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Chrysler Group suppliers this week will begin manufacturing trailer hitch assemblies to protect fuel tanks of some older model Jeeps, nearly a year after the automaker agreed to fix the allegedly fire-prone SUVs.

The furor over GM's deadly ignition switch has the potential to doom the antiquated car key, a technology drivers have been using -- and complaining about -- for 65 years.

Finnish rally co-driver Kaj Lindstrom was told he could never return to a rally car after a huge crash in the 2002 Rally Argentina. Next week, he will be the most experienced co-driver in the event, as he returns for a fifth time.

Lindstrom was a top level co-driver in 2002. He shared a Subaru Impreza with four-time world champion Tommi Makinen that year. Then, it all went bad.

With Tommi Makinen (Photo: Tommi Makinen Racing)

"I had a big crash with Tommi in Argentina in 2002," recalls Lindstrom.

The pair indeed left the road at high speed and rolled over multiple times.

"I had a problem with my left hip after that," he adds. "Everything was turned upside down when the doctors said I couldn't go in a rally car again."

But Lindstrom underwent surgery in 2007 to put an implant in his hip. In 2008, he was given permission by the FIA to make a return.

With Kimi Raikkonen (Photo: WRC.com)

Highlights of his second career include co-driving for F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen in 2010 and 2011. Now, the 44-year-old works with fellow Finn Jari Ketomaa, in the WRC2 category.

"I have been very happy to be back in the rally car after being told I could never do co-driving again."

With Jari Ketomaa (Photo: Ketomaa.com)

From press release

Toyota Racing continued its winning start to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season with victory in a tense second race of 2014, the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi won the race to extend their lead in the Drivers' World Championship and record a third consecutive win for the #8.

Photo: Toyota

"It was a great result for the whole team," noted Lapierre.

"Since the beginning of the weekend we did everything well; in qualifying we extracted everything we could and during the race we stayed calm. It was a very tough race with Porsche.

Photo: Toyota

"We took the lead on the pit stop so I want to say thank you to the mechanics. Sébastien and Anthony drove very well so we could extend the gap. At the end it was more under control so we just had to get to the flag safely."

The next race will be the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June 14-15. Coming off two wins already this season, Toyota is confident it can do well at the biggest endurance race in the world.

Photo: Toyota

"We have seen here that our Le Mans package is working well and the hybrid system was wonderful," added Lapierre.

"We are very happy with this result; it is the best way to get ready for Le Mans."

Photo: Toyota

Race results* - Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
1 - Davidson-Lapierre-Buemi (Toyota TS040 Hybrid) - Toyota - 171 laps 6.01'31"675
2 - Di Grassi-Duval-Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron) - Audi - 1'13"926
3 - Wurz-Sarrazin-Nakajima (Toyota TS040 Hybrid) - Toyota - 1'20"861
4 - Dumas-Jani-Lieb (Porsche 919 Hybrid) - Porsche - 1 lap
5 - Fassler-Lotterer-Treluyer (Audi R18 e-tron) - Audi - 1 lap
6 - Albuquerque-Bonanomi (Audi R18 e-tron) - Audi - 2 laps
7 - Prost-Heidfeld-Beche (Rebellion R One-Toyota) - Rebellion - 10 laps
8 - Rusinov-Pla-Canal (Morgan-Nissan) - G Drive - 11 laps - 1st in LMP2
9 - Dolan-Tincknell-Gené (Zytek Z11SN-Nissan) - Jota - 11 laps
10 - Howson-Bradley-Imperatori (Oreca-Nissan) - KCMG - 12 laps
(...)
*Unofficial results

Photo: Toyota

From press release

Marco Wittmann scored the maiden victory of his DTM career in the season opener at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. It was also the first win for the BMW Team RMG and a perfect debut for the new BMW M4 DTM.

The 24-year old German driver already took the lead soon after the start on the third of 42 laps and didn't lose it anymore until the finish.

Marco Wittmann, BMW M4 DTM (Photo: DTM.com)

"I am overjoyed. After two difficult years for the RMG team, this victory is very good for everyone," the BMW driver commented after his first victory in the eleventh DTM race of his career.

