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General Motors Europe's Opel unit said its main Ruesselsheim plant at its headquarters near Frankfurt, Germany, would gain two extra vehicles - one a Buick for North America - to build later this decade.

Dongfeng Motor Chairman Xu Ping said today that cooperation with PSA could be expanded to include Brazil and Russia, two regions where the French automaker must improve its financial performance.

PSA Peugeot Citroën is adding two shifts and taking on temporary workers at its Valenciennes plant in northern France to meet strong demand in China for automatic transmissions.

Russia's No. 1 carmaker, AvtoVAZ, slumped to a loss last year, hit by falling sales of its Lada cars, underlining the task facing new CEO Bo Andersson as he battles to revive the business amid economic uncertainty caused by the Crimea crisis.

China's Chery Automobile is planning to build a US$100m assembly plant in the Philippines within the next three years.

China's Shanghai GM Wuling, and BYD, have caused a surprise with world premieres at Algeria's national motor show. Renault and PSA should be taking note of a battle to come for control of this strategic regional market.

Ford is to spend US$500m to upgrade its Lima plant in Ohio, adding 300 new jobs to produce a new 2.7-litrem V6 EcoBoost engine designed specially for the redesigned 2015 F-150 [aluminium] pick-up.

Real-life Mario Kart is either really weird or very French.

President Barack Obama said his administration is moving forward on establishing a trade pact between the U.S. and EU. Automakers are lobbying hard for the pact to end import tariffs and adopt standard safety and environmental regulations.

Cadillac plans to open several test-drive centers, stand-alone service facilities and pop-up storefronts across western Europe. The idea is to expose prospective customers to Cadillac products without forcing them to visit a dealership.

Mercedes will use three-cylinder engines for future hybrid versions of its compact front-wheel-drive vehicles.

From MMHF

Only a few days remain to nominate your pick for the 2014 class of the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame (MMHF). The deadline is April 1.

After that the nominations committee will review nominees and make their selection, usually announced by mid-summer.

Anyone can nominate and anyone can be nominated who has made a significant contribution to Maritime motorsports in any way and in any genre. The committee depends on the public to put forth those persons they think worthy of the honour of being inducted to the MMHF.

Nomination forms are available online at www.mmhf.ca or by calling 506.756.2110.

Since 2006 more than 70 motorsports legends have become honourable members of the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame. Their names and biographies can be found in the 'Alumni' section on the MMHF website.

For the first time ever the induction gala will be held in Prince Edward Island this year, set for November 15 at the Delta Charlottetown. Event tickets and room information will be published when the new inductees are announced.

Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame Inc. is a registered non-profit organization with proceeds benefitting the preservation of motorsports heritage in the Maritimes. Our museum in Petitcodiac features historic displays year-round. Since 2006, more than 70 Maritime motorsports heroes have been inducted in the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame.

To learn more about them, our museum or our organization please call 506.756.2110 or visit us online at www.mmhf.ca.

Lotus' drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado Friday endured a frustrating first day of the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit.

Grosjean managed to complete 14 laps of the circuit in the afternoon while Maldonado only lapped the track twice during both sessions.

Pastor Maldonado, Lotus. (Photo: WRi2)

Several glitches reduced running for both drivers in the morning session, the most serious of which being an engine-related issue for Maldonado, the resultant engine change precluding him from running in the afternoon.

Grosjean's afternoon saw a collection of problems too, with a wiring problem preventing the gearbox from working correctly.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus. (Photo: WRi2)

“Not a great day, quite far from it in fact. Both cars were delayed in the morning with mapping issues,” said Nick Chester, Lotus' technical director.

“Pastor then suffered from a turbo-related problem with his car. This meant we needed to remove the engine and subsequently he was unable to run in the afternoon. Romain was able to get some more laps in the afternoon, however a wiring issue caused difficulties with his gearbox. More lessons learnt, and we'll be focusing on getting as much mileage as possible tomorrow.”

From GMM

It is almost impossible to predict the outcome of this year's world championship.

That is the view of former F1 driver Jean Alesi, who thinks the pecking order in the sport's all-new turbo V6 era is not as clear as it currently appears.

"I think it is easier to win the lottery than say who will win this season," the popular Frenchman told L'Equipe sports daily.

Mercedes is undoubtedly the clear title favourite based on winter testing and the results in Australia.

But Alesi insisted: "It will take more than three grands prix to determine which car is the most reliable. Today, the engines are playing a more important role than the chassis, when in previous years it was the opposite. I feel that for the moment Mercedes has the best engine, but it is very difficult to say more than that.

"For the drivers, I think it will be between Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen, but - again - nothing is certain," Alesi added.

Sauber, Caterham, Lotus in Australia. (Photo: WRi2)

The 49-year-old former Ferrari and Sauber driver is sure, however, that 2014 will be an exciting season.

"Yes, because we see very clearly that no team is really ready today. Even Mercedes had the technical problem with Lewis Hamilton after only a few laps in Melbourne. So nothing is certain," said Jean Alesi.

