Auto News 5

From nascar.com

Former Canadian Formula Ford Champion, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin finally got the oval-track win he was looking for.

The road-course specialist from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, came out on top in a wild green-white-checkered finish to the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 Wednesday in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series action at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.

Dumoulin and Joey McColm stayed out when the leaders pitted under caution inside of 10 laps to go to setup a dramatic finish on the .333-mile progressive-banked track.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin. (Photo: Matthew Murnaghan/Gett Images for NASCAR)

On the restart, new leader McColm get loose coming to the white flag and Dumoulin powered to the front. He then held off Jason Hathaway and Scott Steckly in a race to the checkered flag.

It was the third career Canadian Tire Series victory for Dumoulin in the No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge. His first two came on the road course at Ontario's Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2013. He also took over the championship points' lead by 10 over JR Fitzpatrick.

Behind Steckly, Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani brought home the top five. Like race winner Dumoulin, it was the best career oval finish for Tagliani.

McColm salvaged a sixth-place finish, followed by Fitzpatrick, D.J. Kennington, Noel Dowler and Eric Thiering.

It was shaping up to be a second straight victory at Auto Clearing for Steckly, who paced both practices and captured the pole earlier in the day. The defending event and series champion led the first 80 laps from the pole and a race-high 153 in total. He had a commanding lead late in the race as he led 72 laps during an extended green-flag run -- putting all but five other cars down a lap -- before the final caution came out.

McColm and Dumoulin had pitted much earlier in the race (Dumoulin on lap 36) for their right side tires; drivers were allowed a maximum of two tires for this event. That left them out to fend off the challenge of Steckly and Co. on fresh tires.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin. (Photo: Matthew Murnaghan/Gett Images for NASCAR)

The race featured eight lead changes among five different drivers. Dumoulin's only two laps led were the last two of the event.

Point standings:
1   L.P. Dumoulin  209 points
2  J.R. Fitzpatrick  199
3  Andrew Ranger  191
4  Jason Hathaway   187
5  D.J. Kennington  183

From GMM

Gene Haas proved his seriousness about entering formula one by paying a $20 million deposit.

That is the claim of F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, who told us the "more than $20m" deposit was paid at F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone's request.

Ecclestone told Forbes at Silverstone that he said to FIA president Jean Todt: "'You must see how honest they (Haas) are. Tell Haas to put a deposit down' and apparently they have."

US-based Haas, a NASCAR team co-owner who for the F1 project is already aligned with Ferrari, intends to make its debut in 2016, probably with at least one American at the wheel.

The identity of that American could be Californian Alexander Rossi, who has now left Caterham as a F1 test and GP2 driver.

"We have a great opportunity to grow the sport in the States," he said on Wednesday, "and I believe the timing is perfect.

"I'm also very pleased to see an American F1 entry, Haas Formula, with plans to join the F1 grid in 2016," Alexander Rossi added.

Officials of the Verizon IndyCar Series have release the official entry list for the 2014 Honda Indy Toronto to be held this weekend.

This year's Toronto Indy features a full length IndyCar race on both Saturday July 19 and Sunday July 20. Each race will be an equal length, championship points' race.