"I kept an eye on the drivers behind me in the rear-view mirror all the time and I knew that the drivers with option tyres would be quicker than me towards the end of the race. However, my margin was big enough."

Start at Hockenheimring (Photo: DTM.com)

"A fantastic result and a great debut for the new BMW M4 DTM," added BMW Motorsport boss Jens Marquardt.

"Marco Wittmann has shown an impressive performance and scored a deserved maiden victory in the DTM. This is only his second year in this series, so this success is all the more impressive."

Podium (Photo: DTM.com)

In total, 75,000 spectators attended the opening weekend of the 2014 DTM season.

Race results* - Hockenheim (race 1 of 10)
1 - Marco Wittmann (BMW M4) - RMG - 42 laps 1.06'40"548
2 - Mattias Ekstrom (Audi RS5) - Abt - 12"869
3 - Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 14"879
4 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 17"593
5 - Timo Glock (BMW M4) - MTEK - 21"780
6 - Bruno Spengler (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 23"513
7 - Martin Tomczyk (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 24"082
8 - Augusto Farfus (BMW M4) - RBM - 24"913
9 - Timo Scheider (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 26"138
10 - Joey Hand (BMW M4) - RBM - 34"759
11 - Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 53"857
12 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 57"264
13 - Miguel Molina (Audi RS5) - Abt - 59"161
14 - Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'00"858
15 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'02"062
16 - Nico Muller (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 1'02"479
17 - Vitaly Petrov (Mercedes C-Coupe) - Mucke - 1'06"591
18 - Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'11"152
19 - Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1 lap
20 - Maxime Martin (BMW M4) - RMG - 1 lap

Bruno Spengler, BMW M4 DTM (Photo: BMW)

Retirements
Lap 38 - Antonio Felix da Costa
Lap 31 - Edoardo Mortara
Lap 2 - Jamie Green

Championship
1.Wittmann 25 points; 2.Ekstrom 18; 3.Tambay 15; 4.Rockenfeller 12; 5.Glock 10; 6.Spengler 8; 7.Tomczyk 6; 8.Farfus 4; 9.Scheider 2; 10.Hand

*Unofficial results

Robert Wickens, Mercedes C-Coupe (Photo: DTM.com)

From press release

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve finished 15th in his World Rallycross Championship (World RX) debut, Saturday in Montalegre, Portugal.

Jacques Villeneuve, Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 (Photo: Albatec Racing)

The 1997 F1 world champion suffered from both a fuel pressure problem and a puncture on the opening day of the season.

"It's been a tough learning day but the level of racing was very good, we just need to figure out how to make it work," said the Albatec Racing driver. 

Jacques Villeneuve (Photo: Albatec Racing)

"We were a bit late running so we didn't get all the laps in and the car is very different to when we were testing this winter. I made a mistake in the first race and suffered a puncture in the second one, but the aim tomorrow is to make it to the semi finals; it would be a shame to stop after two heats.

Photo: Albatec Racing

"The atmosphere here is very good, the fans are fun, and it's good to be part of a championship."

Aboard the team's second Peugeot 208, Andy Scott, who suffered from fuel pressure problems like Villeneuve and also from an exhaust leak, placed 8th overall.

Andy Scott, Albatec Racing Peugeot 208 (Photo: Albatec Racing)

From press release

Lotus F1 Team, on the initiative of owner Gérard Lopez, will pay homage to Spanish painter El Greco with a special livery for the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix on May 9-11.

The team's E22 will feature branding of the major El Greco exhibition currently taking place in Toledo which commemorates the 400 years since the death of the leading figure of the Spanish Renaissance through his work as a painter.

A commemorative helmet will be presented to the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy on the May 8 in La Moncloa, and to His Majesty King Juan Carlos I during his planned visit to the Lotus F1 Team motorhome at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday May 11.

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

"This is the first time a Formula 1 team has publicized a Spanish cultural event so prominently," noted team boss Gérard Lopez, who is an art fan himself.

"We will promote the El Greco exhibition - for no commercial fee - to a global TV audience of over 600 million people. Through this the legend of El Greco will be displayed in support of Spanish Culture and cultural tourism in Spain," he added.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra delivered the University of Michigan's spring commencement address Saturday, receiving an honorary degree in engineering and imparting lessons for professional success to more than 5,000 graduates in Michigan Stadium.