Canadian James Hinchcliffe was quickest of the 22 drivers at 1 minute, 2.9326 seconds during the first Verizon IndyCar Series practice session for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Honda, with its new twin-turbo V6 engine, held the top three spots on the time sheet (Justin Wilson in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing car was second at 1m02.9385 and Takuma Sato in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing was third at 1m03.0603).

Will Power, the pole sitter each of the past four years in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, was fourth and St. Petersburg resident Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing car.

The top 18 cars were separated by less than a second.

Friday, free practice 1:

1 - James Hinchcliffe (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Andretti - 1m02.9326
2 - Justin Wilson (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 1m02.9385
3 - Takuma Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 1m03.0603
4 - Will Power (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1m03.1932
5 - Sebastien Bourdais (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 1m03.1948
6 - Ryan Briscoe (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Ganassi - 1m03.2067
7 - Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Andretti - 1m03.2684
8 - Simon Pagenaud (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 1m03.3087
9 - Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 1m03.3254
10 - Tony Kanaan (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Ganassi - 1m03.3258
11 - Helio Castroneves (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1m03.3998
12 - Josef Newgarden (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Fisher - 1m03.4827
13 - Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Ganassi - 1m03.6425
14 - Juan Pablo Montoya (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1m03.6759
15 - Carlos Munoz (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Andretti - 1m03.6948
16 - Mike Conway (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 1m03.7559
17 - Marco Andretti (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Andretti - 1m03.7807
18 - Charlie Kimball (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Ganassi - 1m03.9023
19 - Jack Hawksworth (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Herta - 1m04.0541
20 - Mikhail Aleshin (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 1m04.1986
21 - Sebastian Saavedra (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 1m04.6781
22 - Carlos Munoz (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Andretti - 1m07.7706

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone admitted on Friday that F1's new-generation cars are actually louder than he first thought.

The F1 chief executive did not attend any of the pre-season tests or the season opening Australian grand prix, where a big controversy about the milder tones of the turbo V6 engines kicked off.

"It sounds terrible on the TV," Ecclestone told Britain's Sky Sports in the Sepang pitlane during the second practice session on Friday.

He was standing with Ong Beng Seng, the Singaporean magnate who is a leading figure in the city-state's highly-popular night race.

"Mr Ong was complaining about the noise," Ecclestone revealed, referring to the Singapore grand prix chief.

"We were just saying, I think it's a little louder than we thought. If we could get it up a little bit more than this, then it would be alright," he added.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05, Sepang. (Photo: WRi2)

In the wake of Australian promoter Ron Walker's harsh critique, Ecclestone said on Friday that "all the promoters" are also complaining to him.

"We will have to have a reduction in fees!" Mr Ong laughed.

More seriously, however, Ong revealed that Ecclestone met with a Singaporean government minister on Thursday, because "We are a city race, and we must have the 'buzz' with the noise."

83-year-old Ecclestone, however, suggested he was somewhat relieved to have actually heard the turbo V6s in action for the first time on Friday.

"People said you couldn't hear anything, (but) it's not true," he said.

In a season that has been characterized by rain delays NASCAR launched its' Air Titan 2.0 track drying system.

It's lighter, more powerful and more efficient with fuel consumption.

The mostly oval-based racing series is held hostage to weather. Lengthy delays for track drying have meant lost revenues and lost momentum.

NASCAR's CEO Brian Z. France initiated a program, in 2012, to supplant the previous system of track drying and the Air Titan was born.

Air Titan 2.0 (Photo: Robert Laberge/NASCAR via Getty Images)

According to NASCAR “the Air Titan 2.0 more than triples the blade capacity of the original version and deliver 2.6 times more air volume at a speed of 568 mph, while raising the air temperature by 70 degrees over ambient. With the combination of water removal and accelerated evaporation, the ultimate goal is to reduce track-drying time by 80 percent.

Air Titan 2.0 will consume nearly 80 percent less fuel and emit 80 percent less carbon dioxides. Air Titan 2.0 works in conjunction with the Eco-Infused Elgin Track Vacuum/Sweeper and existing jet dryers. In coordination with the roll out of the Air Titan 2.0, Elgin has now become the Official Sweeper of NASCAR Green.

“Developed by our engineers at the NASCAR R&D Center, Air Titan 2.0 will help us more quickly return to racing, which serves our most important mission - the enjoyment of our fans,” said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO.

“It's faster, more agile and eco-friendly. The new Air Titan creates the ultimate win-win-win for our sport, our fans and our environment.”

The first practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix took place today in the heat of the Sepang circuit and saw Mercedes AMG's Nico Rosberg capture the fastest time of the day.

It was a very busy day, and also extremely competitive as the top six cars in the second session were covered by just 0.203s, the equivalent to just 12 metres or two and a half car lengths.

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

Rosberg's teammate, Lewis Hamiton ran his Melbourne V6 Power Unit all day, following the resolution of the problem with the ignition system that caused his misfire in Australia.