ENTRY LIST
Number  Driver  Car Name  Engine
2 Juan Pablo Montoya  Team Penske  Chevrolet
3 Helio Castroneves  PPG Team Penske  Chevrolet
7 Mikhail Aleshin  SMP Racing  Honda Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
8 Ryan Briscoe  NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing  Chevrolet NTT Data
9 Scott Dixon  Auckland, New Zealand Target Chip Ganassi Racing  Chevrolet
10 Tony Kanaan  Target Chip Ganassi Racing  Chevrolet
11 Sebastien Bourdais  Hydroxycut KVSH Racing  Chevrolet
12 Will Power  Verizon Team Penske  Chevrolet
14 Takuma Sato  ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing  Honda
15 Graham Rahal  National Guard  Honda Rahal
16 Luca Filippi  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing  Honda
17 Sebastian Saavedra  Automatic Fire Sprinklers KV AFS  Chevrolet
18 Carlos Huertas  Dale Coyne Racing  Honda
19 Justin Wilson  Dale Coyne Racing  Honda
20 Mike Conway  Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing  Chevrolet
25 Marco Andretti  Dr Pepper Andretti Autosport  Honda
27 James Hinchcliffe  United Fiber & Data Andretti Autosport  Honda
28 Ryan Hunter-Reay  DHL Andretti Autosport  Honda
34 Carlos Munoz Cinsay  AndrettiTV.com HVM  Honda
67 Josef Newgarden  Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing  Honda
77 Simon Pagenaud  Schmidt Peterson Hsamilton Motorsports  Honda
83 Charlie Kimball  Levemir FlexTouch Ganassi  Chevrolet
98 Jack Hawksworth  Castrol Edge  Honda

From GMM (story updated below)

"At least 50" Caterham staff have left the Leafield based team, according to Speed Week.

Ahead of the British grand prix, the Tony Fernandes-founded team's new advisor Colin Kolles admitted that up to a hundred of the 300-strong workforce might have to go as he makes Caterham more "efficient" for the future.

The BBC, Reuters and the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on Wednesday said "more than 40" employees were let go in the days between Silverstone and this weekend's German grand prix.

Reportedly among the departures were technical boss Jody Eggington and track operations chief Gerry Hughes.

Test driver Alexander Rossi also exits with immediate effect, although - for now at least - fellow tester Robin Frijns is safe, as are racers Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson.

Speed Week, however, reports that "at least 50" Caterham staff are in fact leaving, including designer Lewis Butler and head of research and development Elliot Dason-Barber.

Caterham, now owned by mysterious Middle Eastern investors operating out of Switzerland, would not comment.

UPDATE
Caterham has confirmed reports "a number of employees" have left the team.

In a press release, Caterham announced on Thursday morning a number of appointments, whilst also admitting it has "parted company with a number of employees".

"Christijan Albers is now Team Principal, supported by Manfredi Ravetto, General Manager and Deputy Team Principal. Simon Shinkins has also joined the team as COO, as well as Miodrag Kotur who is now Team Manager. Michael Willmer is the team's new Director of Legal Affairs and Gianluca Pisanello is promoted to Head of Trackside Engineering. Finally, John Iley is now the team's Technical Director, leading the work being done to improve the 2014 car and the 2015 new car project."

"This is a necessary step taken by the new owners of Caterham F1 Team whose priority is the future of the team," the media statement read.

"No further comment will be made at this time."

Caterham's factory in Leafield, UK. (Photo: Caterham F1 Team)

From GMM

Kimi Raikkonen will contest this weekend's German grand prix.

After bruising his ankle and knee with a 47G impact at the start of the British grand prix, the Finn sat out Ferrari's post-race Silverstone test.

But the Finnish broadcaster MTV3 said the 34-year-old is fighting fit for Hockenheim.

"Kimi Raikkonen will be at the wheel of his F14-T in the German grand prix" the Maranello based team confirmed.

Raikkonen caused a stir by saying at Silverstone that he will "probably" quit after 2015, but he insists he is still enjoying his time at Ferrari.

"I think it's a very good place to be," he told Britain's Sky.

"Obviously the racing hasn't been very good this year but that's the way it goes sometimes. We are trying to fix things, I need something very specific to be happy with the car and right now it's not happening, but for sure if I could choose to race for any team, I would take Ferrari. The day I hate racing I will stop, even if it's in the middle of the year I would walk away, but it's not now," Raikkonen added.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

Meanwhile, Italy's Omnicorse reports that, as part of a restructuring at McLaren, Jenson Button has a new race engineer for Hockenheim and beyond.

The report said Tom Stallard replaces Dave Robson.

