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From GMM

Pain may be holding championship leader Nico Rosberg back this weekend in Bahrain.

Although clearly ahead of the rest of the field, Mercedes' German driver seemed a few tenths off teammate Lewis Hamilton's pace in Friday practice.

The German publications Bild and Sport Bild might have discovered the reason.

Nico Rosberg (Photo: Mercedes)

In the Bahrain paddock, correspondents Bianca Garloff, Ralf Bach and Nicola Pohl noticed that when wearing casual clothes, Rosberg is sliding his left foot only partially into his shoe.

"I hurt my toe while jogging on the beach," he told Bild. Sport Bild reports that the injury was sustained last week, when the 28-year-old was holidaying in Dubai.

Rosberg confirmed that he brakes with his left foot but played down the impact of the injury on his driving.

There's a new look coming to NASCAR only you probably won't be able to see it. That's because the changes coming are likely to be under the hood of NASCAR Sprint Cup cars as early in 2015.

"We're going to make that happen," said Brian Z France, NASCAR's CEO said on SiriusXM radio earlier this week. "That's part of the overall rules packages that we design that hopefully control costs, hopefully make racing better. The engines are an integral part of that."

NASCAR is looking to reduce horsepower between 75 and 100hp.

Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR

For decades the typical motor was a 5.8 litre V8 which currently produces 850-900hp with its' version of fuel injection.

Two-time Daytona 500 winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is onboard with the reduction. “I think the reduction in power is coming whether you like it or not,” said Dale Jr. at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday.

“I chose as an individual to get on the side of being productive in that discussion instead of saying we don't need to do it and trying to fight it, let's try to make sure when it does happen we do it the right way and give ourselves something to grow into and something to engineers and something that is productive for many years to come.

“It's coming either way whether we like it or not. You can have both sides arguing against and for, for however long you want, but it's going to happen so we might as well start thinking about how we want it to happen and trying to have those discussions on making sure we make the best choice we can make for the sport.”

The issue is choosing the right way to slow down the cars. There's at least two ways to do so.

NASCAR has slowed cars down at the Daytona and Talladega superspeedways by use of a restrictor plate, which robs the engines of about 400hp. An unintended effect has been massive pack racing, which sometimes goes wrong, resulting in the Big One, an accident involving many cars. One driver called those events “a lottery,” meaning it was a matter of luck been involved in a multi-car crash.

Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR

On the other hand if NASCAR goes to smaller engines that's something Dale Jr. can get behind.
“When you can go to a smaller engine you preserve some throttle response,” said Earnhardt.

“You preserve some reaction in the gas pedal and give the driver a few more tools to be able to use out on the race track when he is driving his race car.  When you take and put a plate on those cars you take tons of throttle response out of the car and setting up a pass, particularly on a track that is worn out like this is a little more challenging with a plate rather than an open engine that is smaller.”

This writer thinks Dale Jr. has the better approach, and manufacturers will like a reduction of engine displacement, as their motors will be more modern in concept and closer to look of the engines found in passenger vehicles.

From GMM

Organisers of the British grand prix have counted themselves out of the controversy surrounding the milder sound of F1's new V6 engines.

While Melbourne's Ron Walker and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone have been making a lot of noise about the sport's new quieter sound, the president of Silverstone's circuit-owning club BRDC thinks the old V8s were in fact "too noisy".

"I think they were ear-bleeding," former F1 driver Derek Warwick, also serving as a steward this weekend in Bahrain, told Reuters.

"We've just got to re-adjust our volume."

It's still not clear whether the move to turbo V6 engines by F1 was good or bad (Photo: WRi2)

Also in Bahrain this weekend is Richard Phillips, Silverstone's managing director, who thinks fans are actually "intrigued" by the controversial 'new' F1.

"From what we have discovered, the fans are really intrigued as to the sights and sounds of this new formula one," he is quoted by the Times newspaper.

"Yes, the engines are quieter but we do not feel it will have any impact on our event," Phillips added.

Elsewhere, the public attitudes being expressed by the likes of Walker, Ecclestone, Red Bull's Dietrich Mateschitz and Ferrari's Luca di Montezemolo would make it appear that the new rules have thrown F1 into crisis.

