In replacing its widely derided MyFord Touch infotainment system, Ford gathered more outside input than it had ever considered in developing an entire vehicle.
From press release
Multiple Formula 1 grand prix winner David Coulthard put in a stunning performance to eclipse 15 fellow stars of motor sport and win the Race Of Champions on a thrilling afternoon of action and entertainment at Bushy Park Barbados.
The best-of-three Grand Final boiled down to a battle of Formula 1 drivers young and old. But in the end Coulthard saw off Mercedes F1 official reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein to become Champion of Champions for the very first time.
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| David Coulthard is new champion of champions (Photo: WRI2) |
Coulthard had been in the Race Of Champions Grand Final once before, when he lost out by the narrowest margin to rally legend Sébastien Loeb at Wembley in 2008. This time he prevailed over his young German challenger, who can nonetheless be proud of his run to the Grand Final at the first time.
At the semi-final stage, Coulthard pipped six-time V8 Supercar Champion Jamie Whincup by just two tenths of a second. The other race was a battle of the young guns as Wehrlein eliminated the 2014 FIA European F3 Champion Esteban Ocon.
Coulthard had a spectacular quarter-final win over FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg in the Volkswagen RX Polo, meaning there was to be no repeat of the ROC Nations Cup glory the Norwegian enjoyed Saturday.
From press release
Porsche Motorsports made a series of announcements over the week-end during its annual "Night of Champions" gala in Weissach.
Amongst other thins, it was confirmed that the 2015 car used in the LMP1 category of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) would be an evolution of the 919 Hybrid that made its debut last season.
"The 2015-spec 919 Hybrid will be a distinct evolution of the 2014 model," said a press release. "(It) was optimized in almost every detail and, for 2015, should be even more adaptable to the different characteristics of the race circuits."
The definitive driver combinations will be confirmed eventually.
Porsche will also campaign two 911 RSRs in the world championship. According to current plans, the Porsche works drivers Michael Christensen (from Denmark) and Richard Lietz (from Austria) as well as Patrick Pilet (from France) and Frédéric Makowiecki (also from France) will share the two cockpits.
Further more, Team Porsche North America will field a pair of 911 RSRs in the United SportsCar championship (USC).
At the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona, Earl Bamber will join forces with the seasoned specialists Frédéric Makowiecki and Jörg Bergmeister (from Germany). Nick Tandy (from Great Britain), Patrick Pilet, and LMP1 regular Marc Lieb (from Germany) share driving duties in the sister car.
From press release
The third race of the Formula E season turned into a grudge match between two former Red Bull drivers: Sébastien Buemi and Jean-Éric Vergne.
Buemi and Vergne both became professional racing drivers after rising through the ranks of the famous energy drink company's junior program, which Helmut Marko heads.
Vergne actually replaced Buemi at Toro Rosso at the end of the 2011 season. Like his predecessor, he lasted only three season before being axed.
Still without plans for next year, the Frenchman joined Andretti Autosport in Formula E, and straight away snatched pole on his debut, this week-end in Uruguay.
In the race though, Buemi outsmarted Vergne with a better pitstop strategy. The Swiss picked up his first victory of the season, while Vergne dropped down the order with mechanical problems.
Another former Red Bull driver, Jaime Alguersuari finished fifth.
Vergne continued to shine after the race, topping the timing charts during a collective test.
From press release
On a hot afternoon in the Caribbean, legends from many of the world's biggest motor sport series teamed up in pairs to battle for national and regional pride.
They raced a mix of cars - including the Ariel Atom Cup, Audi R8 LMS, Stadium Super Truck, VW Polo RX, KTM X-Bow, ROC Car and Euro NASCAR - on a purpose-built parallel track at Bushy Park Barbados.
Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen and FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg prevailed in the final against Team Scotland.
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| Solberg and Tom Kristensen pick up their trophy for winning the Nations Cup (Photo: WRI2) |
First Kristensen defeated Williams F1 official test driver Susie Wolff, then 13-time F1 grand prix winner David Coulthard won out against Solberg to take it to the decider. But Kristensen came out on top in the end, winning the final heat after Coulthard spun off at the final corner.
Host nation Team Barbados (Dane Skeete and Rhett Watson) delighted the home fans with a magnificent ROC Nations Cup debut, making it through to the semi-final before they were beaten by Team Scotland
Skeete kept the crowd on the edge of their seats by defeating Wolff but Coulthard came out on top in the end with two wins.
