Auto News 5

Shigehisa Takada, the third-generation head of Takata, shows little sense of the crisis engulfing the Japanese airbag maker at the center of one of the auto industry's biggest safety recalls, say people who have met him recently.

Congressional lawmakers have suggested that rival airbag suppliers could help Takata produce enough inflators to repair 10 million U.S. vehicles recalled since 2008.

As an expert on human fatigue, Mark Rosekind is well-suited to steer NHTSA toward the era of autonomous driving and connected-car technologies.

Marussia will definitively not be on the grid in 2015. Details of the team's assets' imminent sale have been confirmed by CA Global Partners.

France's L'Équipe and Autohebdo reported the news Sunday morning.

The team still had a valid entry for the 2015 season, but would not be able to come back without cars and tools.

Marussia's future is not that bright anymore (Photo: WRI2)

F1 chassis, test lab, race day trailer fleet, machine shop, spare parts and tools... it will all be auctioned off on December 16th and 17th. Ferrari engines are not included in the sale because they belong to Maranello.

Interested parties can visit the Marussia headquarters, in Branbury, UK, to take a look on December 13th and 15th.

Sébastien Loeb and his wife Séverine simply dominated this week-end's Rallye du Var, the eighth and final round of the 2014 French rally championship.

Aboard their Citroën DS3 WRC, the pair led from start to finish. Only two-time national champion Julien Maurin could keep up with them. But he went off the road on Sunday morning.

"Conditions were really not easy, so I'm happy to win this rally," summed up Loeb, who had not entered a rally since 2013. "There was less water near the end, so we could push even though it was still slippery," he added.

It was Loeb's third win at the Rallye du Var, and the couple's second.

The nine-time world champion, who will make a one-off WRC return in two months at the Monte-Carlo rally, is now headed to Val-Thorens, where he will take part in a Trophée Andros round, next week-end.

Former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello defeated title rival Atila Abreu, Sunday in Curitiba, to become the 2014 Brazilian Stock Car champion.

Barrichello only needed to finish fourth to clinch the title. After starting from pole, he dropped to fourth, but battled his way through to eventually claim the final podium spot.

The 42-year-old, who started racing full-time in this series in 2013, won two races this year, in Goiania and Cascavel.

Rubens Barrichello, 2014 Brazilian Stock Car champion (Photo: stockcar.com.br)

"Only now Brazil starts to know me, and I am loving being in my country, in front of such an emotional public," Barrichello is quoted saying by British magazine Autosport.

"My team is perfect, they have been improving all the time."

Rubens Barrichello, 2014 Brazilian Stock Car champion (Photo: stockcar.com.br)

Barrichello, who holds the record for the highest number of F1 Grands Prix contested in career, clinched the title in his second full season in the category.

This represents Barrichello's first major title since he won the British Formula 3 title in 1991.

Barrichello claimed the title after 12 rounds with two wins and a total of 234 points. Atila Abreu finished second with 223,5 points.

Rubens Barrichello, 2014 Brazilian Stock Car champion (Photo: stockcar.com.br)

From press release

2014 rallycross world champion Petter Solberg was once again dominant, this week-end in Argentina.

The Norwegian beat Reinis Nitiss and Kevin Eriksson for the Supercar win in San Luis, his fifth outright victory of the year.

"This is a dream come true.  We started the season with a win in Portugal, and to finish with another win in Argentina feels really amazing," grinned Solberg who was also awarded the Monster Energy Super Charge Award after his rapid start from pole position.

Petter Solberg (Photo: FIA World RX)

"This Championship has so many talented drivers and I am extremely impressed with the high standard of driving we have had this year - especially from the younger guys.

"Now I'm looking forward to Doha for the FIA Awards Ceremony but I will be back and fighting for more seasons to come. I'd like to thank my whole team for working so hard throughout this year - there will be a big party tonight, that's for sure!"

Without Jacques Villeneuve, Albatec Racing managed to get two drivers in the semi-finals for the first time this season. Ollie O'Donovan and Andy Scott finished 4^th and 6^th in their respective race.

From CRC

Antoine L'Estage (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) of the Yokohama Canada Rally Team culminated a flawless year with a final victory at the Rally of the Tall Pines, in Bancroft, Ont. The pair attacked from the very first competitive stage of the event, suffering no difficulties despite their fast pace.

“It's unbelievable, to win all the rallies in one year has never been done before,” said L'Estage after the rally. “We've done it with a low budget this year, and stretched everything this year. Thank you to Yokohama who stepped in to help with this season. We wouldn't be here without them.”

