Auto News 5

BMW expects that three out of every four buyers of its 2-series Active Tourer minivan will be new to the brand.

Automakers are tinkering with a variety of in-car health apps that monitor biometric data such as heart rate, blood sugar, allergies or alertness and relay the information to a driver.

The 707-hp SRT Hellcat will generate the most smoke at the drag strip, but it's the rest of the re-engineered Dodge Challenger lineup that likely will fire the interest of consumers.

Automakers see merit in an EPA proposal that would require them to road test vehicles to verify mileage claims, but they are unclear on how the tests would be handled.

GM's product cadence has officially escaped the post-bankruptcy doldrums. Now the challenge is to keep it humming.

Renault is splitting its Asia Pacific region in two to help boost sales growth in India and the Middle East.

Renault is splitting its Asia Pacific region in two to help boost sales growth in India and the Middle East. Renault expects China and India will become the world's two leading economies within the next 20 years.

Even BMW has to obey the laws of physics: a rwd car that is compact yet roomy is a paradox. But for traditional fans of the brand, the fwd 2-series Active Tourer is nothing less than a heresy on wheels.

From GMM

With Nico Rosberg all signed up for the future, Mercedes' attention is now turning to the occupant of its other silver seat.

"Yes," the Brackley team's boss Toto Wolff told Kronen Zeitung, Austria's biggest newspaper.

"We are already sitting together and negotiating with Lewis Hamilton. About a multi-year contract, even," he revealed.

Wolff said Mercedes is more than happy with its current driver lineup of German Rosberg alongside Briton Hamilton.

"Lewis is a fixed part of the team," he said, "and I would hope for a long time to come."

Will Mercedes be able to keep both Hamilton and Rosberg (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

For the moment, however, Hamilton is keeping a low profile on the subject. There are paddock rumours he might be tempted to return to McLaren, particularly if Rosberg goes on to win the number '1' for his 2015 car.

"My contract ends in a year," said Hamilton, "so I have time. I'm not thinking a great deal about it."

But even Rosberg seems happy for Hamilton to stay, even though they have clashed off the track this year as they fight for the drivers' title.

"I see no reason why it can't work as it has in the long term," he told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper ahead of the German grand prix.

"We have difficult moments but then we discuss them together and move on."

From GMM

Mercedes has slammed as "unacceptable" the failure of Lewis Hamilton's Brembo brand brake disc during qualifying at Hockenheim.

The big crash in Q1, leaving the Briton winded and with bruised knees, further dents Hamilton's championship charge by leaving him well down the grid.

But he will almost certainly fall to the very back at Hockenheim, because Mercedes will need to revert to the maker of Nico Rosberg's brake discs -- Carbon Industries -- for safety reasons ahead of the German grand prix, and therefore fall foul of 'parc ferme' rules on Hamilton's Brembo-spec car.

"It is impossible to determine in such a short time why the disc has broken," said Toto Wolff.

Lewis Hamilton's crashed Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRi2)

In fact, Hockenheim was not Mercedes' first Brembo disc failure in 2014, as it emerges Rosberg had a similar problem in the Barcelona test.

Team chairman Niki Lauda is furious.

"Brembo promised to reinforce this material but that it now happens again, is unacceptable," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"We will not use these brakes in the race," Lauda confirmed.

That is a further blow to Hamilton, with both the Briton and his teammate Rosberg confirming they choose the brand of disc at grands prix based entirely on "feel".

As is fairly standard practice at Mercedes, the Brembo discs on Hamilton's car were changed between the end of Saturday morning practice and qualifying.

"This product (Brembo) is a little more aggressive, but that is no explanation or excuse for something like this to happen," said Wolff.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that other Brembo users in F1 have also had problems in 2014, including Toro Rosso, Sauber, Marussia and Caterham.

It is understood the Italian company has recently had to change one of the suppliers of its materials.

Ferrari, however, has reportedly had no problems in 2014, having stockpiled a supply of 2013-spec Brembo discs.

No matter the reasons, Hamilton has vowed to attack on Sunday, whilst also describing his crash as "another gift" to his title-leading teammate Rosberg.

"With the pace we have, with Nico on pole and he has no one in front of him, by the third or fourth lap he will be several seconds up the road," he said.

