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From GMM

The F1 calendar will not break the 20-race barrier in 2015, Bernie Ecclestone has revealed.

In recent years, teams have expressed concerns that organising as many as twenty races in a single season would put unacceptable stress on personnel.

It won't happen next season, F1 chief executive Ecclestone admitted to Austria's Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

Asked how many races will be on the 2015 schedule, he said: "The same as this year -- so 19."

However, that may be at the expense of one or two existing races.

When asked specifically about the reportedly incoming Azerbaijan, and the project in New York, he said: "We want to go to Azerbaijan for a street race. As for New York, we are still talking to them."

One provisional race date on the 2015 schedule is already known. Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper says tickets for the Austrian grand prix on June 21 are already on sale.

Hyundai has officially launched its Tucson The Walking Dead special edition in the U.S. Featuring an Ash Black exterior with body side graphics and unique badges, it comes with four decals -- Hilltop, Kingdom, Saviors, and Survivors -- allowing buyers to display their allegiance to certain factions from the hit TV show.

Photo: Hyundai

Inside, you'll find black leather seats, special floor mats, and a 7" touchscreen display with a special The Walking Dead splash screen. Even better, there's a "Zombie Survival Kit" that includes everything from zip ties to mint toothpaste.

This Tucson is motivated by a 2.4L Theta II GDI engine that produces 182 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque via a 6-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is optional.

Pricing and Canadian availability have yet to be announced.

Photo: Hyundai

From GMM

Dietrich Mateschitz has put a line through rumours Red Bull is commencing a project to build its own F1 engine.

"It's not even worth denying these rumours," the Austrian billionaire told Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper.

Actually, a clear denial might have been necessary, given the fact his deputy Dr Helmut Marko stirred up the speculation in Austria, even naming local companies like Pankl and AVL who could play major roles in the V6 project.

"AVL is not a topic," Mateschitz is quoted by the APA news agency.

"They have a very specific know-how in the area, but to put together a team of experts to design an engine is much more complex. Just because of formula one, we are not becoming a car manufacturer," Dietrich Mateschitz insisted.

More likely, it seems, is that the 'Red Bull engine' rumour was a way to ramp up the pressure on the team's existing supplier, struggling Renault.

The Renault power unit installed in the RB10. (Photo: WRi2)

Mateschitz says Red Bull's competitive problem in 2014 is all about the French-made V6.

"Our problems are beyond our control," he said.

"We have won the world championship with Renault for the past four years and so we are loyal to our engine partner. But the situation is serious. The engine development must now be given priority," he added.

Gerhard Berger, famously close to Mateschitz and once the co-owner of Red Bull's second team Toro Rosso, agrees that Renault needs to think again about the fundamentals of its F1 foray.

"Renault must look at formula one not with a business model and a strict cost-benefit analysis, but as a tool for its image," he said.

From press release

Race 2 of the BARC Grand Prix of Ontario was undoubtedly the most intense race of the season so far. Eureka, MO's Tristan DeGrand did keep his perfect win streak alive but had to fight tooth and nail right up until the line, narrowly beating Brampton, ON's Chase Pelletier.

DeGrand started from pole and fought off a challenge from Pelletier right from the drop of the green flag. The two exchanged the lead a couple of times over the first couple of laps and the lead train was 12 cars deep with lots of jostling for position.

The safety car was dispatched on lap 3 for an incident involving Shane Jantzi and Reid Arnold. The two were side by side a couple of times on the previous lap, eventually coming together in corner 9, Jantzi making contact with the outside wall ending his day and Arnold spinning and losing several positions.

The race went back to green on lap 6 and it was an incredible display all throughout the field. Craig Willis made some impressive passes to get himself in contention and Max Hanratty and teammate Jeffrey Kingsley also looked like they had to be considered for the victory. The lead pack of 9 cars stayed together the entire race.

Tristan DeGrand. (Photo: Formula 1600)

Pelletier eventually wrestled the lead from DeGrand and that set the stage for a dramatic last lap that would jumble the top 10 finishing positions. DeGrand made a daring pass to get back in front with 2 corners to go and fought off an attempted “pass through the grass” by Pelletier, just beating him to the line. Just behind them Hanratty and Willis made contact, both spinning and causing the next 5 cars to all take evasive action to narrowly avoid them.

The biggest winner in all of this was 3rd place finisher Bruno Chapinotti who stayed with the lead pack all race and when the drama started to unfold managed to get past 3 cars and beat Jeffrey Kingsley by a nose at the line to grab his first podium finish.

Kingsley had a solid day and came home 4th followed by another good finish for Caitlin Johnston. Serge Lacroix was 6th and Craig Willis scrambled back to the line in 7th. Reid Arnold recovered from his early race trouble for an 8th place finish and the top 10 was rounded out by newcomer Danby Crowder and Max Hanratty.

Its should be noted that Andre du Preez and his crew did a masterful job of repairing his car after a bad crash in qualifying and although they did start the race 1 lap down they grabbed an 11th place finish.

