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From GMM

Dietrich Mateschitz has played down claims he is set to approve a bespoke engine project to power his formula one team Red Bull from 2016.

The rumours have been fuelled by none other than the billionaire's F1 right-hand-man Dr Helmut Marko, who said links with renowned Austrian companies like Pankl and AVL mean: "You should never say no.

"We are looking at all alternatives."

Mateschitz, rarely seen in the paddock, is attending this weekend's Austrian grand prix at his very own Red Bull Ring.

He said he is coping with Red Bull's struggle in 2014, following four consecutive years of title dominance.

"This is sport," Mateschitz is quoted by the Austrian press. "During the past four and a half years, we have won almost everything.

"But it can't be that way forever. And we know why we are behind," he added.

Helmut Marko, Dietrich Mateschitz (Photo GEPA Pictures)

Mateschitz's last statement is an obvious reference to Renault, Red Bull's underperforming engine supplier.

The team is obviously keen to match the field-leading Mercedes in a straight line, but obviously unable to switch to the V6s supplied by its arch-rivals.

Mateschitz, however, played down the reports of a bespoke 'Red Bull' engine.

"We are not a car manufacturer," he said. "Our primary expertise is not the construction of engines."

The 'Red Bull engine' rumour might therefore be just a stark wake-up call for Renault.

"Red Bull has high standards," agreed the French marque's engine boss Rob White. "So we understand the reasons for the statements of Helmut Marko and other team members," he told motorline.cc.

"We want to satisfy Marko and the others so it is important for us to improve. But I don't see any conflict between Renault and Red Bull," White added.

From GMM

Daniil Kvyat has his fingers crossed his growth spurt is over.

A cursory look at the Russian's formative career, including his GP3 title last year, shows that the then lanky teenager was 175cm tall.

But other, perhaps more up-to-date F1 resources are showing the impressive Kvyat at 180cm -- the 5cm difference meaning he is either an average 5 foot 9, or a quite-tall 5 foot 11.

Dr Helmut Marko, in charge of Red Bull's driver development programme, has been quoted as saying the young Russian is indeed growing very quickly.

It has raised fears Kvyat might keep growing and hurt his career by no longer fitting easily at the wheel of today's F1 cars.

"Of course yes," he told Speed Week, "I am one of the taller drivers.

"But there were others taller than me in the past, like Mark Webber and Gerhard Berger.

Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso STR9 (Photo: GEPA Pictures)

"I have had a growth spurt, but it's over now, I think," Kvyat added.

Marko has also suggested that Kvyat, while clearly the standout surprise among the latest F1 rookies, has been lucky to make his debut in 2014 rather than perhaps a year earlier.

"Daniil Kvyat is a very good driver," he told the Guardian. "But he's young and if he jumped in last year's car he would not have finished a grand prix without being completely exhausted.

"Now he can finish because the demands are so much lower," Marko added.

From press release

Audi has won the Nürburgring 24 Hours exactly one week following the brand's 13th success in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Phoenix Racing with the Audi R8 LMS ultra celebrated a hard-fought victory in its home round in the Eifel. Ernst Moser's squad had previously taken the honors in the race through the ‘Green Hell' with Audi's GT3 sports car in 2012. With 159 laps the R8 LMS ultra set a new distance record this year.

Photo: Audi

For the first time ever, a Nürburgring winner covered more than 4,000 kilometers - the successful Audi squad completing exactly 4,035.102 kilometers.


“Sincere congratulations to the winners and a sincere ‘thank you' to our customers for their appearance at the Nürburgring,” said a pleased Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing.

Photo: Audi

“We saw a true classic this weekend in which all the qualities of endurance racing were crucial: first-class technology, reliable drivers, a good strategy and a solid team performance.

“I'm happy that we managed to clinch our second victory in three years against such fierce competition in one of the world's toughest endurance races.”

