Auto News 5

Opel/Vauxhall sales rose 3 percent in Europe last year, boosting market share for GM's European unit by 0.1 percentage points to 5.74 percent. The carmaker plans to launch several new models this year including the Karl entry-level minicar.

Robert Melville has been promoted to the role of chief designer at McLaren Automotive bringing with him more than a decade of experience covering a wide range of projects for leading brands in the luxury segment.

Bentley expects its first SUV to help almost double its vehicle sales after reporting record deliveries last year. The ultraluxury brand expects to increase annual sales to 20,000 units by 2020 after previously targeting 15,000 deliveries by 2018.

Ricardo said it had worked with Qoros on NVH for the brand's new 3 City SUV.

Opinion 7 Jan, 2015

Auto Express columnist Mike Rutherford is looking forward to a penny-pinching 2015

FCA's Jeep brand booked sales of over 1m units worldwide in 2014, a record for the third consecutive year.

The UK car market grew 9.3% to just under 2.5m units in 2014, reaching a 10-year high, according to data released by the SMMT today.

News 7 Jan, 2015

SMMT says any road tax increase for motorists would damage buoyant UK car market

UK new-car sales rose 9 percent last year to hit their highest level in 10 years at 2.47 million, cementing the UK's place as Europe's second-largest car market after Germany, industry body SMMT said.

UK new-car sales rose 9 percent last year to hit their highest level in 10 years at 2.47 million, cementing the UK's place as Europe's second-largest car market after Germany, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

News 7 Jan, 2015

2,476,435 new car registrations recorded in 2014 making it the best year since 2004

BMW may decide this year whether to launch a new range-topping sedan. Incoming CEO Harald Krueger is said to be receptive to the idea of a model, possibly called the 9 series, that would compete against the recently-unveiled Mercedes-Maybach S600.

The latest issue of the Automotive News Europe monthly e-magazine is ready for you to view. This month's edition looks at why Jaguar expects 2015 to be a record-breaking year.

Europe's carmakers can look forward to another year of sales growth in 2015, but analysts expect the rate of increase to be 2 percent to 3 percent compared with last year's 5 percent rise.

From GMM

The collapse of Marussia and Caterham may be the definite end of an era in formula one, according to the sport's newest team entrant.

American Gene Haas, basing his 2016 outfit in North Carolina, is also setting up camp in the UK, probably at ailing Marussia's Banbury facility.

He told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt that work in England will begin shortly.

"We are moving right ahead and in January we are going to start having a few employees in the UK," Haas is quoted by the report in Autoweek.

His business model, however, will be vastly different to that of Marussia and Caterham, who tried to compete with F1's established and grandee teams as full constructors.

"Our business model in Formula 1 is based on our NASCAR race team where we use other people's engines and chassis," Haas said.

"If Caterham doesn't come back there are going to be nine teams so we will be the tenth team and I don't think Bernie is going to allow start-up teams anymore."

Gene Haas said Caterham and Marussia's failure shows that the old model of smaller teams "just doesn't work".

"I look at it and say it is insanity," he said. "If you want to become a doctor, you have got to spend 10 years going to medical school. You've got to learn from somebody. That's why we have partnered with Ferrari."

Gene Haas with Ferrari's boss. (Photo: WRi2)

Tweaks to the rules have made Haas' new approach possible, where significant support and components can be supplied by a parent team like Ferrari on top of the basic customer 'power unit'.

And Haas said the tie-up with Maranello could also help Ferrari.

"I think they would like to partner with somebody that can give them some feedback, so if we can provide value to them I think then that this will work out very well," he said.

"It is basically an experiment to see if this new way of doing things is beneficial and also whether a new team can be competitive. To me the new teams are just so far behind that they can't even catch up," added Haas.

"If we do it right we will look like geniuses. If we can get it half right that would be pretty awesome."

From press release

Porsche signalled their intent early on in the build-up to the 2015 Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai, by topping the timing the timing sheets at the end of the first free practice session of the event on Wednesday at Dubai Autodrome.

The Fachs Auto Tech Porsche 997 of Otto Klohs, Martin Ragginger, Jens Richter and Sven Muller setting the early pace, with a best lap time of 1m59.170 and with it suggesting that Porsche intend repeating the win scored last year by Stadler Motorsport Porsche.

Trailing the pace setters by a mere 0.118 was the KPM Racing Aston Martin in the hands of Paul White, Stefan Mucke and Jonny Adam.

Two times winners in Dubai, the Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon Mercedes of UAE driver Khalid Al Qubaisi, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Bernd Schneider and Andreas Simonsen were third quickest, 0.342 of asecond off the leading Porsche.

For teams the Wednesday free practice was optional and only 66 of the 95 entered teams took to the track. The session was used mainly to shakedown the cars and for drivers to get track time ahead of a busy schedule on Thursday with practice from 11:30 to 14:45.