L'Estage clinched his seventh driver's championship when he won the 2014 series at the Pacific Forest Rally in October with two events yet remaining in the series calendar. Ockwell joined the team at the second event of the year and secured his third co-driver's national championship at the Rally of the Tall Pines as a result of the team's success.

Antoine L'Estage won every round of the 2014 Canadian Rally Championship (Photo: Maciej Janiak)

Alexandre Béland (Val d'Or, Que.) and Philippe Poirier (St-Rédempteur, Que.) worked well together in their first event as a team, finishing second overall after one short test session prior to the rally. His car, a Subaru Impreza STI known as “the Beast,” finished without any problems on rough roads that destroyed tires and parts of competitors' cars.

The father-son team of Sylvain and Simon Vincent (Terrebonne, Que.) finished in third, demonstrating the value of combining experience with speed and talent. The two have been campaigning with an older Subaru Impreza, showing that the car is still competitive in the right hands. The exacting conditions took a lot out of the 50-year-old Sylvain.

From press release

BMW Motorsport confirmed that 2014 DTM champion Marco Wittmann will get his first taste of F1, Thursday in Imola.

The 25-year-old is getting the chance to drive a Toro Rosso STR7, the 2012 car driven by Jean-Éric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo, as a reward for his performance this season.

A former single-seater driver, Wittmann was supposed to test the current-spec Toro Rosso at the recent post-season tests in Abu Dhabi, but rookie F1 Max Verstappen took his place.

Toro Rosso STR7 (Photo: WRI2)

"(In) recognition of his performances in this DTM season, BMW Motorsport is giving him the opportunity to achieve a childhood dream and Wittmann will test a Formula One car for the first time," said a press release.

"At Imola, he will drive a 2012 Scuderia Toro Rosso car. This test is organized in co-operation with BMW Motorsport premium partner Red Bull."

Fiat Chrysler and Guangzhou Automobile will establish a separate joint venture in China to integrate sales and marketing for the Fiat, Chrysler and Jeep brands.

Fiat Chrysler and Guangzhou Automobile will establish a separate joint venture in China to integrate sales and marketing for the Fiat, Chrysler and Jeep brands.

Uwe Ellinghaus doesn't like to see Cadillac explicitly comparing itself to German luxury competitors in its ads. But he's determined to see Cadillac adopt the marketing strategies used by those rivals, including his former employer, BMW.

Mercedes owners in China are likely successful and wealthy entrepreneurs, a brand study of eight major luxury carmakers found. China will probably overtake the U.S. as the biggest premium auto market in 2016, analysts predict.

From CTMP

Featuring the best variety of racing in the country, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has confirmed its 2015 major event schedule, headlined by the United SportsCar Championship, July 9-12 and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, August 28-30.

The Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend will get CTMP's 55th racing season underway, May 15-17, with the thundering stock cars of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the Pirelli World Challenge Championship (all seven classes) highlighting the unofficial kick-off to the summer.

Also in action is the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada, Canadian Touring Car Championship and the Canadian SuperCar Series.

The Canadian Historic Grand Prix, featuring beautifully restored race cars from the past 50+ years of motorsport will take to CTMP's legendary circuit on June 19-21. The Historic Formula Fords will headline the action.

Canada's biggest sports car race of the year, the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, will showcase the United SportsCar Championship on July 9-12. Many of the top sports car drivers in the world will be joined by other top series such as the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Cooper Tire Prototype Lites, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA and the SCCA Pro Racing Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup.

Canada's top motorcycle riders will return on August 14-16 for the Canadian Superbike Doubleheader Weekend. National classes such as Mopar Pro Superbike, Pro Sport Bike, Amateur Superbike, Amateur Sport Bike and the Honda CBR250R Series will all be on track for the country's biggest motorcycle race of the year.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and the Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by Continental Tire will join the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the final major event of the season (August 28-30), one week before the Labour Day long weekend.

2015 Major Event Schedule
May 15-17 - Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend
June 19-21 - Canadian Historic Grand Prix
July 9-12 - Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix
Aug. 14-16 - Superbike Doubleheader Weekend
Aug. 28-30 - Chevrolet Silverado 250

Motorsport boss Toto Wolff announced that Mercedes was expanding its DTM program to eighth cars, last night during the brand's "Stars and Cars" event in Stuttgart.