Photo: Audi

Race results - Nürburgring 24 Hours

1 Haase/Mamerow/Rast/Winkelhock (Audi R8 LMS ultra), 159 laps

2 Bleekemolen/Simonsen/Menzel/Arnold (Mercedes), + 2m 59s

3 Zehe/Hohenadel/Bastian/Engel (Mercedes) - 2 laps

4 Henzler/Dumbreck/Ragginger/Imperatori (Porsche) - 2 laps

5 Mücke/Turner/Lamy (Aston Martin) - 2 laps

6 Klingmann/Baumann/Hürtgen/Tomczyk (BMW) - 2 laps

7 Primat/Götz/Heyer/Rehfeld (Mercedes) - 3 laps

8 Stuck/Sandritter/Brück/Rostek (BMW) - 5 laps
9 Baumgartner/Werner/Biela/Kaffer (Audi R8 LMS ultra) - 6 laps

10 Busch/Busch/Lauck/Landmann (Audi R8 LMS ultra) - 7 laps
(...)

TI Automotive's hedge fund owners that include Oaktree Capital Group LLC will reap a $435 million dividend by saddling the longtime auto supplier with more debt for the second time in two years.

Volvo will reverse its downward sales trend in the second half of the year as new four- and six-cylinder engines and connectivity features become widely available.

Hyundai-Kia's first-ever first-place showing in the 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study is a significant milestone for a Korean manufacturer that once struggled with quality.

Lexus dealers are cheering the brand's having expanded a cap that had limited retailers to owning no more than six Lexus stores.

How much do women in China love BMW's Mini? Perhaps a bit too much for Mini's comfort. So the company is taking pains to give its cars more masculine connotations.

From GMM

Mercedes' reliability worries are not over.

In Canada, Lewis Hamilton failed to finish, while Nico Rosberg nursed his ailing W05 to just second place as the otherwise utterly dominant German squad struck cooling problems with its energy recovery systems.

In Friday and Saturday practice at the Red Bull Ring, the problems were back.

"No, unfortunately not," said team boss Toto Wolff, when asked by the Austrian broadcaster ORF on Saturday if the Canada problems were fully resolved.

"We still have aches and pains that we have not resolved but we need to for the race. It's much like the cooling issues in Montreal.

"The sword of Damocles is hanging over us," admitted Wolff. "It's not dramatic, but it's costing us performance. We need to resolve it."

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRi2)

On Saturday morning, it is believed Mercedes' troubles contributed to Valtteri Bottas setting the fastest time in the final practice session before qualifying, even though Wolff said the Mercedes-powered Williams is simply "fast" in Austria.

So much so that Williams then out-qualified Mercedes. Rosberg, in the fastest W05, was only third and Hamilton a distant ninth on the grid. The Brit, who went wide on his first flying lap and spun on his second, didn't even set a time in Q3.

"Sometimes you get it all together, sometimes you don't and today I didn't get the job done," he said.

"My first lap in Q3 was looking good before I went wide in the second-to-last corner, and I think that lap would probably have done it. Then on the second run, I hit the brakes into Turn 2 and just locked the rears; I still need to look at the data to see exactly what happened."

Team boss Toto Wolff, however, suspects a driver error.

"We are just looking at the data," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF. "It looks as if the rear brakes blocked, at precisely the moment when he downshifted.

"Whether it was a driver error or a problem, I don't know exactly yet."

Red Bull youngster Daniel Ricciardo has out-qualified his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel for the sixth time this season.

Ricciardo managed to qualify fifth in Spielberg, on Red Bull's very own track.

"It was tough out there," admitted the Australian. "It's been tough all weekend to be honest and it's felt like we've had to squeeze everything out of the car to get into the top five, which we just managed to do today."

"Fifth was the best we could have done in that session today."

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull RB10 (Photo: WRi2)

Vettel, who was a distant 13th, had no explanation for his bad showing.

"There were no real problems today, other than that we weren't quick enough. Daniel was quicker in Turn 5 and has been quicker in Turn 2 all weekend. We'll see how it goes for the race; it should be hotter tomorrow and hopefully we can make a big step and take on some of the other cars."

"Sebastian struggled to generate the pace over a single lap and it was obviously disappointing not to make it through into Q3," added his boss Christian Horner.

"More encouragingly, our race pace looks better and hopefully if temperatures increase, we'll be pushing to make a lot of headway tomorrow in front of Red Bull's home crowd."

From GMM

FIA president Jean Todt has admitted some F1 teams are in danger of bowing out.

Despite the impressively rejuvenated Red Bull Ring, an air of slight melancholy has gripped the F1 paddock.

F1's in Austria this weekend (Photo: WRi2)

Television ratings are down, the new battery-powered 'green' era and Bernie Ecclestone's apparent aversion to social media is being debated, and seemingly desperate measures like artificial noise, sparks and standing re-starts are being seriously considered.