And it emerges that the driver steward at Hockenheim this weekend will be Jochen Mass, the famous German driver who is perhaps best known for being involved in Gilles Villeneuve's fatal crash in 1982.

The all-new smart fortwo and forfour made their world debut in Berlin this week as the pair readies for a market launch in Europe four months from now.

No word yet on Canadian dates.

The new smart models will offer a selection of 3-cylinder engines including a 71-horsepower unit and a turbocharged variant rated at 90 horsepower. A 60-horsepower gasoline engine will join the lineup at a later time.

Buyers will also get to choose between a 5-speed manual transmission and a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Again, we don't know the exact powertrain options that will be available in Canada.

Despite being slightly larger than their predecessors, the new smart fortwo and forfour are said to be more nimble and easier to manoeuvre due in large part to a significantly shorter turning radius.

In terms of design, the automaker mainly revised the front grille, headlights, and hood. The signature tridion safety cell remains untouched.

The smart forfour offers up to 975 litres of cargo room, making it possible to haul objects up to 2.2 metres in length. The fortwo has 350 litres of cargo capacity.

Finally, advanced driver assistance systems which were previously the reserve of higher classes of vehicles further enhance safety and comfort. These include Crosswind Assist, Forward Collision Warning, and Lane Keeping Assist.

Photo: smart

Sometimes the rich get richer, but that usually happens through smart business decisions.

Germany's Manager Magazin, citing unnamed company sources, reported on Thursday that Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech had met with the owners of Fiat-Chrysler about the possibility of buying all or part of their newly formed alliance.

Both parties were quick to kill those rumours, however.

A spokesman told Reuters that Volkswagen currently has no takeovers on the agenda and is instead focusing on improving efficiency within the various branches of the company.

Meanwhile, the Agnelli family, whose holding firm Exor owns a 30% stake in Fiat-Chrysler, denied any talks took place.

The magazine also hinted at "diverging views" between Volkswagen's management and the supervisory board about the automaker's future course, as well as a succession plan for both Piech, who is 77, and CEO Martin Winterkorn, 67.

If you remember, Winterkorn said in March that Volkswagen, despite hoarding almost $24 billion in cash, had no plans to expand the group through acquisitions as it was focusing on integrating its 12-brand network.

The German automaker also announced this week an ambitious plan to cut annual costs by $7.3 billion until 2018, since profitability gains don't match its steadily growing sales.


_{Source: Reuters}

Small-car lovers, rejoice: Mazda yesterday announced that production of the all-new 2016 Mazda2 has begun at the company's Hofu Plant No. 1 in Yamaguchi, Japan.

Following the Mazda CX-5, Mazda6, and Mazda3, it's the fourth vehicle from Mazda to adopt the full range of SKYACTIV technology and KODO - Soul of Motion design language. The latter will give the Mazda2 a dynamic and energetic form, as well as a finely crafted interior, imparting a presence unrivalled in the subcompact class, Mazda says.

Photo: Mazda

The fourth generation of the Mazda2 (second in North America) will also feature a wide range of cutting-edge technologies such as the Mazda Connect advanced car connectivity system, and i-ACTIVSENSE safety features that aid the driver in recognizing and responding to hazards.

While certain markets will offer a 1.5L SKYACTIV-D diesel engine and a 1.3L SKYACTIV-G gasoline engine, the 2016 Mazda2 will come to the Canadian market in 2015 exclusively with a 1.5L SKYACTIV-G gasoline engine, although you can expect great fuel economy mixed with plenty of Zoom-Zoom. The exact date will be announced later.

The Mazda2 is one of the Japanese brand's core products, with total sales of over 2.4 million units globally since its inception.

From fia.com

Two weeks after the Austrian event, the FIA European Truck Racing Championship is set to race this weekend in Germany on the Nürburgring.

