Auto News 5

SUVs and crossovers will feature heavily in the launch of new models in Europe this year. Audi, VW, Renault and Fiat are among carmakers planning to launch updated or new models in this hotly contested segment.

Honeywell, the world's leading turbocharger supplier, foresees big gains for the performance-boosting, CO2-reducing technology, Terrence Hahn, CEO of the Switzerland-based Honeywell business unit, told Automotive News Europe.

Nissan Canada unveiled the 2015 calendar of its new Nissan Micra Cup.

Round 2 of the new series will be held June 5, 6 and 7 during the prestigious Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, 2015.

The Nissan Micra Cup will showcase race-ready versions of the 2015 Nissan Micra to bridge the gap between karting and car racing.

It is a spec series that is sanctioned by Auto Sport Québec (ASQ) and presented by JD Promotion & Compétition with the support of Nissan Canada. It features the stock Micra 1.6 S M/T model with minor modifications, including NISMO suspension - to render it race-ready.

“This series offers passionate, amateur drivers with the unique opportunity to race in the most prestigious race of the season, in front of thousands of racing fans and the best drivers in the world, in a car that costs $20,000,” said Christian Meunier, president of Nissan Canada Inc.

Photo: Nissan

2015 Nissan Micra Cup calendar:

Testing 1
May 2 Autodrome St-Eustache

Testing 2
May 16 Autodrome St-Eustache

Practice, Races 1 & 2
May 22-24 Circuit Mont-Tremblant Spring Classic

Practice, Races 3 & 4
June 5-7 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada

Practice, Races 5 & 6
July 24-26 Circuit Mont-Tremblant Summer Classic

Practice, Races 7 & 8 July 31-August 2 Trois-Rivieres Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres

Practice, Race 9
August 15 Autodrome St-Eustache

Practice, Races 10 & 11
September 25-27 Circuit Mont-Tremblant Fall Classic

MINI driver Nasser Al-Attiyah continued his march towards 2015 Dakar Rally win by claiming Stage 11 held Thursday.

Although Al-Attiyah took victory, he was only 27 seconds faster than X-raid MINI teammate, Argentine's Orlando Terranova.

South African Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) only lost 39 seconds to Al-Attiyah on the stage, though that keeps him 29 minutes behind the leader in second overall with just two days to go.

Stage 11 was disastrous for Yazeed Al-Rahji who dropped out of third place.

Al-Rahji, a regular competitor in the FIA World Rally Championship, had third place in sight when his Toyota developed a major mechanical problem before he could even get out of the service bivouac.

Al-Rahji's retirement moved Krzysztof Holowczyc up to third overall, one hour behind de Villiers, with Erik van Loon (fourth) making it three MINIs in the overall Top 4.

Overall standings (after Stage 11)
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah, MINI
2 Giniel de Villiers, Toyota,  +29m01
3 Krzysztof Holowczyc, MINI,  +1h28m49
4 Erik van Loon, MINI,  +2h54m09
5 Christian Lavieille, Toyota,  +3h04m21

From nascar.com

NASCAR officials will no longer be standing alongside crewmen to police pit stops in 2015.

A new, technologically driven system that incorporates the use of 45 cameras will feed video of every stop made by every team to a central location, where eight officials will log pertinent information and report any violations.

Each of the cameras will display two specific pit stalls. Once a car is on pit road, the individual cameras will record its progress as it moves through each area. The use of tracking software and pit road scoring loops identifies and verifies each car.

Eight NASCAR officials will now report pit stop violations. (Photo: NASCAR)

That same system software tracking its movement will indicate any infractions, such as too many men over the wall or driving through too many pit boxes when entering or exiting the pits based on information ingested before the event.

If there are no infractions logged by the system, one of the eight officials will still monitor the stop, noting the number of tires taken, whether fuel was added and whether any changes (chassis adjustments or repair to a damaged area, for example) to the car were made.