Against all that, the powerful teams look to have won their latest battle against F1's struggling minnows -- the race to drive down the sport's huge costs.

The F1 Commission met in London last week, but - having already dispensed with the budget cap - almost every single cost-reducing counter-proposal was also rejected.

"I don't think we have achieved any measurable cost cutting so far," said Monisha Kaltenborn, boss and co-owner of the struggling Swiss team Sauber.

"I really wonder what the FIA is now going to do and how formula one is going to be governed in this respect," she added.

Many insiders have contrasted Todt's FIA presidential technique with that of his predecessor Max Mosley, who was more inclined to banging heads and provocatively forcing initiatives.

"I admit," said the softly-spoken 68-year-old, "these calls (for cost reduction) have been tougher than expected.

"I am aware that there will never be complete agreement," added Todt, "so I strive for the best possible compromise."

It seems the eventual outcome, however, is already known -- no huge cost-cutting initiatives, but a trimming of the fat with things like non-European testing and further reduced wind tunnel time.

"It may be that some teams do not survive," Todt continued to the Austrian newspaper. "We have seen this situation often.

"But I am convinced that the present formula one is more stable than in recent years. And, yes, we want new teams in formula one."

Mercifully, two are at the ready -- Gene Haas' American outfit, and a Romanian camp run by the former HRT chief Colin Kolles.

"The new US team will come in 2016," Todt confirmed.

"Also Forza Rossa of Colin Kolles (could enter)," he added, "if it meets the requirements, but currently they do not have a license."

From press release

Felipe Massa leads an all-Williams front row going into this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

The popular 33-year-old ended a streak of 94 races without a pole position.

Felipe Massa (Photo: WRi2)

"It's an incredible moment for me, but the whole team is feeling this too," said Massa whose last pole dates back to the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix.

"There is a lot to do tomorrow and we have a very strong Mercedes behind us. Today is a day I won't forget though and it's the first time my son has seen me get pole so emotions are high."

Felipe Massa with his wife Rafaela and his son Felipinho (Photo: WRi2)

Massa, who out-qualified his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, had not enjoyed this kind of success since his early years at Ferrari, before he became teammate with Fernando Alonso, and also before the 2009 accident that almost claimed his life.

Bottas was happy to celebrate with the team.

"I am really happy for us as a team as it is such a good result," said Bottas. "It couldn't have been a better Saturday for us. I would have liked to have been on pole, but Felipe had the better lap when it mattered."

Valtteri Bottas, Williams FW36 (Photo: WRi2)

Qualifying results* - Austrian Grand Prix (round 8 of 19)
1.Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'08"759 - Q3
2.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'08"846 - Q3
3.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1'08"944 - Q3
4.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'09"285 - Q3
5.Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'09"466 - Q3
6.Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'09"515 - Q3
7.Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'09"619 - Q3
8.Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'10"795 - Q3
9.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - no time - Q3
10.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - no time - Q3
11.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'09"780 - Q2
12.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'09"801 - Q2
13.Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'09"939 - Q2
14.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'10"073 - Q2
15.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'10"642 - Q2
16.Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'09"754 - Q2 **
17.Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'10"825 - Q1
18.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'11"349 - Q1
19.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Cosworth) - 1'11"412 - Q1
20.Kamui Kobayashi (Catheram CT05-Renault) - 1'11"673 - Q1
21.Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Cosworth) - 1'11"775 - Q1
22.Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'12"673 - Q1
*Unofficial results
**5-place grid penalty

Red Bull Ring (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Since buying the defunct A1-Ring in 2004, Red Bull's Dietrich Mateschitz has ploughed a quarter of a billion euros into the Austrian grand prix, the local Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper claims.

"Millions more of his personal fortune," read the report, "he invested in local infrastructure, such as hotels."

While most have hailed the success of the impressive new 'Red Bull Ring', many say the traffic chaos so far this weekend has been a palpable downer.

But FIA president Jean Todt insists: "You have to acknowledge what Dietrich Mateschitz has done (for the sport): two teams, a great track.

"Because he's a perfectionist, the Austrian grand prix will also be perfect," he added.

Photo: WRi2

Even so, not everyone is magnanimous. Mercedes, whose bookings at a newly Mateschitz-owned local hotel were reportedly cancelled just a few weeks ago, is not exactly playing ball.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have steadfastly refused to call the circuit in Spielberg by its official energy drink-sounding name.