Pat Symonds, Williams' technical boss, warns against all the negativity.

"I think many people from the UK will remember a guy called Ratner who basically killed his business by negative comments on it," he said on Friday.

Symonds is referring to Gerald Ratner, who in 1991 destroyed his jewellery business when in a speech he referred to his company's products as "crap".

Now, it is not surprising FIA president Jean Todt is in Bahrain, where one of his tasks will be to meet personally with world champion Sebastian Vettel, who said the sound his sport is making in 2014 is "shit".

Warwick said: "I've been in this sport now for 50 years, I love my sport and I will never talk it down."

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most difficult competitions in the world. It is a privilege just to be around when the race is on.

That's why close to 1,600 passionate fans take part in the French classic every year as volunteers. They want to get closer to the action because watching from the grandstands isn't enough for them.

But volunteering was still not close enough for one Frédéric Sausset, a Frenchman decided he was going to race an LMP2 prototype instead.

The thing is... he has no legs and only one arm.

Sébastien Loeb, Frédéric Sausset et Christophe Tinseau (Photo: Jean-René Roger, ACO)

Sausset was living a perfectly normal life up to 2012. But that year, he almost lost his life when a wound to his finger became infected. He fell into a coma and woke up two months later. Both his legs, his left arm and his right arm had been amputated.

"I've loved motor racing for as long as I can recall," endurance-info.com quotes him as saying.

"To me, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is as good as it gets when it comes to racing. That's what got me thinking when I was lying on my hospital bed."

With the help of his countryman Christophe Tinseau, Sausset started asking questions; is it even possible to race at Le Mans with no legs and only one arm?

The motorsport community answered: nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb has already shown his support. The FIA and ACO are also in favour of the project.

Sausset was able to test a sportscar adapted for him and showed impressive pace.

In preparation for the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, Sausset is expected to race in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) starting next year.

From press release

Nico Rosberg claimed his first pole position of the 2014 F1 season by beating his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, Saturday, during qualifying ahead of the first ever night Formula One race in Bahrain.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRi2)

Mercedes has been dominant all weekend so far, with both Rosberg and Hamilton able to advance to Q2 without even using the faster soft tire. In the end, the German was more than two tenths faster than his teammate, with a time of 1min33.185s around the Sakhir Circuit.

A total of seven Mercedes-powered cars qualified in the top 10.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB10 (Photo: WRi2)

"It's fantastic to be on pole again here in Bahrain," said the Rosberg, who was also set the pole last year.

"I really enjoy the track and I won my GP2 Series title here so it has some pretty special memories for me. We've had a good weekend so far (so) I'm looking forward to the race."

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14-T (Photo: WRi2)

"Second place is pretty good for us today," added Hamilton. "I made a mistake on my last lap which was a shame but it's great for the team to have both cars on the front row.

"Congratulations to Nico today, he's done a great job so far this weekend and nailed a really quick lap in qualifying. I'm happy that it's my team-mate there on pole and not someone else!"

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E22 (Photo: WRi2)

"Nico drove a superb lap on his first run in Q3 and Lewis clearly sensed he had to push to the limit to match his teammate," analyzed Mercedes' Paddy Lowe. "Unfortunately this lead to a mistake at the first corner but his initial lap was still good enough to maintain second."

As part of the track's 10th anniversary, the 22-car field will take the start of tomorrow's race after sundown, for the first ever night F1 race in Bahrain.

Bahrain by night (Photo: WRi2)

Qualifying results* - Bahrain Grand Prix (round 3 of 19)
1.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1'33"185 - Q3
2.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1'33”464 - Q3
3.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'34"247 - Q3
4.Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'34”346 - Q3
5.Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'34"368 - Q3
6.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'34"387 - Q3
7.Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'34"511 - Q3
8.Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'34"712 - Q3
9.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'34"992 - Q3
10.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'34"985 - Q2
11.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'35"116 - Q2
12.Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'35"145 - Q2
13.Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'34"051 - Q3 **
14.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'35"286 - Q2
15.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'35"891 - Q2
16.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'35”908 - Q2
17.Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'36”663 - Q1
18.Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'36"840 - Q1
19.Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'37”085 - Q1
20.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'37"310 - Q1
21,Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'37”875 - Q1
22.Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'37"913 - Q1
*Unofficial timing
**10-place grid penalty from Malaysia

Max Chilton, Marussia MR03 (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Mark Webber has tipped Red Bull to win next month's Monaco grand prix.

