkinen (Ford Fiesta) took 4th place ahead of Andrea Dubourg (Renault Clio III).

In overall championship classification, Dayraut pulls away in front ahead of Lagorce and Jean-Baptiste Dubourg. Andrea Dubourg stands 4th ahead of Benjamin Rivière.

Jean-Philippe Dayraut (Photo: B.Bade)

Former F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi dominated his competition, this weekend, as he took part in an annual charity kart race organized by Williams driver Felipe Massa.

Liuzzi led all practice sessions before grabbing the pole and eventually running away with the win. His performance earned him the Ayrton Senna trophy.

Drivers attending the event took time to show their support to Michael Schumacher's family, who are at the seven time world champion's side as he fights for his life following a ski accident in the French Alps.

Race results - 2014 Desafio Internacional das Estrelas
1. Vitantonio Liuzzi, 29 laps in 26min23.055s
2. Sebastien Buemi, + 6s021
3. Felipe Massa, + 10s601
4. Julio Campos, + 11s484
5. Antonio Pizonia, + 11s584
6. Daniel Serra, + 11s829
7. Nelsinho Piquet, + 13s733
8. Felipe Nasr, + 19s970 

9. Valdeno Brito, + 30s533 

10. Pietro Fittipaldi, + 31s465 

11. Beto Monteiro, + 31s548 

12. Luciano Burti, + 32s081 

13. JP Oliveira, + 32s237 

14. Luiz Razia, + 32s366 

15. Bruno Senna, + 32s541 

16. Popó Bueno, + 37s213
17. Ricardo Zonta, + 38s601 

18. Felipe Giaffone, + 1 lap
19. Rubens Barrichello, + 3 laps 

20. Lucas di Grassi, + 8 laps

Retirements
Allam Khodair, + 15 laps

Augusto Farfus, + 23 laps

Ricardo Maurício, + 27 laps

Bia Figueiredo, + 29 laps

Best lap: Sebastien Buemi in 53s901

From press release

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing enjoyed a dream season in 2013. Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr won eight of the 10 races in the No. 6 HPD ARX-03c, winning their second consecutive P1 class championship by 100 points. In addition to the two titles, the team won 21 races, 14 poles and 39 podium finishes in 46 career P1 races.

Now, it's back to square one for the California-based team owned by 1978 Trans-Am champion and Muscle Milk creator Greg Pickett. With the demise of the P1 category, the team will roll out a brand-new car for 2014, partnering with the global Nissan NISMO effort. The new No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing ORECA/Nissan turned its first laps during a PR photo shoot at Daytona International Speedway.

The car then participated in the three-day Roar Before the Rolex 24 test, where it was 13th driven by Graf, Luhr and Nissan World Endurance Championship regular Alex Brundle.

"For us, this was not a real test - it was a shakedown, because it was the first time we ran the car," said Luhr, the ALMS all-time leader with 49 victories.

No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing Nissan-powered ORECA 03 (Photo: IMSA.com)

Luhr has experienced both highs and lows at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. He won the GT class in 2001 - finishing second overall in a Porsche GT3 RS. He won the pole for the 2006 in a Chevrolet/Crawford for Alex Job Racing in 2006. Joined by Patrick Long and Mike Rockenfeller, the team dominated the race, only to finish third - sidelined twice for long stops to repair failed axle boots.

Graf had his first opportunity to drive the Daytona road course under the lights during the Roar.

"Driving at night at Daytona isn't really driving at night," Graf said. "The whole place is lit up so it's not really a problem. It is such a special atmosphere when the night comes in and the lights go on. It changes a bit, the sound is different, it feels different in the cockpit too."

The Rolex 24 will be the first race at Daytona for both Graf and Brundle, who finished second in the 2013 FIA WEC P2 championship for OAK Racing. Alex is the son of former Formula One driver Martin Brundle.

What is it?

Volkswagen said group global sales rose to more than 9.7 million vehicles in 2013, with the record deliveries fueled by demand for Audi and Porsche models and surging sales in China.

Volkswagen said group global sales rose to more than 9.7 million vehicles in 2013, with the record deliveries fueled by demand for Audi and Porsche models and surging sales in China.

Volkswagen said group global sales rose to more than 9.7 million vehicles in 2013, with the record deliveries fueled by demand for Audi and Porsche models and surging sales in China.