And Mercedes-Benz advertising hoardings near the Red Bull Ring feature the sole word 'Heimspielberg', meaning 'Home-game Spielberg' -- undoubtedly a cheeky fly-in-the-ointment of Red Bull's PR masterstroke.

"That's Mercedes' style," said a sardonic Dr Helmut Marko.

From GMM

Red Bull will "definitely" be powered by Renault in 2015, Dr Helmut Marko insists.

Reports emerged at the scene of the reigning world champions' new home race on Friday that Red Bull really is considering splitting with its current engine supplier and building its own turbo V6.

According to Marko, it's not as far-fetched as it sounds.

"We have a lot of very skilled companies (in Austria) concerning engines," he said at the impressive Red Bull Ring, the totally refurbished former A1-Ring.

"Pankl is about 30 kilometres from here," explained Marko, referring to Renault's existing turbocharger partner, "and AVL is 70 kilometres (away)."

Asked specifically by Martin Brundle if Red Bull is considering supplying itself with a F1 engine, Marko answered: "You should never say no. We are looking at all alternatives."

Renault engineers banging heads together (Photo: WRi2)

But even though it seems Red Bull has set this weekend's Austrian grand prix as the deadline for Renault to prove it is up to the task of matching the field-leading Mercedes, Marko clarified: "We will definitely go with Renault in 2015."

Germany's Bild newspaper, however, said Red Bull is serious in its contemplations about a bespoke engine.

"There are massive poaching attempts by Red Bull among the engine makers of the Silver Arrows (Mercedes)," a report in the daily newspaper claimed.

Renault, however, is not giving up. A new fuel supplied by partner Total is making its debut at the Red Bull Ring, reportedly delivering several additional horse power.

The French marque's Remi Taffin warned in Austria, however, that - because of the homologation rules - Renault's scope to make vast further improvements in 2014 is limited.

"It's not that we have switched to next year," he said when asked about the 2015 project, "just that we have a lot more freedom" when it comes to 2015.

"We know what we would like to change," Taffin explained. "We have to fix some aspects of the engine, but it cannot be done in two or three months."

The Rally America championship has revealed the full entry list ahead of this year's Mount Washington HillClimb, also known as the "Climb to the Clouds", round 5 of the season.

The famous 7.4 mile Mt. Washington Auto Road that was first opened in 1861 was last used in competition in 2011 when Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins demolished the previous Hillclimb record with a time of 6:11:54.

For those interested in attending the event, spectator areas are available along the course on both Saturday and Sunday, June 28th and 29th. For additional information including advanced tickets, schedule information and a complete list of all entries for the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb, visit www.climbtotheclouds.com.

Provisional entry list - Mount Washington Hillclimb (June 26-29, 2014)
David Higgins/Craig Drew (2014 Subaru WRX STI) - Open
Travis Pastrana/Chrissie Beavis (2014 Subaru WRX STI) - Open
Adam Yeoman/Jordan Schulz (2007 Subaru WRX STI) - Open
John Cassidy/David Getchell (2003 Subaru WRX STI) - Open
Ryan Wilcox/James Beliveau (1996 Subaru OBSTI) - Open
Don Kennedy/Matthew Kennedy (1993 Subaru Impreza) - Open
Dillon Van Way/Andrew Edwards (2013 Subaru WRX STI) - SP
Nick Roberts/Rhianon Gelsomino (2014 Subaru WRX STI) - SP
Martin Egan/Jarrah Lankas (2006 Subaru WRX STI) - SP
Andrew Comrie-Picard/Ole Holter (2014 Ford Fiesta ST) - 2WD
Troy Miller/Steve Harrell (2011 Ford Fiesta R2) - 2WD
William Petrow/Jeremy Neyhart (1991 Nissan 240SX) - 2WD
Panos Karpidas/John Hall (Ford Fiesta R2) - 2WD
Cameron Steely/Preston Osborn (2014 Ford) - 2WD
Erika Detota/Mary Osborn (1995 Subaru Impreza) - 2WD

A former head of General Motors corporate quality audit warned the company's board in a letter in 2002 that it needed to 'stop the continued shipment of unsafe vehicles' and 'recall suspect vehicles that were already in customers'...

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Ford Motor Co.'s 2015 model year vehicles equipped with navigation will come with a five-year subscription to SiriusXM Traffic and SiriusXM Travel Link.

Pictures See all 14 pictures 23 Jun, 2014