Infractions fall into three groups -- vehicle (such as pitting outside pit box), equipment (leaving pit box with gas can still attached, etc.) and personnel/crew (too many men over the wall; over the wall too soon, etc.).

When the software picks up an infraction, it will be displayed on the monitor where an official will quickly view the stop and either confirm the issue (and subsequently notify the tower) or clear it if it can be determined that no infraction took place.

The use of the technology will change the number of officials along pit road. Instead of the approximately two dozen that policed pit stops last year, only 10 will be in the pits this year. They would be stationed behind pit wall where they can respond to any team inquiries and monitor actions from that side of the car when necessary.

Although it was in place during the final portion of the 2014 season, the system was tested, but not used for official purposes.

Officials of the Grand Prix of Russia in Sochi announced that their Formula 1 race would not become a night race.

Last year, race organisers had serious talks about running the race under floodlights.

"We want to start at dusk and finish in the dark," Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf newspaper quoted expert and consultant Richard Cregan as saying last October.

"The infrastructure for the lighting is already present, we are now waiting for the green light," he added.

But Friday, Sochi officials announced that they have agreed with the FOM to start the race at an earlier time.

“This year the Grand Prix will begin at 2:00 p.m. We will have an opportunity to watch the fascinating Formula 1 race one day and one hour earlier than we did last year,” said race organiser Sergey Vorobyev.

Last year, the maiden Russian Grand Prix was held October 12 with a start time of 3pm.

The carbon fibre chassis of Lotus' new, 2015 Formula 1 car has passed all the mandatory FIA crash tests.

Interestingly, the chassis failed the first crash tests held last month. Tehncial director Nick Chester and his team of engineers made the necessary corrections and the chassis was homologated yesterday, Jan. 16.

McLaren, Sauber and Toro Rosso have also confirmed that their chassis were approved by the FIA.

A new V6 Power Unit will power the E23 this season after the team decided to switch engine suppliers from Renault to Mercedes.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado will again be Lotus' race drivers this season.

Lewis Hamilton's father explains how the "instant gratification" research can ruin some talents.

Young racers want to be the next Lewis Hamilton but more are in a hurry to get the success.

"Part of the reason why I very rarely get involved with young drivers and their parents these days is because nobody wants to do what we did," Anthony Hamilton told Reuters. "Nobody wants to hang around. They all want instant gratification."

The trend in F1 is for younger entrants, like Toro Rosso hiring Max Verstappen at the age of 16. The young driver will make his debut in Australia in March, at 17 years old, the youngest ever in Formula 1.

Anthony Hamilton urges youngsters and their family to take their time.

"If you look at the motor racing scene nowadays, people are doing less than a year in a category and then think 'I've had enough of this one so now I'm going to jump two or three because I can afford it'.

"And the next thing you know they are sitting in a Formula One car. Or expect to be sitting in one. Well, look, the educational process hasn't changed. I think there's a lot of talent out there. The trouble is, the talent doesn't want to wait. They all want it now," he said.

Anthony Hamilton celebrating Lewis' success. (Photo: WRi2)

Even Lewis Hamilton was signed to the McLaren-Mercedes driver development programme when he was in go-karts, the focus was on getting as much experience as possible rather than rushing through the series.

After his go-karts years, and before his Formula 1 debut with McLaren, Lewis Hamilton had two seasons in Formula Renault, the same in Formula 3 and one year in GP2.

"By the time (Lewis) arrived in Formula 1, he'd got so much experience and appreciation. But he could not have done it without karting. He could not have done it without taking his time and going through the educational process," said Anthony Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton's father admits there was a time when he also had unrealistic expectations, but McLaren taught him the important lesson that sometimes there is more to gain by being patient.

"I have become wiser and smarter given the process we've been through. And what I try to say to parents is that you've got to just believe. Stay the course and just believe," underlined Hamilton Sr who has had hard time to figure out how to pay the bills for Lewis at the beginning.

"If you believe your kid is going to make it then just stay with it. But they just can't keep their mind off the fact that Johnny next door who was in karts with them, and who they beat two years running, is now driving cars and is two years in front of them.