From GMM

Fernando Alonso sounds underwhelmed, having been told of Ferrari's bold plans to push him to the very front of the grid in 2015.

As arguably the best driver in F1, Spaniard Alonso is always a centrepiece of the 'silly season', but this year there are real signs his patience with the Maranello team is finally ending.

He has been linked with a move to his former team, McLaren, who are switching to works Honda power next year with the biggest budget in its history.

But it emerged at Hockenheim that, last week, Alonso was shown Ferrari's plans for a major improvement in 2015.

"I hope the presentation I put his way impressed him, but you should ask him that!" said technical director James Allison.

Predictably, Alonso was indeed asked -- and Ferrari might not like the answer.

"I've been in formula one for fourteen years," he said. "I've heard a lot of plans.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14 T (Photo: Ferrari)

"In July and August each team is very strong, in November they're even better and by January they're dominating.

"But only in February are the facts on the table," Alonso insisted, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Spain's Diario AS also quoted Alonso as saying at Hockenheim: "Only two or three teams can win races. You would need a crystal ball to know what will happen next year.

"What Mercedes has shown is that it can be fast and dominant in this new era of F1, while we have not worked well enough with the new rules.

"But it's not like other years where everything was more or less on the limit. I think the step between the cars of 2014 and 2015 will be much bigger than what we saw in the past.

"That is the big hope we have, but everyone in July will have the same hopes as well," said Alonso.

From GMM

It's being murmured rather than shouted, but the world of F1 is undoubtedly worried about the looming Russian grand prix.

The sport, scheduled to fly into Sochi for the very first time in October, has been quietly rocked by the news of the MH17 crash, after the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down by reportedly pro-Moscow rebels amid the Ukraine conflict.

"Our thoughts are with the families at this tough time," Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado is quoted by the Spanish sports daily Marca.

"It's not the time to talk about the Russian grand prix."

That is perhaps true when it comes to the public record, but behind the scenes, the issue is a major one for a global sport like formula one.

The route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur is familiar to many F1 figures, and Marca said Fernando Alonso has regularly flown with Malaysia Airlines.

Given the Crimean crisis, many F1 media regulars were already planning to skip Russia long before the Ukraine air disaster that claimed almost 300 lives.

"I decided a few months ago that I am not going to Sochi," an Italian journalist confirmed at Hockenheim.

But Caterham race driver Kamui Kobayashi insisted: "There is plenty of time before we go to Russia, and I think everything will calm down by then.

"I think it will go smoothly," said the Japanese.

From IndyCar.com

It had been a long and winding road between victories for Sebastien Bourdais.

Bourdais, driving the No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing car, claimed his 32nd Indy car career win in Race 1 of the Honda Indy Toronto by 3.3408 seconds over championship front-runner Helio Castroneves.

Bourdais broke a tie with Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy for eighth on the all-time win list.

“It's really sweet. We had to fight and wait for it for a long time but today was just kind of one of these days when the stars align,” said Bourdais, who earned pole yesterday.

“I guess I was not expecting it because here I know how things can go. Last year we were second and third and it's great to get this win.”

Sebastian Bourdais, Toronto (Photo: Eric Anderson/IndyCar.com)

Bourdais closed the 2007 season with victories at Surfers Paradise, Australia, and Mexico City - the latter on Nov. 11 -- to secure his fourth consecutive Champ Car World Series title for Newman/Haas Racing.

He moved to Europe to compete in Formula One for two seasons, and then drove in the SuperLeague Formula in 2010.

Bourdais, 35, who resides in St. Petersburg, Fla., competed in nine IndyCar races in 2011 for Dale Coyne Racing, made 11 starts for Dragon Racing the next season and contested his first full season in 2013 with Dragon Racing.

His dominating victory was the first for KVSH Racing since Tony Kanaan won the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

“He dominated from start to finish and we're very proud of him,” team co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven said. “He's had some unlucky breaks but showed today what a strong driver he is.”

From GMM

Heidfeld is dating Frentzen.

It's a sensational headline, and nonetheless true -- Sven Heidfeld, the brother of former F1 driver Nick, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen's sister Nicole-Nadine Frentzen, are an item.

"We have known each other from our childhood," 25-year-old Frentzen, whose 47-year-old brother won races for Williams and Jordan, is quoted by the Kolner Express tabloid.