From press release
A last minute safety car caused by a spin from the Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 of Jorge Lorenzo changed the face of the 2014 Gulf 12 Hours race.
Michele Rugolo, driving the AF Corse Ferrari 458 GT3, made the best use of the lapped traffic following the restart with just 30 minutes remaining, to take the win by 3.058 seconds after 315 laps of racing at the Yas Marina Circuit.
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| The winning Ferrari 458 GT3 of AF Corse (Photo: Gulf 12 Hours) |
Second place went to the hard charging Bernd Schneider driving for the defending champions, Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 team, with Khaled Al Qubaisi and Jeroen Bleekemolen. Schneider finished 2.683 seconds clear of third placed Kevin Estre who piloted the Von Ryan Racing McLaren 650S with Rob Bell and Alvaro Parente.
"We did our best and we were very close but the Ferrari was extremely fast this year," the defending champion, Khaled Al Qubaisi said.
"The AF Corse guys had more speed than us, about 2/10ths of a second per lap but we tried our best and it was very close. It's always disappointing not to win when we came to win but we will try again," Qubaisi said.
Olivier Panis will turn 50 in a not-so-distant future. But apparently he has no intentions of slowing down.
The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner scored another victory, this week-end during round two of the Trophée Andros ice racing championship, in Andorre.
Behind the wheel of his Toyota Auris, he beat Andréa Dubourg (Renault Clio) and Benjamin Rivière (Citroën DS3) for the win during race two of the event. Race one winner Jean-Philippe Dayraut finished only fifth behind Panis.
This means in the championship standings, Panis trails Dayraut by just six points.
The victory also marks WRT's first win in ice racing, the multiple 24 Hours of Spa winners having just started in Trophée Andros competition this year.
BMW's i3 is still rare enough to turn heads in Berlin, one of four cities chosen by the German government to promote electric cars, but finding a place to charge recharge the battery powered hatchback can be a challenge, meaning that range anxiety...
BMW's i3 is still rare enough to turn heads in Berlin, one of four cities chosen by the German government to promote electric cars, but finding a place to recharge the battery powered hatchback can be a challenge, meaning that range anxiety can turn...
Dealers are seeing a huge expansion of General Motors' Courtesy Transportation Program, a bid to create better loyalty via the service lane and by getting more people to try vehicles.
When car companies do business with Apple Inc. or Google Inc., they like to say they are dealing with a "partner" -- not a supplier. It's becoming clear that they won't always be silent partners.
Every year once the motorsport season is over, the Race of Champions gathers everyone around for one last event. Just for fun, some say.
It's a chance for the spectators to see their favourite drivers from all the different series go head to head in identical cars. But there are no points involved, no championship.
Nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, who retired this year, hopes he can continue to compete in the Race of Champions because he very much enjoys socializing with his peers and other motorsport fans.
"The event not just about winning, the Dane says. "It's very much about socializing. It goes all over the world and we enjoy meeting the fans from different places. I'm always very honoured to be invited."
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| Tom Kristensen is enjoying himself at this year's Race of Champions (Photo: WRI2) |
But not everyone shares Kristensen's opinion.
"All these guys are as crazy as I am, that's for sure," replies Petter Solberg, the new World rallycross champion.
"Tom said we are here for fun but that's BS! We are here to fight, we give everything. The track here is very different to the ones in stadiums, but at the same time it's hard. There have even been some crashes already (Saturday) morning - which is also fun, yes."
Stefano Coletti, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Davide Valsecchi are set to test IndyCar machinery at Sebring, December 16th and 17th with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
If the test goes well enough, one of them could become James Hinchcliffe's teammate for next year.
All three though were enthused by the prospect of testing an Indy car.
"IndyCar seems to be the most competitive series in the world. I would love to be a part of it," Valsecchi, a Lotus F1 reserve driver, is quoted as saying by France's
Autohebdo.
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| Davide Valsecchi (Photo: WRI2) |
"Plenty of overtaking makes the races exciting. I can't wait to test the car."
"I've always dreamed of racing those big American cars and study their handling," added Coletti. "I've been following IndyCar on TV and it's a hell of a show.
"There's nothing like the Indy 500 in Europe."
From GMM
McLaren has denied Bernie Ecclestone's claim that Ron Dennis has bought back majority ownership of the Woking based team.
