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From GMM

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul insists engine customer Lotus' impending switch to Mercedes for 2015 is no great loss for the French marque.

Struggling Lotus' long-rumoured move to industry-leading Mercedes power was finally confirmed in Russia.

Lotus E22-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

It means Renault's list of engine partners in 2015 has dwindled to just three -- 'works' team Red Bull, the energy drink company's junior outfit Toro Rosso, and backmarker Caterham.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner, though, is not at all worried.

"I think that as far as Red Bull is concerned, it will make little difference but as far as Renault is concerned, it allows them to focus fully on one solution -- on Red Bull Racing," he said.

With a similar view is Abiteboul, the former Caterham team boss who this year returned to Renault to lead the marque's restructuring after its disastrous start to the new V6 era.

When asked about the impending loss of Lotus, the Frenchman told a group of Russian journalists: "I will not go into details, but the bottom line is that the number of customers of Renault Sport corresponds with our chosen business model.

"But it is also true that for specific marketing reasons, we certainly need to grow the number of customers. In F1, everything is organised on TV and in the press so that all the attention is focused on the top teams.

"If we had lost one of the strongest teams, it really would be a serious loss. Unfortunately, Lotus is not among the strongest teams, and so when it ceases to be a customer, it will not affect our situation in terms of marketing," Cyril Abiteboul insisted.

Cyril Abiteboul, Renault Sport F1. (Photo: WRi2)

From nascar.com

NASCAR officials are expected to rule Tuesday on separate incidents involving Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth, Team Penske's Brad Keselowski, and Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner/driver Tony Stewart following Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

What occurred as the field was coming to pit road after the conclusion of the race, as well as what took place in the garage afterward, could result in either monetary fines, points deductions, probation or any combination of the three.

Keselowski made contact with Kenseth as the two came off the track; Stewart backed his car into Keselowski's after being hit from behind; and Hamlin and Keselowski had a brief run-in in the garage - with Keselowski eventually speeding away, leaving tire marks across the garage floor -- before Hamlin attempted to confront him after climbing from his car.

Matt Kenseth (photo: nascar.com)

Kenseth physically attacked Keselowski moments later when the Team Penske driver was walking between haulers, setting off a melee that included crewmen from both teams.

While technical infractions, such as failing pre- or post-race inspection, carry pre-determined penalties, incidents involving competitors, referred to in the rulebook as "behavioral infractions" are judged individually, with the circumstances and severity surrounding the altercation taken into consideration.

Under CEO Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America has made diversity a key objective of the company's business plans with clear-cut goals in areas such as hiring, the automaker's retail network, suppliers, marketing and advertising.

With automakers increasing their use of right of first refusal in buy-sell deals, some dealers want to structure transactions to effectively block its use.

Selling to a highly respected outside investor such as Warren Buffett may have been the ideal exit strategy for Van Tuyl Group -- and one of the few exit paths available to such a large automotive retailer these days, said some dealership buy-sell...

Lithia Motors expects to report a gain in third-quarter unadjusted net income, boosted by improved new-vehicle sales, service and parts business and FandI revenue, it said in a statement today.

A program to compensate victims of a faulty ignition switch in General Motors vehicles has approved three new death claims, bringing the total number of deaths linked so far to the switch to 27, according to a report released today by the lawyer...

Federal-Mogul Powertrain, a division of Federal-Mogul Holdings, has opened a piston ring manufacturing facility in Puebla, Mexico.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has opened its new head office of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (SRSA), the Group's new tyre production and sales base in Durban.

Ford has announced 850 new jobs at its historic Rouge Center, comprised of the Dearborn Truck, Dearborn Stamping and Dearborn Diversified facilities.

SKF has signed two agreements with Scania totalling SEK360m (US$50.2m) for the supply of wheel bearings and high pressure valve stem seals.

Ford, on a hiring spree in advance of next year's labor contract negotiations, said it's adding 850 workers at its manufacturing site near Detroit to help make the new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup.

Texas is the largest truck market in the US, accounting for more full-size pickup sales than the next three states, California, Oklahoma and Florida, combined.

Kiekert says it has developed an LED latch that will see the a locking system and light solution within one door latch.

Kiekert says it has developed an LED latch that will see the a locking system and light solution within one door latch.

Videos 13 Oct, 2014

We take a look at some of the most interesting Mazda MX-5s at a special owners club meet

Daimler is widening its partnership in China with BAIC Motor by signing an agreement to expand the number of vehicles it makes at Beijing Benz Automotive to include the GLA-Class.

Mercedes-Benz is recalling at least 39,000 C-Class sedans sold in the US and Germany because of a potential steering system fault.

Chrysler Group is recalling 291,703 vehicles in the US to check for a faulty ignition switch which could inadvertently turn off the engine.

After 20 years of successful cooperation the Volkswagen Group and its Chinese joint venture partner First Automotive Works (FAW) are extending their present partnership for a further 25 years, until 2041.