Nicole-Nadine Frentzen (Photo: BMW)

"Sven was more like a big brother to me," she added, "but it sparked suddenly at one of my brother's races."

Sven Heidfeld, 35 and the younger brother of former BMW driver Nick, runs a racing school called Heidfeld Racing.

Heidfeld and Frentzen, both Germans, were F1 teammates at Sauber in 2003.

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has played down suggestions he is set to buy back formula one.

F1 business journalist Christian Sylt claims the sport's biggest shareholder, CVC, is already committed to selling its stake by next July.

"The last thing Donald (Mackenzie) wants to do is to get out," Ecclestone told the Sunday Telegraph, "but I think the way their company is structured eventually they have to move on."

Sylt reports that CVC's memorandum dictates a ten-year term, with three one-year extensions but only if the majority of its investors agree.

Indeed, rumours of CVC's talks with potential buyers abound in the paddock.

One of them could be Ecclestone, even though he plays down suggestions he is looking to up his 5.3 per cent stake.

"I'm not saying it won't ever happen," said the billionaire F1 supremo, "but there's no point in me doing it at the moment."

From GMM

Max Verstappen has the F1 world at his feet.

That is the view of Daniel Ricciardo, who after rising through the energy drink company's junior ranks is now consistently beating reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull.

"Max won the Zandvoort Masters?" Australian Ricciardo told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Ricciardo is referring to Max Verstappen, the increasingly highly-rated 16-year-old racing junior, and the very same F3 event that Max's father Jos won two decades earlier.

Max Verstappen (Photo: fiaf3europe.com)

Ricciardo said he is impressed at the smooth and highly competitive transition Verstappen jr has made from karting to single seaters.

According to De Telegraaf, the young Dutchman has caught the attention of a number of F1 teams, including Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Ricciardo said the world is at Verstappen's feet.

"For me, I didn't have that choice -- I was approached by Red Bull in 2008, presented with a contract and I was very happy to sign it," he said.

"But if you have more options, like Max does, that's always good," the Red Bull driver added.

"Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are top teams with big budgets. It's a difficult decision that Max and his father have to make, but in the end I don't think you can go far wrong in his situation.

"Although, from my experience, I would recommend Red Bull," Ricciardo grinned.

From GMM

As Lotus firms up its plans for 2015, Romain Grosjean's future is looking clouded.

It was already known that, when Pastor Maldonado and his lucrative backer PDVSA switched from Williams to Lotus for the 2014 season, it was the beginning of more than a single-year deal.

"I don't want to give too much away," the Enstone team's owner Gerard Lopez said late on Saturday, "but as it's halfway through the season I can confirm 50 per cent of our driver lineup for 2015 as Pastor is with us for next year."

That is despite the fact the Venezuelan has yet to score a single point in a black and gold car, while teammate Grosjean has eight in his account.

On Maldonado, Lopez continued: "Despite the difficulties we've had so far this season, he recognises our true potential as a team and we recognise his true potential as a driver. We will achieve great things together."

In total contrast, Grosjean's future is uncertain.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E22 (Photo: WRi2)

We reported recently that the Frenchman might struggle to hang onto the seat for 2015.

His manager, Eric Boullier, is now the boss at McLaren, and it is expected that the strongly Grosjean-linked Renault and Total will not be part of the Lotus package beyond this season.

"I've been here for a little bit," the 28-year-old said earlier in July, "and I know the team very well, but I want to win races as well, so things are open."

In a much more comfortable situation than Grosjean is Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who is riding a wave of form and sure to remain with the Grove team in 2015.

"He looks at the moment like he is a future world champion," Williams deputy boss Claire Williams told the Guardian.

Bottas agreed: "As a team, we are on the right road -- that's the goal of us together, to be world champion one day, and it would be really great to achieve it at Williams."

From press release

Bouncing back from his first retirement of the season in Silverstone, German Nico Rosberg took a dominant home victory in Hockenheim.

Rosberg started from pole and led all the way to the checkered flag to score his fourth win of the season.

Nico Rosberg (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton recovered from the qualifying accident that left him 20th on the starting grid to claim the last step of the podium behind Williams' Valtteri Bottas, making it an all Mercedes top 3.

Everybody expected the Bracley based team to struggle without the "Fric" suspensions, but Hockenheim proved the W05 is still the best car on the grid.