The F1 supremo told business journalist Christian Sylt earlier this week that Bahrain's investment vehicle Mumtalakat has "sold the shares to Ron".
"He has got to pay for them by a certain date," Ecclestone was quoted by
Forbes. "If he doesn't pay he will obviously take them back but at the moment Ron would own the company."
Ecclestone hinted the same was also true of Dennis' long-time business partner Mansour Ojjeh, but he said McLaren was in good hands as it enters the Honda era.
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| Ron Dennis (Photo: WRI2) |
A McLaren spokesman, however, told us that Ecclestone's comments were "inaccurate".
"No transaction has taken place," he said, "but the shareholders have had discussions on how to best facilitate and enhance the future growth of the McLaren Group.
"When and if a transaction takes place, it is not envisioned that the current shareholders will exit McLaren completely, and announcements would be made at the appropriate time."
In other McLaren news, the team spokesman also told us that the Honda-powered 2015 chassis, the MP4-30, has passed all of its mandatory FIA crash tests.
From GMM
Bernie Ecclestone sounded unfazed earlier this week following reports a new F1 chief intends to 'rein in' the long-time F1 supremo.
The reports have said likely new F1 chairman Peter Walsh will be empowered by CVC chief Donald Mackenzie to push Ecclestone to become "more professional" within "a few months" of taking over.
Asked about Walsh's apparent intention to 'rein in' Ecclestone, the 84-year-old Briton hit back: "He would be unique if he could do that. First he's got to be appointed, hasn't he?"
However, Ecclestone did admit that Mackenzie is essentially pulling all the strings, remarking: "Do I have any input? Probably not."
But if it was up to him, he hinted that when he eventually does need a successor, his long-time aide Sacha Woodward-Hill is the obvious choice.
"I think perhaps if I was controlling the board, I would probably say it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a woman being the chief executive," said Ecclestone.
But he also said that, for now, he still regards himself as an invaluable contributor to F1.
"I've a little bit of experience," said Ecclestone, whose rise from team owner to power began in the 1970s.
"I'm in a good position with people who trust me, rely on me, I shake hands with them and they don't need a contract.
"The only thing is it takes an awful long time to develop that sort of reputation, and whoever does what I do it will take an awful long time for them to achieve that I suppose," he insisted.
From press release
Many of the world's greatest drivers have taken part in the first practice session at Bushy Park Barbados ahead of this weekend's Race Of Champions.
The annual end-of-season event, which has been running for over 25 years, brings together some of the world's best drivers from motor sport's major disciplines and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery on a unique track with two parallel lanes linked by a crossover bridge.
This year's track at Bushy Park will be twice as long as recent years, leading to even more speed and adrenaline.
The ROC 2014 field features motor sport legends from series including Formula 1, Le Mans, MotoGP, IndyCar, NASCAR, V8 Supercars, WTCC and World Rallycross. The drivers have travelled to Barbados from all corners of the world including the USA, Europe, South America and Australia.
The competition starts Saturday with the ROC Nations Cup and ROC Caribbean, followed by the Race Of Champions itself on Sunday.
Coverage of Saturday's ROC Nations Cup and Sunday's Race Of Champions will be available on television all over the world.
Stations showing ROC live include Motors TV throughout Europe, Fox in Latin America and Brazil, BEInSport (the Middle East), Sony Entertainment Network (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), FOX Australia, Super Sport in Africa plus many more.
Triple WTCC champion Yvan Muller used to be the ultimate benchmark in ice racing. But not anymore.
The Frenchman held almost every record in the Trophée Andros' history book, having won 10 straight titles between 1995 and 2006, and scored 48 victories.
Last week, though, his countryman Jean-Philippe Dayraut matched his win tally in Val-Thorens.
And this Saturday, Dayraut surpassed Muller with a record-breaking 49
th in Andorra, beating Olivier Panis and Franck Lagorce to the finish line of the week-end's first race.
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| Podium in Andorra (Photo: Pep Segalés) |
The Renault-Nissan Alliance said today has shuffled its executive purchasing team, promoting Yasuhiro Yamauchi, 58, to executive vice president of the two companies' joint purchasing operation.
The Federal Trade Commission today charged two auto dealership groups with violating earlier orders from the FTC to avoid misleading advertising regarding payments and financing, such as improper use of fine print and failure to adequately disclose...
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