Three days of great show awaits trucks racing enthusiasts on the famous German track. Year after year, the paddock is always crowded with people coming to enjoy various animations between races and to have a look at the products showcased by the numerous manufactures present on track.

FIA Truck Racing (Photo: FIA)

German competitors will be here, ready to give their best for their home race. Steffi Halm, Ellen Lohr, Jochen Hahn, André Kursim, Gerd Körber and René Reinert are all on the entry list. Jochen currently stands at third place of the championship, six points behind Antonio Albacete and 15 points behind the leader Norbert Kiss.

The fight on the track between these three drivers has been impressive since the start of the season with Kiss keeping the advantage so far thanks to his regularity.

Behind them, the two Buggyra Freightliners drivers, Adam Lacko and David Vrsecky, with are separated in the ranking by Markus Bösiger. These three drivers are also very close and it will be very interesting to see them battling. Rene Reinert and Benedek Major are not so far behind them, and will seize any opportunity to close the current points gap.

FIA Truck Racing (Photo: FIA)

Steffi Halm was unlucky in Austria due to a brake failure and she will surely try to score as many points as possible to remain in the TOP 10.

The Belgian driver Jean-Pierre Blaise will race the MAN n°20 of the Lion Truck Racing.

José Teodosio and Frankie Vojtisek are tied for 10th; Gerd Körber, a Nürburgring specialist will try to take advantage of their showdown to overtake them at the championship, as he trails them closely in terms of points.

Just as he did on the Red Bull Ring, Markus Altenstrasser will drive the second truck of the Team Schwaben Truck.

In the Tankpool 24 team, André Kursim with his Mercedes has made big strides in Austria, his German supporters expect lot of him this weekend.

Florian Orsini will drive the Mercedes n°19.

In the Truckdrive JRT, Ellen Lohr and Anthony Janiec will continue to improve the development of their trucks. It's the same for José Rodrigues with his Renault Trucks of Team 14 and José Souza of VTR Team.

Before the summer break, this Nürburgring event promises to be very exciting, while next meeting is scheduled on the last weekend of August, at Most in Czech Republic.

Here are some valuable and noteworthy information about the Honda Indy Toronto, Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series.

From Indycar.com

TV: NBCSN telecasts both races live (3 p.m. ET July 19 and July 20) and qualifications (1:30 p.m. ET July 19). Bob Varsha is the chief announcer with analysts Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell. The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race will air at 6 p.m. (ET) July 20.

Radio/web: All Verizon IndyCar Series on-track sessions are broadcast on www.IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR 14 app in conjunction with real-time Timing & Scoring. In addition, the races will be broadcast on IMS Radio Network affiliates, XM 209 and Sirius 213. Paul Page is the chief announcer. ... Timing & Scoring for all Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and USF2000 sessions also is on IndyCar.com.

Live practice streaming: Live streaming of the July 19 Verizon IndyCar Series practice sessions will be on www.IndyCar.com, incorporating Timing & Scoring and the IMS Radio Network broadcast.

Qualifications: Three rounds of qualifying, including the Firestone Fast Six to determine the Verizon P1 Award, for Race 1. Entries divided into two groups for Round 1, with top six lap times in each group after 10 minutes of on-track running advancing to Round 2. Top six lap times after 10 minutes of on-track running in Round 2 advance to Firestone Fast Six. ... For Race 2, all entries shall participate in one of two groups for 12 minutes each. The Verizon P1 Award will be awarded to the best overall lap time in the qualifying sessions.

Race laps: 85 in clockwise direction on the 1.7-mile, 11-turn street circuit as measured by INDCYAR Timing & Scoring. Both races carry full points.

Start: Standing start for Race 1 ... two-wide rolling start for Race 2 ... single-file restarts.

Tires: Firestone street course primary tires are being used at all 2014 street course events; no change to the tread compound from 2013. The alternate tire also has the same tread compound used in 2013 and is being used at all street course events.

