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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)

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.

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.

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.

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 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."

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.

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 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

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.

You say DAY-see'a, I say DAH-chee'a, others say Datch-ya. The pronunciation hardly matters, and nor does the odd Duster model name when Renault's low-cost brand is doing so well, especially in the UK.

News 28 Nov, 2014

Change to the practical driving test could also see reverse around a corner dropped

A loyalty scheme that would increase the voting power of Ferrari shareholders is one option parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will consider when it spins off the luxury marque next year, Chairman John Elkann said.

General Motors has registered a request with the US Patent and Trademark office for the model name 'Velite', leading to speculation that a modified Opel Cascada/Cabrio will be sold in North America.

One thing that has always got everyone in the automotive business talking is safety. It's an interesting one. Cars have become much safer in recent decades, of course.

News 28 Nov, 2014

Not happy with front-wheel drive in the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer? Now you can try it with four-wheel drive instead

News 28 Nov, 2014

Updated Porsche 911 is on the way, and our photographers have spotted a new version of the Targa being tested

Troubled airbag maker Takata has warned that it might not have enough replacement bags for an expanded national recall the US government has ordered.