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News 12 Sep, 2014

Mercedes B-Class gets a minor facelift, more tech and an updated engine range

Pictures See all 7 pictures 12 Sep, 2014

South Korea has launched an investigation into the transfer of engine technology to a Chinese automaker by a local automotive contractor, according to local reports.

After Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said he will no longer lead the sports car brand, he and Sergio Marchionne made a great show of being good friends, but they weren't fooling anyone.

New vehicle sales in China grew by just over 4% to 1.71m units in August, compared with 1.65m units in the same month of last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

China's antitrust regulators on Thursday formally announced their first fines to foreign automakers for price fixing, following a widely reported and ongoing investigation into anti-monopolistic practices in the country's automotive industry.

Jaguar Land Rover says the Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at the company's new China factory. The automaker also said that it may add production of its new Land Rover Discovery Sport at a later date.

Jaguar Land Rover says the Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at the company's new China factory. The automaker also said that it may add production of its new Land Rover Discovery Sport at a later date.

European automakers, suppliers and retailers experienced mixed fortunes in the second quarter of 2014, as measured by the Automotive News Europe/PricewaterhouseCoopers Transaction Services Shareholder Value Indices.

The Zagato company has had a major influence on the styling of European luxury cars, racers and airplanes. Andrea Zagato is repositioning the firm as a creator of limited-edition cars.

Workers at Chrysler have been machining aluminum 3.0-liter V-6 engine blocks under the supervision of Ferrari engineers. The blocks are being shipped to Italy, where they will be installed into the Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli.

The UberX ride-sharing service made its debut in Toronto on September 8th after launching in other Canadian cities including Montreal.

Users love it, but taxi drivers and local authorities are angry as they lose money to a new form of competition.

Following the lead of Germany, the state of California decided to ban Uber. Actually, the service is illegal where two distinct riders pay separate fares to share one car. In other words, one passenger is legal.

The state's Public Utilities Commission has informed Uber that it can seek to change the law. However, the PUC won the right in court to require any ride-sharing company to ensure its drivers are appropriately insured from the moment they turn on the app.

Source : ici.radio-canada.ca

From press release

The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series will crown the “A” and “B” Class Champions this weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park during the annual BEMC Indian Summer Trophy Races, the final two rounds in the series.

The “A” Class has been dominated by Eureka, MO's Tristan DeGrand for most of the season, racking up an impressive string of wins and making very few mistakes. He comes into the final round with 940 points.

His closest rival all year has been Brampton, ON's Chase Pelletier. His 762-point tally has come from a string of consistent finishes. Pelletier's shot at the crown will take some very exceptional circumstances to become a reality, but, he has been here before and knows all too well that you do not stop pushing until the last lap of the season.

Pelletier and DeGrand were the top two protagonists in the new F1600 Super Series decided a few weeks ago at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

Tristan DeGrand (Photo: Michael Haley)

DeGrand was in a similar position, just needing to have a quiet day and close out his season. Pelletier needed to have the weekend of his life to force the issue and take all of the points. Both happened. DeGrand crashed out of the first race of the weekend, then raced his way back into contention in race 2 only to have a mechanical failure seal his fate. Pelletier won both races and emerged the surprise champ.

Third place in points is Craig Willis with 612. He has had an incredibly impressive season. The 2013 “B” Class Champion made a bold move to bring his small family run program to the ultra-competitive “A” Class fight. The youngster didn't even make the start of race 1 on the opening weekend after crashing in qualifying and having to make a trip back to the shop to try and repair the car for race 2. He did, and finished on the podium, setting the stage for what would be a great story of what can be achieved in this sport with very little.

The Willis effort is based on a well-proven 24-year old chassis with the less popular Ford Kent engine option, however, he has excelled with this package. Granted, Dad is a world class race mechanic and engineer for the AIM Tudor Ferrari team, but, Dad has not been present for some of Willis' best finishes - Mom has.

The “B” Class has been a similar story. Connor Wagland, the charismatic son of a former F1600 Champion, has really come into his own in his second season of competition. He won his first race earlier this year and it was a popular one. Since that day he has looked like a Champion each and every time out. He comes into the final two rounds with 852 points.

Second in the “B” Championship is another series favourite, Amy Castell. The Waterloo native snagged an incredibly popular first career win on the streets of Toronto at the Honda Indy. Much like Pelletier, Castell will need some drama to befall Wagland but she has shown great pace all year long and will be putting the pressure on the point's leader.

“Iron Man” Mike Lee sits comfortably in third with 702. Lee has had yet another solid season of consistent finishes in his much older car against his two younger competitors and is ready to pounce should the pressure of a Championship weekend wreak havoc on them.

From nascar.com

The investigation into the death of Kevin Ward Jr. has been completed, the Ontario County (New York) Office of the Sheriff announced in a statement.

The statement from Philip C. Povero, Sheriff of Ontario County, reads in full:

"The Ontario County Office of Sheriff has completed its investigation into the death of Kevin A. Ward, Jr., which occurred August 9, 2014, at the Canandaigua, New York, Motorsports Park. The entire thorough investigation, including a forensic video enhancement recently received from the New York State Police Laboratory in Albany, has been submitted to the Office of the Ontario County District for review. The District Attorney's Office, which has been meeting throughout the investigative process with members of the Sheriff's Office, will make a statement late next week advising what action will be taken regarding the investigation."

As Tony Stewart made his return at Atlanta two weeks ago, Povero issued a statement saying that the investigation would continue for at least two more weeks. The investigation has concluded in just under that timetable.

After not participating in the three races immediately following the death of Ward, Stewart has competed in the past two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Atlanta and Richmond.

Local Motors recently announced the Strati, the world's first automobile to be 3D-printed.