Wednesday Free Practice Top 5:
1. Fach Auto Tech 2 Porsche 997 GT3 R - 1:59.170
2. KPM Racing 1 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - 1:59.288
3. Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 - 1:59.512
4. Stadler Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 R - 1:59.745
5. Ram Racing Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 - 2:00.196

The FIA Wednesday confirmed that the Korean Grand Prix has been officially axed from the 2015 Formula 1 schedule.

The Korean race that was held at International Circuit in Yeongnam was added to the schedule, at least on a provisional basis, last month.

Days later, Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone admitted the race had to be put on the calendar for legal reasons even though he confirmed local organisers 'would rather it not happen'.

The news means that the 2015 calendar is down to 20 races, as expected.

There is now a three-week gap between the Bahrain race on April 19 and the start of the European leg of the season in Spain on May 10.

2015 Formula 1 calendar (revised):

March 15: Australian GP
March 29: Malaysia GP
April 12: Chinese GP
April 19: Bahrain GP
May 10: Spanish GP
May 24: Monaco GP
June 7: Canadian GP
June 21: Austrian GP
July 5: British GP
July 19: German GP
July 26: Hungarian GP
August 23: Belgian GP
September 6: Italian GP
September 20: Singapore GP
September 27: Japanese GP
October 11: Russian GP
October 25: United States GP
November 1: Mexican GP
November 15: Brazilian GP
November 29: Abu Dhabi GP

From GMM

Fernando Alonso is more adaptable than Kimi Raikkonen and better able to cope with a difficult car.

That is the claim of Ferrari's recently-ousted technical chief Pat Fry, musing the key differences between the Maranello team's 2014 pairing.

For 2015, Spaniard Alonso has switched to McLaren-Honda, but Raikkonen is staying put and will be joined this year by his friend Sebastian Vettel.

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Montreal. (Photo: WRi2)

Ferrari's champion of 2007, and having thrived at Lotus, Finn Raikkonen notably struggled alongside Alonso last year and Briton Fry thinks he knows why.

"There were two issues," he is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace. "The first is that Fernando is more adaptable and the second is that the limitations of the car and tyres are especially difficult with Kimi's driving style."

"It was the same at McLaren," Pat Fry added, having also worked with Raikkonen at the British team.

"He was very sensitive to the front of the car -- when he and Montoya were together, I think we had about seven different front suspensions for the season. To get the most out of Kimi, you need to give him the car to do it," he said.

Orlando Terranova claimed his second stage win of the Dakar Rally on Tuesday to move into third place overall in the standings behind his MINI teammate, Nasser al-Attiyah.

After rolling his MINI at the end of the special on Monday, Terranova fought hard to regain the time he lost in the incident.

In the end, he clawed back almost two minutes on the Toyota's De Villiers and more than four minutes on Qatari al-Attiyah, the overall standings leader.

As for the Peugeot team, Carlos Sainz seems to be getting the hang of the new car and improving performance with the day's fourth place, four minutes behind the day's winner.

Alrajhi Yazeed, racing in his maiden Dakar is running a very impressive fifth in the general standings.

Overall standings - Day 3
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah, MINI  9h21:26
2 Giniel De Villiers, Toyota,  +5m18
3 Orlando Terranova, MINI,  +18m05
4 Carlos Sainz, Peugeot,  +19m32
5 Yazeed Alrajhi, Toyota,  +20m08

From GMM

The FIA could be set to rethink its decision to leave Honda outside of the new engine development 'unfreeze'.

A loophole in the existing rules will allow 2014 suppliers Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes to develop their turbo V6s within the season this year.

But because McLaren's 2015 works partner Honda is a newcomer, the FIA's Charlie Whiting ruled that it will have its power unit homologated or 'frozen' on 28 February, just as the 2014 manufacturers did almost a year ago.

McLaren told us this week that, in response to the ruling, the British team has been in contact with the governing body.

And the Spanish sports newspaper Marca quotes a Honda spokesman as saying the Japanese manufacturer is "angry and sad" about the situation, "but we do not want to comment further".

McLaren powered by Honda. (Photo: WRi2)

It is believed further meetings will be held in the coming days, but the sport's 2015 engine suppliers already got together this week in Geneva, to discuss Bernie Ecclestone's desire for a different engine formula for 2016.

According to Italy's Autosprint, however, Honda also raised the 'unfreeze' issue at the meeting.

Correspondent Roberto Chinchero revealed: "Honda has been heard. At the meeting in Geneva ... the FIA decided to reconsider its position with regards to Honda.

"Taking note of their (Honda's) concerns, the question remains open and will probably be defined at a later meeting between the manufacturers that has been set in two weeks time."

Chinchero continued: "There are also rumours of a 'plan B' for the Japanese.

"If the FIA keeps its current position, McLaren could protest against each technical update that is brought to the track by the other manufacturers, invoking the technical regulation prohibiting multiple homologations of the power unit," he added.