Celebrations after a double podium for Mercedes (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

"Before the race I was worried that without the Fric system the gap in the race would be smaller," said Rosberg. "But we were again the quickest out there"

"I can't be too ecstatic about the race because it has been a tough weekend for me," added Hamilton.

"I've ultimately lost more points to Nico in the championship battle. But I'm grateful that I could limit the damage with a podium finish.

"When you are sitting on the grid basically in last place, with no other cars in your mirrors, it's very hard to imagine that you could be standing up there two hours later."

Race results* - German Grand Prix (round 10 of 19)
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 67 laps 1.33'42"914
2 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 20"789
3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 22"530
4 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 44"014
5 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 52"467
6 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 52"549
7 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'04"178
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'24"711
9 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1 lap
10 - Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1 lap
11 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1 lap
12 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1 lap
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1 lap
14 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1 lap
15 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1 lap
16 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 2 laps
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 2 laps
18 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 2 laps

Fastest lap of the race: 1'19"908 by Lewis Hamilton

Retirements
Adrian Sutil
Daniil Kvyat
Romain Grosjean
Felipe Massa

Drivers' championship
1.Rosberg 190; 2.Hamilton 176; 3.Ricciardo 106; 4.Alonso 97; 5.Bottas 91; 6.Vettel 82; 7.Hulkenberg 69; 8.Button 59; 9.Magnussen 37; 10.Massa 30; 11.Perez 29; 12.Raikkonen 19; 13.Vergne 9; 14.Grosjean 8; 15.Kvyat 6; 16.Bianchi 2.

Constructors' championship
1.Mercedes 366; 2.Red Bull-Renault 188; 3.Williams-Mercedes 121; 4.Ferrari 116; 5.Force India-Mercedes 98; 6.McLaren-Mercedes 96; 7.Toro Rosso-Renault 15; 8.Lotus-Renault 8; 9.Marussia-Ferrari 2.

*Unofficial results

From press release

Race 1 of the F1600 Duals presented by Lubrico Warranty was an intense battle throughout the field, and once again, the name DeGrand sits at the top of the results sheet.

DeGrand did not have it easy though. Brandon Newey made the trip north and very quickly let it be known that he was here looking for a win.

The first corner of any street race is always precarious. DeGrand held the lead through the first complex of corners.

Just behind Zacharie Robichon and Michel Bonnet made contact with Robichon getting airborne, causing the field to scramble and Bruno Chapinotti to spin. Robichon sustained damage and was not able to continue.

One of the favourites, Steve Bamford, was hit from behind by Craig Willis and damaged enough that his race was over.

There was more damage at the end of Lakeshore straightaway on lap 1, with Marcel Lafontaine suffering some to his left front suspension and unable to continue. His incident would bring out the first full course caution of the day.

The car of Lafontaine was quickly removed and at the drop of the green DeGrand was challenged immediately by Newey, forcing him wide and allowing a charging Pelletier to also slip by.

Newey opened up a gap over the battling Pelletier and DeGrand, with Pelletier unable to hold him off for long. DeGrand put his head down and chased Newey down, making a bold pass for the lead.

Tristan DeGrand (Photo: Ryan Dupont)

On the final lap Newey was tucked right up under the gearbox of DeGrand and looking to get by.

DeGrand drive down the right side of the long Lakeshore straight and as the two hit the breaking zone Newey made an aggressive move to the left, clipping the left rear of DeGrand and getting in the air. As he spun into the runoff area all of the following drivers managed to miss him.

DeGrand would bring his car to the checkered as the winner, followed by Jack Mitchell, Jr. and Chase Pelletier. Sam Chastain had a remarkable race to move up to 4th at the end followed by Olivier Bedard. Newey would recover and bring it home in 15th.

“That was an amazing race,” said a jubilant DeGrand.

“I hate it that it ended in tears for Newey because we really raced each other hard but I am really happy to get the win at this event and in front of a large crowd. I can't wait to get back in the car tomorrow and see if we can make it a perfect weekend.”

Race 2 for the F1600 Duals presented by Lubrico Warranty will go green on Sunday at 6:15pm, directly after Indycar race 2.

GM ordered Cadillac dealers to stop selling some versions of the CTS because the automaker does not have a fix yet for cars recalled in late June over an issue where engines can be shut off if the driver's knee bumps the ignition key.