The race for “B” Class honours was equally intense. Graham Lobban would prevail at the line and picked up another win over points leader Connor Wagland in 2nd. Graham's brother Keith was involved in a great fight with Amy Castell and would get the final step on the podium, followed by Castell in 4th.

David Graham overcame some oiling and a clutch issue from the race previous and brought his car home in 5th followed by the always solid Mike Lee and Kieran Murphy who was impressive and benefitting from a new crew chief in Stephen Adams.

Ted Michalos also set some personal bests on the weekend and finished 9th.

Next up on the Super Series calendar is the Honda Indy Toronto, races 7 & 8 on the Toyo Tires Championship calendar and rounds 5 and 6 on the Super Series calendar. Over 30 cars are expected to take to the popular street circuit on July 18, 19 and 20th.

From GMM

Nico Rosberg has put himself in a world championship-winning mood, F1 experts agree.

Despite most agreeing that his teammate Lewis Hamilton has the edge in raw pace, it is Mercedes' German driver who has scooped the most points so far in 2014.

That, in part, is due to Briton Hamilton's two DNFs, but Rosberg has finished every single race this year in either first or second place.

"The last time I saw such consistency," German-language commentator Christian Danner told Bild newspaper, "was Schumacher."

Another ex-driver, David Coulthard, thinks Rosberg's metronomic consistency in 2014 may even be a "strategy".

"Perhaps he has decided not to take the big risks in qualifying, play it slightly steadier, minimise the chances of making mistakes," said the BBC commentator.

But that's not all. Gerhard Berger is sensing a new edge to Rosberg's personality in 2014, after many were fooled by his "angel face" in past years.

The two Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg on the Austrian podium. (Photo: WRi2)

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve agrees.

"Like everyone, I thought Hamilton was the 'killer' of the pair, but Nico is showing this season that he's an even bigger killer.

"In the last three races he has shown that he can put the knife in the back as well. And that's what you have to do to be world champion in this business," the French-Canadian told Bild.

Given his pace, his experience and his 2014 car, however, Hamilton cannot be written off, even though his deficit to Rosberg has blown out to 29 points.

"I just need to pull my socks up," British newspapers quote him as saying after the Austrian grand prix, "otherwise Nico will have it.

"I have had a couple of dodgy races, so I need to get it back to how it should be," Lewis Hamilton added.

But David Coulthard, sensing that Rosberg has been deliberately avoiding mistakes, thinks Hamilton can no longer simply adopt a similar approach.

"Now the deficit in the championship has grown, it's difficult for Hamilton to change his strategy," he said. "He has to make sure he is winning grands prix.

"But if Rosberg does not suffer his own retirement, it is going to take a long time to claw back that gap."

From GMM

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has attacked Kimi Raikkonen for struggling to shine in 2014.

After two impressive comeback years with Lotus, Finn Raikkonen was signed for this season by Ferrari, for whom he won his sole title in 2007.

However, two years later Ferrari ousted Raikkonen, and so the news of his 2014 return was a shock to French-Canadian Villeneuve.

"Who would have imagined he even comes back to F1 in the first place?" the 43-year-old told Italy's Omnicorse. "Who would have thought he would return to Ferrari? No one -- yet there he is at Maranello."

Villeneuve, however, said 34-year-old Raikkonen - the oldest driver in F1 today - has no right to be blaming the F14-T for his poor season.

"For him, the gas is either fully open or nothing," he said. "He is having a series of spins as though he is in formula 3.

"If he can't drive in F1 anymore, he should go home. He is a very experienced driver," Villeneuve insisted, "so he shouldn't be making excuses at every grand prix like a rookie does. He should take two or three races to change how he's driving, and if he can't, that's a problem. You can't go on like this when you're a world champion. You have no right to make excuses."

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

Jacques Villeneuve has a similarly stark opinion when it comes to Sebastian Vettel, the struggling four-time world champion.

He thinks Red Bull is beginning to turn its back on the highly successful German.

"He is a four-time world champion, but now Red Bull is treating him like they treated Mark Webber. They seem to have decided to focus on Daniel Ricciardo. Now they want to 'kill' Sebastian because he's not right for the Red Bull image," he said.

Villeneuve thinks Vettel must be seriously considering a change of team.

"Of course -- you can't have another season like this. Even Helmut Marko has started to criticise him. When you lose the faith of the team and the politics starts to weigh heavily, you're finished," he added.

From GMM

Jenson Button has played down increasing speculation about his future in F1.

The sport's most experienced active driver is out of contract at the end of 2014, but McLaren boss Eric Boullier said recently he thinks a new deal for the 34-year-old is likely.

That may not be right. Britain's Times and Daily Mail newspapers are reporting the real likelihood that next weekend's Silverstone race could be Button's last ever British grand prix.

With McLaren's works Honda era beginning next year, and the Woking based team needing to shine after two disappointing seasons, champions including Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are all being linked with the team for 2015.

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis is said to be masterminding the talks with that high-profile trio, but he insisted in Austria: "We are not looking to finalise our driver line-up now."

But a source told the Daily Mail that Button is "a tenth or two" shy of McLaren's list of 2015 favourites.

Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-29. (Photo: WRi2)

The driver, however, thinks McLaren will eventually want to sign a new deal.