"I say forget that nonsense, don't worry about it. He might be driving cars but he's not getting the micro-skills and experience he needs... stay in karts as long as you possibly can," Anthony Hamilton added.

From Porsche AG

Extensive testing with the second generation of Porsche's Le Mans prototype will begin on January 18, on Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit.

As scheduled, this marks the start of the 2015 motorsport season for the Porsche Team.

Porsche 919 Hybrid (Photo: Porsche AG)

The new Porsche 919 Hybrid has already had its roll-out on the Weissach test track. As a next step, there will be several performance and endurance tests before the WEC season opener on April 12 in Silverstone, Great Britain.

Porsche 919 Hybrid (Photo: Porsche AG)

The new Porsche 919 Hybrid is a comprehensive evolution of the successful car that made its debut in 2014.

It will feature the same innovative drivetrain concept consisting of a 2-litre V4 turbocharged petrol engine, an electric motor powering the front wheels, and two energy recovery systems.

Porsche 919 Hybrid (Photo: Porsche AG)

Porsche 919 Hybrid (Photo: Porsche AG)

From GMM

Hockenheim's circuit boss has warned that a deal to host the German grand prix this year has not yet been reached.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday that, amid the Nurburgring's ongoing ownership uncertainty, the track will not host the race next year as scheduled.

"It is going to be at Hockenheim (instead)," he told Reuters, "we're in the middle of doing something with them.

"We've got a contract in place, we just have to amend the years of the contract. It was alternating with Nurburgring so we'll just take that out," Ecclestone added.

The 2014 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. (Photo: WRi2)

Hockenheim boss Georg Sieler, however, has warned that while talks with Ecclestone have begun, an agreement is yet to be finalised.

"We can only say something if a contract is signed. And we're not there yet," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

It is clear that Seiler and Ecclestone will be negotiating over the financial terms of a 2015 deal.

Auto Motor und Sport said Hockenheim attracted only 52,000 spectators to the grand prix last year, meaning the circuit is also struggling to make ends meet.

"Naturally we want to record positive numbers," Seiler said. "In exceptional circumstances, one can perhaps even accept a 'black zero' (breaking even).

"At any rate, a timely decision now is desirable and necessary," he insisted.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk urged Texas lawmakers to ease restrictions on sales of the company's electric luxury cars as he floated the prospect of locating a new car factory or a test facility for his "hyperloop" mass transit concept in the state.

AutoNation's Mike Maroone will retire after 15 years as president and COO, with chairman and CEO Mike Jackson taking on the additional role of president, effective Feb. 4, 2015.

Mike Maroone, a key architect of AutoNation's retail blueprint, will retire as president and COO, with chairman and CEO Mike Jackson taking on the additional role of president.

Two Italian auto suppliers -- OMR Automotive and Sirmax -- today picked Indiana for significant new operations, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announced.

Metro Detroit, the automotive capital of the world, ironically isn't a hotbed for mobility upstarts, but several efforts are under way in the auto industry to help develop more transportation startups and improve the industry's risk tolerance.

BMW and Lexus will return to the Super Bowl after sitting on the bench for several years. BMW said today that it will pitch the i3 electric in a 60-second spot during the game's first quarter.

A federal judge today refused to let plaintiffs' lawyers suing General Motors access notes from lawyers the company hired to prepare an internal report on the automaker's decade-long mishandling of a deadly ignition-switch flaw.

For the fourth straight year, new-vehicles buyers ranked fuel economy as the most influential factor in selecting a vehicle, JD Power and Associates said in a new report.

Autoliv, the world's largest supplier of automotive airbags, says it has signed contracts with several automakers to deliver up to 25 million inflators to fix potentially defective airbags produced by Takata.

Hoegh Osaka salvers from Svitzer have finally boarded the stranded ship carrying 1,300 vehicles today (15 January) after gale force winds last night forced operations to halt, with a possible tow date back to Southampton Port of the middle of next week.