Volkswagen said group global sales rose to more than 9.7 million vehicles in 2013, with the record deliveries fueled by demand for Audi and Porsche models and surging sales in China.

Tesla Motors, on a roll this past year with its highly praised Model S electric vehicle, faces its hardest challenge is yet to come: achieving CEO Elon Musk's bold goal of increasing the company's estimated 2013 volume of 20,000 units to 250,000 in...

With just under three weeks until kickoff, Super Bowl XLVIII is shaping up to be a New York-worthy traffic jam of big-budget auto ads.

Stadler Motorsport's Rolf and Mark Ineichen, Marcel Matter, Adrian Amstutz and Christian Engelhart (Porsche 997 GT3 R) covered 3,250.17 kilometres over the 2014 24 Hours of Dubai to win this year's race.

"For us, the event started off with some troubles in practice, but the race was perfect. The car ran like clockwork, there isn't even a single scratch on it, commented Ineichen.

"We are really proud of this success."

Photo: Darren and Connor Rycroft/anysportphotos.com

With the 2014 win, Porsche becomes the manufacturer with the most victories in the history of the event, although it had not won since 2010.

Münnich Motorsport's René Münnich, Rob Huff and Marc Basseng placed second in their Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, ahead of Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon's Khaled Al Qubaisi, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt and Adam Christodoulou, in another SLS.

Canadian Paul Dalla Lana and his Schubert teammates placed the top 10, driving a BMW Z4.

The all-women Dutch Racing Divas earned their second consecutive class win in the A3T category, with the Schubert Motorsport-run No. 90 BMW 320D.

Race results - 2014 24 Hours of Dubai
1 - Ineichen-Ineichen-Matter-Amstutz-Engelhart (Porsche 997) - Stadler - 603 giri
2 - Munnich-Basseng-Huff (Mercedes SLS) - Munnich - 600
3 - Al Qubaisi-Bleekemolen-Al Faisal-Haupt-Christodolou (Mercedes SLS) - 597
4 - Mattschull-Seefried—Ehret-Kaffer (Ferrari 458) - GT Corse - 593
5 - Nathan-Werkman-Abresch-Van't Hoff-Kogay (Corvette C6R) - V8Racing - 592
6 - Wankenhorst-Oeverhaus-Schmid-Richter-Hurtgen (BMW Z4) - Walkenhorst - 591
7 - Grogor-Al Mudhaf-Jawa-Fatien (Ferrari 458) - Dragon - 586
8 - Webb-Tutumlu-Stoviceck-Mori-Mul (Lamborghini Gallardo) - Leipert 586
9 - Barreiros-Dhillon-Maris-Scott-Ilya (Ferrari 458) - Spirit Of Race - 584
10 - Dalla Lana-Auberlen-Cameron-Werner-Hurtgen (BMW Z4) - Schubert - 583
(...)

From GMM

F1's governing body on Friday revealed the race numbers drivers on the 2014 grid have picked for the rest of their grand prix careers.

World champion Sebastian Vettel will carry the coveted number 1 for the fourth consecutive season, but he has selected 5 - made famous by Nigel Mansell's 'red 5' - for the remainder of his time in formula one.

Many of the race numbers had already been divulged by drivers through their social media pages or via the media, but curiously Lotus' Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado has plumped for 13 -- considered unlucky by many and not seen in F1 for years.

Also curiously, the FIA marked Lotus' entire place on the 2014 entry list as "subject to confirmation", just days after the Enstone based team said it will be sitting out the opening test of the pre-season late this month.

McLaren's Jenson Button will carry number 22, resembling "two little ducks", as he did in 2009 when he won the title with Brawn GP.

"Quack quack!" he told his 1.6 million Twitter followers.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured F1's iconic number 27, while Adrian Sutil will carry 99 on his car and helmet.

Like Lotus, Marussia's place on the 2014 is "subject to confirmation", as is Max Chilton's race number.