General Motors is recalling 51,640 SUVs from the 2014 model year due to software that may not register fuel levels properly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

The Rhinebeck Spring Dust Off is known for the depth and volume of its selection of classic American cars on display, even though every year a few hundred foreign cars also make their way to this scenic town on the right side of the Hudson River,...

Toyota's move to north Texas almost certainly will put some of its senior managerial and executive talent in play.

In moving its U.S. headquarters out of California, Toyota hopes to avoid some of the problems that Nissan encountered when it did the same thing in 2006.

As other U.S. brands struggle in Japan, Jeep is forging ahead to its fifth straight year of sales increases and a solidified, if unlikely, spot as the No. 1 American brand here.

Town and Country Toyota in Charlotte, N.C., will be Sonic's first store to adopt one-price selling beginning in July.

From press release

The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series gets rolling at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this weekend for the BEMC Spring Trophy Races, rounds 1 and 2 of the Championship.

25 competitors from all across Canada and the United States have come to take part in what will be one of the strongest seasons in Canadian formula car racing in years.

The Series will crown a new Champion as 2013 title-holder Jack Mitchell, Jr. will compete in the Pro F1600 Championship south of the border.

Several of the larger teams in the Championship, BGR Team Grote, Exclusive Autosport and Britain West are joined by newcomers AVR Motorsports in “A” Class competition.

Photo: Michael Haley

The “B” Class, for cars produced before 1994 will be a hotly contested affair with several of last year's top runners returning fulltime. Last year's class Champion, Craig Willis, has moved up to the “A” Class paving the way for another new winner.

“We are so excited to get this new season started,” said Jason Sharpe, promoter for the series. “We have new teams, new cars, a very impressive rookie class and some incredible events on our calendar. Formula car racing in Canada is very healthy right now” he added.

Cars will hit the track on Friday for a full day of testing and the racing will begin with Round 1 on Saturday and Round 2 on Sunday afternoon.

Formula One is not just a bit better than IndyCar.

That is the claim of Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro, who drove an F1 car for the first time of her career, last weekend, during a two-day test with Sauber in Fiorano, Italy.

"The car is just amazing," the 25-year-old, who was behind the wheel of a 2012-spec C31, told Racer magazine.

"You prepare yourself, thinking, OK, it's going to be a little bit faster, braking is going to be better and the high-speed is going to be better than the Indy car," she added.

"But it's much, much better than anything than I've been used to."

Throughout her career, de Silvestro raced mostly Indy cars, but she also competed in Formula Atlantic and Formula BMW in the US, and Formula Renault 2.0 as well, before moving to America.

Simona De Silvestro, Sauber C31 (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

Regarding training, de Silvestro says her fitness regime since she became an affiliated driver for Sauber has not necessarily been harder. But it is different.

"For an Indy car, I used to spend a lot of time in the weight room and lifting a lot of weights, especially for my shoulders and my arms because those cars don't have power steering, so that really was important," she is also quoted saying by Racer.

"In the Formula 1 program, it's hard physical training also, but it's different. There is a lot of cardio. Your core is really important. I really felt that in the racecar. Also the neck - I've been training my neck every day for three months.

"But in the car I can feel it. That's how extreme the difference is between the cars. It's just a totally different type of training, and both are really hard."

From GMM

A $25 million termination payment from Pastor Maldonado's sponsor helped Williams to drive back into profit.

The publicly-listed British team released its 2013 financial results on Friday, showing a $20m operating profit despite a poor season on track.

The Telegraph newspaper said the result was helped by a one-off termination payment made by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, who wanted to move their backing of driver Maldonado to the Lotus team for 2014.

Pastor Maldonado, Lotus E22 (Photo: WRi2)

The report said the payment "is believed to be in the region of $25m", in the wake of a more than $8 million loss recorded by Williams just a year ago.

"We made good progress commercially through the winter months and Williams continues to attract an enthusiastic and very loyal group of partners and fans," team boss Sir Frank Williams said in Friday's statement.