"I don't know why they wouldn't. It is just the way it is for a big team -- we will leave it to the last moment to make a decision or to talk about contracts," said Jenson Button.

"It is not something I have pushed," he explained. "I am sure if pushed to sit down and talk about it, we would, but I am not pushing because when it happens it happens."

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has issued a stinging warning to struggling F1 teams.

Amid all the noise about the urgent need for cost cutting, the sport's chief executive insists he has no fear that some teams are facing financial collapse.

"I do not fear it. I would even be happy about it," he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

"It's like a poker game -- you don't know what the others hold in their hands. If you can't afford to be in this game, you should not be here," Ecclestone added.

The 83-year-old Briton made clear he is much more worried about other things, like the lack of noise from the new V6 engines, and certain rules.

"It's ridiculous what drivers are being punished for -- like driving over a white line. These are all drivers who don't need rules like that. We need rules like we had in the past," added Bernie Ecclestone.

Mercedes team chairman and triple world champion Niki Lauda could not agree more.

"We are losing the audience," he is quoted by Austria's laola1, "because there are no more racers.

"Bring back the old days when Piquet gave the others one in the head," said Lauda, undoubtedly referring to the day in 1982 when Nelson Piquet punched and kicked the helmeted Elisio Salazar.

The Formula 1 cars in the main straight line in Bahrain. (Photo: WRi2)

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, however, does not agree with Ecclestone that the lack of noise from the new turbo engines is among F1's biggest problems.

"I've watched many races with the (television) sound turned off," he laughed in an interview with motorline.cc.

"To me, it doesn't matter as long as we see a good show. The problem with the new engines is that they give the impression that they have no power. The turbos in the 80s were not much louder, but when you looked at the cars, you could see how much power they had," Jacques Villeneuve added.

From GMM

Williams settled for defeat to Mercedes in Austria, despite dominating qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.

Chief engineer Rob Smedley told Spain's EFE news agency that the Grove team was "not without problems" as it returned to the podium with Valtteri Bottas' third place behind the two Mercedes.

Some analysts criticised Williams for not pursuing an aggressive enough strategy for victory in Austria, but Smedley says that was a deliberate approach.

"We had to manage the car's systems, including brakes, tyres and other things," he said.

"We had to be sure of finishing in third and fourth places, so we decided not to do anything risky to compete with Mercedes that could have meant we finished fifth, sixth or even lower," Rob Smedley explained.

Indeed, Williams' big haul of points in Austria meant the Oxfordshire based team leapfrogged its grandee rival McLaren for fifth place in the constructors' standings.

Smedley insisted: "If we had reacted to (Mercedes') first stop, our cars would not have finished the race.

"Mercedes had their problems, but I don't think they were going at full speed," he added.

Valtteri Bottas, Williams, third in Austria. (Photo:WRi2)

Finn Bottas says he is not disappointed with his first F1 podium, insisting Williams can now build on the momentum.

"I don't think this is a fluke result. The team has done a great job in bringing performance improvements to the car continuously," he told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

"This is just the beginning," Valtteri Bottas promised.

From press release

A tragic accident during a Mini-Stock race, Sunday at the Cornwall Motor Speedway in Ontario, claimed the life of 23-year-old Danny Lefebvre.

Lefebvre, of St-Louis-de-Gonzague, Quebec, was in competition for first position with two other competitors when his car went off the speedway in the backstretch and hit the cement wall.

After several minutes of care by the rescue team, the driver was transported to the hospital where his death was confirmed during the evening.

Lefebvre, who was visiting the Cornwall Motor Speedway for the first time this season, was a very competitive driver in the Mini-Stock ranks. In 2013, he finished only 3 points behind track champion Mike Gaucher.

Lefevbre's death is the second this year at a local oval. Just last month, Wesley Wallin, 57, lost his life at Ottawa's Capital City Speedway.

GM is moving North American manufacturing chief Gerald Johnson to a newly created "operational excellence" post reporting directly to CEO Mary Barra. He will be replaced by former labor negotiator Cathy Clegg.

GM is moving North American manufacturing chief Gerald Johnson to a newly created "operational excellence" post reporting directly to CEO Mary Barra. He will be replaced by former labor negotiator Cathy Clegg.

Middle-market companies are looking to expand and tweak their aging vehicle fleets in light of the improving economic outlook and rising fuel costs, an industry survey released today found.

Eaton Corp. dodged a potential $2.4 billion damage claim from Meritor Inc. by agreeing to pay $500 million to head off a jury trial that was set to begin today in federal court in Wilmington.

Styled by Giugiaro, the Maserati Quattroporte III is a mighty fine-looking modern Italian sedan.

Within the span of a month, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp.

Ford will premiere the new Focus ST hot hatch at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 27 in the U.

Automotive manufacturers must -- because they can't afford not to -- protect themselves from liability in every aspect of production.

If there's one thing we remember about "The Green Hornet" from a few years ago, it's the car. Granted, the same could be said for virtually any film, even ones not even remotely about cars, but the

The world of extreme sports is making up more and more daring records to break, putting shock and awe into thrill seekers.