Complete entry list*
1. Sebastian Vettel (Infiniti Red Bull Racing)**
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Infiniti Red Bull Racing)
44. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes GP Petronas)
6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP Petronas)
14. Fernando Alonso (Scuderia Ferrari)
7. Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari)
8. Romain Grosjean (Lotus F1 Team)
13. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus F1 Team)
22. Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes)
20. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren Mercedes)
27. Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India)
11. Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India)
99. Adrian Sutil (Sauber F1 Team)
21. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber F1 Team)
25. Jean-Eric Vergne (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
26. Daniil Kvyat (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
19. Felipe Massa (Williams F1 Team)
77. Valtteri Bottas (Williams F1 Team)
17. Jules Bianchi (Marussia F1 Team)
TBA. Max Chilton (Marussia F1 Team)

*Having not confirmed any driver, Caterham is not on the list.
**Vettel's No. 1 is associated with his championship win of last year. For the duration of his F1 career, he chose No. 5.

From press release

Formula 1 fans attending the Autosport International Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham today were among the first to hear Marussia's announcement regarding Max Chilton.

The 22-year-old will race alongside Jules Bianchi once again, completing the Banbury based team's 2014 race driver line-up.

Max Chilton, Marussia MR02 (Photo: WRi2)

Chilton was present as Team President & Sporting Director Graeme Lowdon announced the news that the British driver, who made his F1 debut in 2013, will be racing for Marussia again in 2014.

"I would like to thank the Marussia F1 Team for their continued faith and support. They are a great bunch of people who are extremely hard-working and ambitious and I can't wait to embark on our 2014 season challenge together," said Chilton.

Citroën Racing was hard at work this past week, testing the C-Elysée ahead of its World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) debut this year.

All three drivers of the French team attended the venue at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit.

José-María López started the test on Friday, with Sébastien Loeb taking over on Sunday. The nine time WRC champion drove until his countryman Yvan Muller replaced him for the last day on Tuesday.

Citroën also invited Abu Dhabi Racing chairman Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi to participate. The WRC regular drove the C-Elysée on Monday evening.

Loeb is now headed to another test venue in Argentina. He will drive a car from a local touring car series around the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

Citroën C-Elysée, Abu Dhabi (Photo: WTCC)

As Stéphane Peterhansel (MINI) takes win in sixth stage of the Dakar rally, it's his team mate Juan Roma who remains in first position overall before Saturday's break.

At the end of the stage, between the cities of Tucuman and Salta, in north of Argentina, it was a 1-2-3 for MINI as Peterhansel was quickest ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Orlando Terranova.

Juan Roma, who takes sixth position of the stage behind Giniel de Villiers' Toyota Hilux and Carlos Sainz's buggy SMG, retains the lead, 30'30'' ahead of Terranova and 33'23'' ahead of Peterhansel. Sainz and Robby Gordon (Hummer) get one hour penalty for having missed a waypoint in the 5th stage.

Today's stage was unfortunately overshadowed by the death of amateur motorcycle rider, Belgian Eric Palante (50), whose body was found near his bike Friday morning on the sector of the stage of thursday . The exact circumstances of his death are not yet known.

Eric Palante (Photo: palante-dakar.be)

The race resumes Sunday after the rest day on Saturday. The competitors will be separated into two groups for two days, motorcycles entering Bolivia while cars remain in Argentina, all competitors will meet again in Calama, on the Chilean side of the Andes, on Monday.

Even though he retired eight years ago, NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1989 NASCAR champion, Rusty Wallace, showed that he was still competitive at an open test at Daytona International Speedway.

On Friday, driving the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, the 57-year old Wallace averaged 192.102 mph in qualifying setup on his final run of the day - good enough for fourth on the overall chart at the time. Very good for the former Penske driver who had been out of a car for those eight years.

“I really wanted to get back in the car and get a good feel for this Gen-6 car here at Daytona,” Wallace said with a toothy grin. “Not only did they let me run a couple of times, they ran me for most of the day. The car is fantastic - it was real smooth and nice, and the crew was kind. I hope I helped them a little bit, you know, with a lot of feedback.”

Brad Keselowski, Rusty Wallace (Photo: C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Current Penske driver, Brad Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion was also pleased.

“It means a lot to me,” he said. “Rusty is probably the reason why Miller Lite and Penske stayed together and got to the point to where I'd have this opportunity. I'd like to think I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for guys like Rusty and, specifically, what he did for the No. 2 team.

“That is up to him. He did a great job today. If Rusty wants to drive my car he can drive it any time. Just don't take my paycheck,” joked Keselowski.

With automakers' demand for aluminum growing explosively as they seek to improve fuel efficiency, aluminum providers are selling out their automotive capacity almost as fast as they can build new plants, raising the question of whether some car...