"These annual results demonstrate that we continue to manage our business in a fiscally responsible way and provide the foundation from which we can continue to grow.

"We have started the 2014 formula one season well and hope we can continue to improve our performance," he added.

From press release

The No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team will “Join the Nation” in 2015 thanks to a new three-year partnership that will pair Nationwide Insurance, a leading insurance and financial services organization, with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

As the exclusive insurance and retirement planning sponsor of Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet SS team, Nationwide Insurance will be a primary partner for 12 Sprint Cup races in 2015 and 13 events in both 2016 and 2017. The company also will be an associate-level sponsor of the No. 88 race cars throughout all three seasons.

“The Earnhardt family has trusted Nationwide for their insurance needs for more than 35 years, and Dale Jr. has a positive impact on our brand's reputation and brings pride to Nationwide members and our associates,” said Matt Jauchius, chief marketing officer for Nationwide Insurance. “Expanding that relationship to incorporate the prestigious operations at Hendrick Motorsports and collaborating with Rick Hendrick and his team is a great fit for Nationwide Insurance.”

Hendrick Motorsports will work with Nationwide Insurance to support consumer, business and employee offerings in the auto, home, life and classic car insurance and retirement categories. NASCAR fans can immediately benefit through insurance discounts offered via the free JR Nation fan club.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Photo: Facebook)

“Nationwide is always top of mind when you think of companies that truly leverage the power of NASCAR,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “We're proud to welcome them to the No. 88 team and grow their relationship with Dale Jr. Working together, we'll build another program that moves the needle for their business. The opportunities are endless.”

Earnhardt, 39, is a two-time Nationwide Series champion and has 20 career points-paying victories in the elite Sprint Cup Series. The Kannapolis, N.C., native has earned three consecutive Chase for the Sprint Cup berths and is NASCAR's 11-time most popular driver as voted by fans. In 2014, he won his second Daytona 500 and currently is fifth in the standings.

“I've always enjoyed working with Nationwide and really believe in their products and services,” said Earnhardt, who Nationwide Insurance has featured in national advertising since 2009.

“It'll be fun to work with them in a new way, and I know everyone on the team is looking forward to the partnership. They've invested in our sport and built a strong reputation with NASCAR fans, and this opens up doors to do even more great things.”

From press release

Two-time Canadian F1600 champion Nathan Block is stepping up to the American F2000 championship.

The 20-year-old will be racing a John Cummiskey Racing Mazda-powered Van Diemen car, next weekend on the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway's revamped 2.434-mile road course, for rounds 4 and 5 of the championship.

"I'm really excited about joining the USF2000 Series, especially at such a historic track," said Blok, who is from Beachburg, Ontario.

"Joining the series at this point in the season I won't likely be in contention for the championship. Obviously my goal is to win each race, but I would be satisfied to get a top 5 finish and attract some attention for myself and my new team."

Nathan Blok (Photo: Nathan Blok Racing)

"It's the teams and driver's first race so the goals for this event are to run all day and finish in the top 10," added team boss John Cummiskey. "Nathan is a great person and driver so we need to maximize our track time to gain some experience.

"We have a great crew group and want to have some fun. Our long-term goal is to run a multi-car team in a full season effort and to compete for the championship."

So far in his career, Blok has already won back to back championships in the Formula Tour 1600 series, in 2011 and 2012. Last year, he also competed in the Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC).

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone's blackmail defence came under attack on Friday, as the F1 chief executive returned to court in Munich.

Ecclestone has claimed he made the disputed $44 million payment to Gerhard Gribkoswky only because the jailed F1 banker was threatening to release information to the British tax authorities.

Prosecutors, however, allege 83-year-old Ecclestone bribed Gribkowsky in order to influence the sale of the sport's commercial rights and remain in charge.

On the witness stand on Friday was an investigator who interviewed Ecclestone during the Gribkowsky affair three years ago.

Public prosecutor Martin Bauer suggested Ecclestone's explanation of blackmail lacked detail.

"It was never really clear what form this threat (from Gribkowsky) could have taken," he is quoted by the Telegraph newspaper.

"(It was) like a vanilla pudding that you can't nail to the wall," he added.