Long-standing partner ART Grand Prix was picked to run the third team.

"We have in the past achieved many successes in Formula 3 with ART Grand Prix. We would love to repeat that success in the future in the DTM," said Wolff.

"We have always said that we would only ever increase the number of vehicles in the DTM when we could be certain that all the cars deployed would be equally well looked after.

ART Grand Prix, GP2 (Photo: WRI2)

"We will have three strong teams next year, HWA AG, Mücke Motorsport and ART Grand Prix, who are well placed to contest a successful season in 2015 with the DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé."

ART Grand Prix is a French based team founded by Frédéric Vasseur and Nicolas Todt. Fielding GP2 cars, it has helped many drivers reached F1 over the years, including Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

From WRC.com

Nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb will begin preparing for the Monte-Carlo Rally, by tackling the French championship Rallye du Var, this week-end.

Loeb will drive a current spec Citroen DS3 WRC on the all-tarmac event, with wife Séverine as co-driver. His long-time co-driver Daniel Elena will also drive the Var stages, but at the wheel of a road opening DS3 R3T zero car.



Loeb will get a proper Monte test in December, but this will be his first chance to reacquaint himself with the DS3 in competition since last November's Rallye du Condroz-Huy in Belgium - another event he drove with Séverine.

The three-day rally runs until Sunday on roads in the southeast of the country near Saint-Tropez and Toulon.

Citroën DS3 WRC (Photo: WRI2)

It is a rally Loeb knows well. He first competed there in 1999 in a Citroen Saxo, and won it the following year in a Xsara Kit Car. He has competed on three occasions with Séverine calling notes, most recently in 2009 when they won in a C4 WRC.

Monte will be a one-off outing for Loeb, who has been drafted-in during the WTCC off-season to help launch Citroen's new DS branding for 2015.

At Wales Rally GB this month, Citroen Racing boss Yves Matton dismissed speculation that Loeb might return to the WRC in a full time role but said he would be happy to help him tackle some rallies for fun.

From FIAWEC.com

Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard secured Porsche's first LMP1 pole since its return, Saturday in Brazil.

In the first part of qualifying ahead of the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, Webber started trading fast laps with his teammate Neel Jani and Toyota's Anthony Davidson. Jani ended the battle on top.

Marc Lieb was doing well to keep the No. 14 Porsche 919 hybrid in front, after the driver changes. But Bernhard eventually knock him off provisional pole.

Mark Webber celebrates with Timo Bernhard (Photo: WRI2)

Bernhard then handed the car back to Webber, for the Australian to lower their average.

In the end, the gap between the two Porsche pairings was only 0.107s. The No. 8 Toyota TS040 of Sébastien Buemi and Davidson took third, 0.394s behind the lead car.

Audi is 4th and 6th, split by the second Toyota.

Sebastian Vettel's contract with Red Bull ended Friday at midnight. Saturday morning, the four-time world champion was turning his first laps aboard a Ferrari F1 car at Fiorano.

The German first ran some sighting laps aboard a Ferrari 458, and then climbed aboard his F2012, which was equipped with several GoPro cameras and marked with the No. 5.

For the occasion, Vettel was wearing a white helmet, marked only with sponsor logos and an inscription saying: "29/11/14. Il mio primo giorno in Ferrari" ("My first day at Ferrari" in Italian).

Several photos and videos on the web show him lapping a wet Fiorano. No word yet on his first impressions of the V8-powered machine.

According to several sources, including France's L'Équipe, Vettel his now scheduled to continue testing in the simulator.

From press release

Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso finished 11th, Saturday in Dubai, when the checkered flag of the Kartdrome 24 Hours fell.

His Puntonas team, which included McLaren F1 test driver Stoffel Vandoorne and Ferrari race engineer Andrea Stella, were at one stage in fifth place on track, but slipped in the order.

Their valiant effort still earned them the Best New Team Award.

Fernando Alonso (Photo: Dubai Autodrome)

Alonso, who drove a number of sessions during the night and also the final stint for his team, said: "It is a good event and very well organized, with some very good teams. I decided to enter the race and invited some of my friends, and we had a good time."

Stella, who is more familiar being race engineer for Alonso during his Ferrari days, added: "We learnt a lot not only about the driving style for these karts but also about strategy. It was a very enjoyable experience for all of us and we did better than we expected."

For the first time in five years, $2 gasoline is making a comeback in some parts of the U.S., just in time for the Christmas holiday and giving another boost to light-vehicle sales.