Fuel: 51 U.S. gallons of E85 for practice/qualifications and 51 gallons each race ... Verizon IndyCar Series cars carry 18.5 U.S. gallons.

Engines: 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V6s supplied by Chevrolet and Honda ... ... 150 kPa turbo boost for road/street course races; 160 kPa for push to pass (10 pushes for 15-second activation).

Of note: Luca Filippi will contest his second event of the season in the No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry and his first at Toronto. ... The Toronto winner has gone on to claim the IndyCar Series championship in four of the past five years. ... Nineteen drivers entered have competed at Toronto. Five are previous winners. ... Chip Ganassi Racing has six wins. ... Bourdais has finished in the top 10 in eight of his nine races at Toronto, including four podium finishes (second and third in 2013; third in '06; victory in ‘04). ... There have been six different winners in the eight road/street course races, representing five teams. There have been eight different winners in the 12 races overall. There have been nine different Verizon P1 Award winners. ... The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske crew won the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award at the Iowa Corn Indy 300 presented by DEKALB with a total pit lane time of 113.685 seconds. They'll receive $10,000. ... Dixon turns 34 on July 22. ... This is the third and final doubleheader of the season. No one has swept either the Verizon P1 Awards or races at Detroit and Houston.

History: The doubleheader will be the 29th and 30th Indy car races on the streets of Exhibition Place since 1986 when Bobby Rahal won the CART-sanctioned event. Danny Sullivan was second and Mario Andretti completed the podium. Emerson Fittipaldi started from the pole. ... Michael Andretti won the race seven times.

From GMM

Car manufacturer Hyundai was behind a complaint about Nico Rosberg's proposed German grand prix helmet livery.

That is the claim of Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, on the day the German driver was reportedly instructed to change his celebratory helmet because it included an image of the famous world cup trophy.

World football federation FIFA contacted the Rosberg camp to inform him his proposed helmet was an "unauthorised reproduction of its intellectual property".

Photo: Facebook/Nico Rosberg

Rosberg told his Twitter followers the news is a "shame, but of course I respect the legal situation".

He has replaced the trophy image with a simple star, and told reporters at Hockenheim that the fuss left him surprised.

"The world cup as a trademark -- these are the kind of things you have to think of. It's amazing," said the Mercedes driver.

"I've replaced it now with a big star and no one can take that away. The star is ours!"

A FIFA spokesman confirmed Thursday's news, but Auto Motor und Sport reports that there was another complainant behind the story -- Hyundai.

Rosberg drives for Mercedes, but affiliation between the world cup and a car manufacturer is promised exclusively to Hyundai, the official sponsor.

Indeed, Mercedes made clear its delight with Germany's world cup win on Thursday with a huge message on its F1 motor home, reading "Das Beste" and congratulating the national football team on its "Title win".

But no mention was made of the world cup itself, or its protected marks.

Toyota says the appeal of autonomous cars carries the risk of adding to urban sprawl and pollution as they may encourage commuters to travel farther to work.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, whose company made waves last year by pledging to develop autonomous cars by 2020, today dialed back those expectations.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn dialed back expectations that autonomous cars will be on the road by 2020.

SsangYong's locally assembled 'Nomad', an SUV based on the Actyon, has gone on sale in Kazakhstan.

One of GM's China joint ventures, SAIC-GM-Wuling, has broken ground for the construction of a new R&D centre and proving ground in Liuzhou, Guangxi.

GM's global auto sales rose 0.5 percent to 2.51 million during the second quarter as the automaker's tally of vehicle recalls in North America reached a record. GM sold 4.92 million cars and trucks during the first six months, a 1.

News 17 Jul, 2014

Mazda takes the wraps off its 2 supermini contender, which features a sharp design, modern interior and cutting-edge engines

Pictures See all 10 pictures 17 Jul, 2014

VW plans to mimic the fast-paced rollouts of products made by the likes of Apple to adapt quicker to changing customer demands for technology in its cars.