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From GMM

Race organisers are reluctant to shift the start time for the 2015 Australian grand prix.

In response to Jules Bianchi's horror crash at Suzuka, the governing FIA vowed to look into ensuring that races are no longer started too close to dusk.

Races at the season opener Melbourne, for instance, are traditionally now started at 5pm local, creating a better morning television timeslot for the bulk European audience.

The local Herald Sun newspaper claims race organisers have now received a request to reverse the scheduled start time by several hours.

But race chief Andrew Westacott insisted: "The race time will remain at 5pm as per agreement with the Australian grand prix corporation and formula one management, which means Melbourne, as the opening race of the season, airs in Asia at lunchtime and Europe at breakfast."

Last year, the state government agreed a five-year agreement to keep the grand prix at Albert Park until 2020.

From GMM

F1 legend Mario Andretti has called on Franck Montagny to be banned for life for doping.

Former Super Aguri racer Montagny, a 37-year-old Frenchman, was suspended from the FIA-sanctioned new Formula E series recently when he tested positive for a cocaine derivative.

It has also been rumoured that Montagny's brush with cocaine may in fact date all the way back to his F1 career, which spanned test roles at Renault and Toyota.

He is yet to be formally sanctioned.

"If I had my way," said world champion Mario Andretti, "Monsieur Montagny would be banned for life.

"It is a big disappointment for us all, as he also endangered every other driver on the track. What he did is unforgivable in our sport," the 74-year-old told Germany's Welt newspaper.

Franck Montagny, Andretti Autosport. (Photo: WRi2)

Andretti's son Michael heads the team for which Montagny was racing. Montagny was replaced for the Buenos Aires round by Indycar driver Marco Andretti.

Marco's grandfather Mario, the world champion of 1978, insisted the Montagny case does not indicate that doping may be rife within top motor racing.

"There are always some black sheep," he said, "but there is no doping or drug problem in racing. The fact that Montagny was busted just shows that the control system works."

From GMM

Will Stevens has turned his eye to Le Mans in the event his F1 career stumbles at the first hurdle.

Funding brought by the 23-year-old's backers as he made his grand prix debut in Abu Dhabi is believed to have been instrumental in ailing Caterham's survival to date.

"When I got the offer," he is quoted by Russia's f1news.ru, "I jumped at the chance with both hands.

"I had to use it and in the end I didn't lose much to a great driver like Kamui Kobayashi, although it was the first time I had driven the car and my first formula one weekend," said Stevens.

"Now I'm doing everything to keep it going," he added, referring to Caterham's battle for survival, "but if it doesn't work out, I am considering the possibility of (racing in) LPM1."

LMP1 is the premier prototype class at Le Mans and the world endurance championship.

Briton Stevens finished the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 series in sixth place.

Will Stevens, Caterham. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Ferrari is spending a whopping EUR 40 million as it steps up its off-track technology at Maranello.

Having struggled in 2014 and subsequently undergone a revolutionary shakeup, the fabled Italian marque is now spending big on a dynamic platform that will allow in-factory testing of the entire car-plus-engine package.

Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport said the move is part of Ferrari's new collaboration with the Austrian giant AVL, even though the research and simulation specialists were formerly closely aligned with Red Bull.

Amid the tight restrictions on actual track testing, the AVL platform will allow Ferrari to run and develop the car and systems including brake-by-wire at simulated speeds of up to 360kph, the report said.

La Gazzetta said the AVL technology, also falling outside the strict limits on wind tunnel testing, will be housed in a special building at Maranello and also connected to a driver simulator.

From GMM

Renault has reportedly hit back at the FIA's controversial new system for issuing F1 super licences.

In light of 17-year-old Max Verstappen's controversial debut this year, the governing body is installing a new system for 2016 to ensure new grand prix drivers are older, more experienced and successful in the junior classes.

But the proposed 2016 system is also causing raised eyebrows, as it emerges future champions like Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen would have been denied their F1 debuts, while even the great Michael Schumacher's 2010 return may not have happened.

Also ruled out would have been Paul di Resta's 2011 debut, despite the fact he was the reigning DTM champion.

"I think the system needs some work," another DTM driver and long-time F1 tester Gary Paffett, whose F1 debut would also have been theoretically denied under the 2016 system, told Reuters.

Also reportedly unhappy with the new system is Renault, whose premier category, the Formula Renault 3.5 series, will attract fewer super licence points for its top drivers than GP2, F3, sports cars, Indycar and the currently non-existent F2.

Italiaracing reports: "The French manufacturer promptly responded by sending a letter directly to FIA president Jean Todt.

"Renault will now have a meeting with the FIA, probably around the middle of January", the report added.

FIA motorhome in Formula 1. (Photo: WRi2)

Jaguar Land Rover is counting on new models such as the Jaguar XE sedan and Land Rover Discovery Sport to help it boost sales to a record of more than 500,000 vehicles in 2015.

Mercedes-Benz, which pioneered the luxury offroader with the boxy G-class 36 years ago, is now adding curves to its SUV lineup with the new GLE coupe.

Volkswagen is mobilizing an SUV and crossover offensive over the next few years to strengthen its presence in those fast-growing segments and revive the VW brand's sagging U.S. sales.

Mercedes-Benz will begin US sales of the C350 plug-in hybrid this fall. The new car is one of 10 plug-in hybrids Mercedes will be launching through 2017, said Thomas Weber, Daimler AG board member for group research and Mercedes-Benz car development.

Buick signaled the direction for a possible flagship sedan with the introduction Sunday of the Avenir concept featuring a new grille and other new styling cues.

News 12 Jan, 2015

585bhp Mercedes GLE AMG 63 S super-suv-coupe is shown for the first time in Detroit

Cars dominated the top segments of vehicles coming off lease in 2014, but the segments with the most projected off-lease growth in 2019, vs. 2014 volumes, will be SUVs, crossovers and pickups, analysts from Kelley Blue Book predicted Sunday.

News 12 Jan, 2015

Company car tax-beating Mercedes C-Class Plug-in Hybrid is unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show

Land Rover will offer a diesel engine in two Range Rover models this year and across its entire lineup in several years. The two vehicles are debuting at the Detroit auto show. They go on sale this fall.

Auto sales will grow in 2015, but the US industry will have to work harder for smaller gains in the sixth year of recovery, analysts from Kelley Blue Book predicted on Sunday.

More than 500 guests from all corners of the nation showed up at The Gallery on Saturday night, an exclusive, invite-only event that formally kicks off the Detroit auto show.

Volvo is considering building an assembly plant in the United States and also may export a "strategic flagship" sedan made in China to the US, people familiar with the Chinese-owned automaker's plans told Reuters.

Jaguar says its first crossover will be called 'F-PACE'. The new vehicle is due to enter production in late 2015 and has been previewed by multiple concepts, each named C-X17.

Jaguar says its first crossover will be called 'F-PACE'. The new vehicle is due to enter production in late 2015 and has been previewed by multiple concepts, each named C-X17.

Jaguar says its first crossover will be called 'F-PACE'. The new vehicle is due to enter production in late 2015 and has been previewed by three concepts, each named C-X17.