Unlike a conventional car that uses around 2,000 parts, the Strati will boast just over 40. A specially trained staff will assemble the various printed parts, which are made of carbon fibre and plastic, in an estimated time of 44 hours.

We're not talking about a scale model, here, but rather an actual car with seating for two. An electric drive system borrowed from the Renault Twizy will provide motivation.

While the Strati is still a prototype, Local Motors hopes to bring it to market within the next few months.

Pricing and global availability have yet to be determined.

Source : techno-car.fr

From GMM

Mercedes' rivals are in for some bad news -- the dominant German team looks set to pull even further ahead in Singapore and beyond.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that the Brackley team will correct its flawed gear ratio selection ahead of the night race in the Asian city-state next weekend.

The rules dictate that the gear ratios chosen by each competitor at the start of 2014 are then frozen for the entire year -- with the exception of one "joker".

Mercedes has now decided to make that "joker" ratio change for the rest of the season, beginning in Singapore.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that it was on the long straights at Monza last weekend that Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg used eighth gear for the very first time.

"It (eighth gear) was too long for all the other circuits," admitted designer Aldo Costa.

Mercedes' miscalculation will now be corrected with a shorter eighth gear for Singapore and the subsequent decisive rounds of the world championship.

Williams FW36-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

Curiously, the German marque's customer, the surprisingly competitive Williams, got its gear ratio calculation right from the very beginning in 2014.

But technical boss Pat Symonds admits: "We were a little nervous at first because we thought they (Mercedes) would know their engine inside out.

"After a few races I was reassured," he added.

Symonds said that even though the eighth gear was introduced this year especially for the new turbo V6 rules, in the end it was unnecessary.

"The engines have so much torque that we could make do with a five speed gearbox," he said. "It would save a lot of weight and space.

"Unfortunately, the regulations prescribe the eighth gear -- otherwise we would have never had it," said Symonds.

From press release

The 24H SERIES powered by Hankook could become an international championship next year.

Following the addition of the Hankook 12H ITALY-MUGELLO and the Hankook 12H ZANDVOORT as new events for 2014 and the announcement of the Hankook 24H Circuit PAUL RICARD as a new event for 2015, Dutch agency CREVENTIC as the promoters and organisers of the races in co-operation with the DNRT (Dutch National Racing Team) have made the next step.

Photo: 24H Series

Through the KNAF (KNAC Nationale Autosport Federatie, the Dutch governing body for motorsport), an application will be made with the FIA to be granted an international series status for the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook in 2015. A decision about this application will be made during one of the upcoming meetings of the FIA World Motorsport Council.

With the addition of the Hankook 24H Circuit PAUL RICARD as a sixth race, the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook will have a calendar of six rounds for the first time in 2015. With three 24-hour races (Dubai, Paul Ricard and Barcelona) and as many twelve-hour races (Italy-Mugello, Zandvoort and Hungary), the calendar is well-balanced.

Hankook is the official title sponsor and exclusive tyre supplier of the series and the various rounds. When the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook will be run as a championship in 2015, it will be the only motor racing championship worldwide to include more than one 24-hour race. More information about the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook can be found at: www.24hseries.com.

The calendar for the 2015 24H SERIES powered by Hankook at a glance:
8-10 January, 2015: Hankook 24H DUBAI
13-14 March, 2015: Hankook 12H ITALY-MUGELLO
24-25 April, 2015: Hankook 12H ZANDVOORT
3-5 July, 2015: Hankook 24H Circuit PAUL RICARD
4-6 September, 2015: 24H BARCELONA
2-3 October, 2015: Hankook 12H HUGARY

Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team's director of engineering, Aldo Costa has signed a new contract to remain a key member of the design team of the German team.

Costa accepted to will stay at Mercedes AMG for an additional five years.

The Italian began to work in Formula 1 in 1988 with Minardi.

He moved to Ferrari in 1996 and designed Michael Schumacher's championship-winning cars. He was fired from the Scuderia in May 2011.

A few months later, he took the job of director of engineering at Mercedes and worked alongside another former Ferrari man, Ross Brawn.

FIA President Jean Todt and the members of the World Motor Sport Council approved the 2015 Formula 1 calendar, which will feature 20 Grands Prix.

The meeting was held in Beijing Friday, a day before the launch of the world's first fully electric racing championship competing in city-centre circuits worldwide.

2015 FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar :

15 March                    Grand Prix of Australia
29 March                    Grand Prix of Malaysia
5 April                        Grand Prix of Bahrain
19 April                      Grand Prix of China
10 May                      Grand Prix of Spain
24 May                      Grand Prix of Monaco
7 June                       Grand Prix of Canada
21 June                     Grand Prix of Austria
5 July                        Grand Prix of Great Britain
19 July                      Grand Prix of Germany
26 July                      Grand Prix of Hungary
23 August                  Grand Prix of Belgium
6 September              Grand Prix of Italy
20 September            Grand Prix of Singapore
27 September            Grand Prix of Japan   
11 October                 Grand Prix of Russia (Sochi)
25 October                Grand Prix of USA (Austin)
1 November               Grand Prix of Mexico
15 November             Grand Prix of Brazil
29 November             Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi

The members of the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved the 2015 World Rally Championship calendar during a meeting held Friday in Beijing, China.

The 2015 season is expected to begin January 25 with the prestigious Rallye Monte-Carlo.

2015 World Rally Championship (WRC):

25 January Rallye Monte-Carlo *
15 February Rally Sweden
8 March Rally Mexico
19 April Rally Argentina
24 May Rally Portugal
14 June Rally Italy
5 July Rally Poland
2 August Rally Finland
23 August Rally Germany *
13 September Rally Australia
4 October Rally France *
25 October Rally Spain
15 November Rally Great Britain

* Subject to Promotion Agreement