The Australian, who retired from formula one in 2013 after a seven-year stint with the reigning world champions, acknowledged that for now, dominant Mercedes will continue to lead the way at grands prix.

But Webber warned: "They (Red Bull) will get back to Mercedes' level.

"They need some time, but it's normal," he told the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten. "You can't win for 15 years in a row.

"Everyone's saying they're not strong because they're finishing second or third, and Red Bull did do a lot of winning (in the past) but I'm sure they will win again this year.

Mark Webber (Photo: Facebook)

"Whether they win enough to win the championship, we will have to see how strong Mercedes is to get too many points in the first part of the season," added Webber.

After wins in Melbourne and Malaysia, Mercedes' advantage appears even greater in Bahrain for round three, but Webber suggested that is because of the German marque's power advantage on long straights.

"Mercedes will continue to dominate the next races," he is quoted by Speed Week, "but Red Bull will win in Monaco."

From press release

RK M-Sport World Rally Team's Robert Kubica and Maciej Szczepaniak suffered cruel misfortune on the first full day of competition at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal today. Caught out by the technically challenging stages, the Poles were forced to retire their Ford Fiesta RS WRC through the first pass of Almodovar (SS4).

In what has been one of the most demanding recces the FIA World Rally Championship has seen for several years, crews had to contend with treacherous conditions as they made their notes for the upcoming event. Torrential rain saw sections of the stages transformed into fast flowing rivers - making the production of accurate pacenotes, on an event that demands perfection, an exceptionally difficult task.

Robert Kubica (Photo: M-Sport)

The Pole made a consistent start to his rally. Setting a string of top-ten stage times and keeping in touch with the leaders, Kubica was running in eighth place overall - just over 20 seconds adrift of the lead. But as the Algarve sun showed its face for the first full day of rallying, experience proved pivotal.

Those with limited knowledge of the stages found themselves at a disadvantage as they ventured into the unknown. Unsighted rocks and unpredictable grip levels were the order of the day and, unfortunately for Robert and Maciej, they became one of the stages' numerous victims.

Clipping a tree some 10km from the end of SS4, the Poles damaged the suspension of their Fiesta and were forced to bring their day to an untimely end.

Robert Kubica, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (Photo: M-Sport)

Thanks to the expertise of the M-Sport's experienced team of mechanics, Kubica will be back under Rally 2 regulations tomorrow.

"My day began very nicely - I was driving cautiously and was taking no risks. I had zero moments before we came to SS4, but then we made a mistake coming out of a right-left-right turn sequence," said Kubica.

"I noticed that the experienced WRC drivers cut the turns more than I thought was possible on the recce, so I followed those lines. At the end of the right turn we hit the limb of a tree. I was very surprised. I saw a tree there but I was sure it was far from the edge of the road, and when I realised that it was growing at a very steep angle, it was too late and that's why we hit the bottom of it.

"The right-hand-side of the car went up and we hit something with the left-front and destroyed the suspension. I am very upset because for the first time I really had a lot of fun driving on gravel. Even though I was taking it easy, the confidence was good. I was really looking forward to the second loop, but unfortunately our day had to end in unfortunate circumstances. I hope for better luck tomorrow."

John Krafcik's role at TrueCar will be to help advise and consult the vehicle pricing and purchasing service, but it is not a full-time position.

With its controversial $600 million sponsorship of English soccer giant Manchester United in hand, Chevrolet is bringing the soccer team home to Michigan this summer to host a match.

Honda's crossover vehicle based on the Fit subcompact hatchback likely will be named HR-V. In filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark offices, Honda recently filed for a trademark for the name.

For the second time in three years, Mazda has issued a recall for Mazda6 sedans in North America because of a spider that likes the smell of gasoline and weaves a web that blocks a vent in the engine.

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The above video shows how to have a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at the Nürburgring.

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Lagonda is now a nameplate associated with

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