“It was crazy conditions out there. In the very, very warm temperatures, it's a huge challenge to get everything right,” said Nico Rosberg, the winner in Australia two weeks ago.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E22-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

“The cars are on the edge and the tire degradation was higher than expected today - we are sliding a bit more this year, perhaps because of the reduced downforce levels. We are still having some small issues and therefore we were not able to maximize everything today. The quickest teams seem to be closer together than in Australia, so we still have work to do overnight to improve our level of performance”.

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber C33-Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

Free Practice 1 - Results*
1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1'40”691 - 19 laps
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'40"843 - 20
3 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1'41"028 - 19
4 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1'41"111 - 20
5 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1'41"274 - 18
6 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'41"402 - 15
7 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'41"523 - 9
8 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'41"642 - 19
9 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'41"686 - 23
10 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'41"833 - 22
11 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'41"923 - 14
12 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'42"117 - 20
13 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'42"365 - 21
14 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'42"869 - 21
15 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'42"904 - 23
16 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'43"825 - 18
17 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'45”775 - 24
18 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'46"911 - 10
19 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'51”180 - 5
20 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - no time - 2
21 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - 2
22 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - 4

Tribute To MH370 on the Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Free Practice 2 - Results*
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1'39"909 - 30 laps
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'39"944 - 30
3 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'39"970 - 30
4 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1'40"051 - 32
5 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'40"103 - 29
6 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'40"112 - 34
7 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'40"276 - 29
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1'40"628 - 28
9 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'40"638 - 35
10 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'40"691 - 34
11 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'40"777 - 33
12 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1'41"014 - 20
13 - Adrian Sutil (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'41"257 - 28
14 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'41"325 - 32
15 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'41"407 - 34
16 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'41"671 - 25
17 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'42"531 - 14
18 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'43"638 - 20
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'43"752 - 29
20 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'45"703 - 31
21 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - no time - 0
22 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - 0

* Unofficials timings

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB10-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

The Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 set the fastest time overall in the first day of the World Endurance Championship pre-season tests at Circuit Paul-Ricard in France.

Porsche 919 Hybrid (Photo: Pascal SAIVET - VSA)

T
imo Behrnard went quickest in the Porsche, beating Andre Lotterer in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro and Marc Lieb in the second Porsche.

The new Toyota TS040s ranked fourth and sixth, while the second Audi finished the day in 5th place.

1 - Timo Behrnard (Porsche 919) - Porsche - 1m41.788
2 - Andre Lotterer (Audi R18) - Audi - 1m42.73
3 - Marc Lieb (Porsche 919) - Porsche - 1m42.126
4 - Alex Wurz (Toyota TS040) - Toyota - 1m42.356
5 - Loic Duval (Audi R18) - Audi - 1m42.407
6 - Anthony Davidson (Toyota TS040) - Toyota - 1m43.959
7 - Nico Prost (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 1m44.806
8 - Fabio Leimer (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 1m46.915
9 - Shinji Nakano (Oreca 03-Nissan) - Millennium - 1m48.970
10 - Oliver Pla (Morgan-Nissan) - OAK - 1m49.084
11 - John Martin (Oreca 03-Nissan) - Millennium - 1m49.432
12 - Matt Howson (Oreca 03-Nissan) - KCMG - 1m49.722
13 - Nicolas Minassian (Oreca 03-Nissan) - SMP - 1m49.796
14 - Kirill Ladygin (Oreca 03-Nissan) - SMP - 1m50.321
15 - Marco Holzer (Porsche 991) - Manthey - 1m58.041
16 - Davide Rigon (Ferrari 458) - AF Corse - 1m58.277
17 - Paolo Ruberti (Ferrari 458) - 8Star - 1m58.507
18 - Michele Rugolo (Ferrari 458) - AF Corse - 1m58.545
19 - Matt Griffin (Ferrari 458) - Ram - 1m58.679
20 - Klaus Bachler (Porsche 997) - Proton - 1m59.055
21 - Alex MacDowall (Aston Martin Vantage) - Bamboo - 1m59.076
22 - Mark Patterson (Ferrari 458) - Ram - 1m59.258
23 - Luis Perez-Companc (Ferrari 458) - AF Corse - 1m59.419
24 - Nicki Thiim (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 1m59.457

From GMM

Two weeks ago in Melbourne, McLaren said the prominent 'Mobil' branding on the sidepods of its 2014 car was a one-off.

The British team, yet to sign a replacement for departed title sponsor Vodafone, said the branding was to celebrate the 20-year history of the Mobil sponsorship.

Now in Malaysia, McLaren's black sidepods are featuring the branding of 'Esso', another ExxonMobil brand.

Also new for the MP4-29 at Sepang is a tweaked 'anteater' nose, as team supremo Ron Dennis said McLaren will not give up on winning this season.

"We are not here to be second or third," he is quoted by 20min.ch, adding that McLaren expects to have added half a second of pace to the car since Australia.

Kevin Magnussen, McLaren MP4-29, in Malaysia. (Photo: WRi2)

Lead driver Jenson Button said in Malaysia: "Out of the box the car was what we expected, a little bit low on downforce, but as long as we keep developing the car as we plan to we should be able to catch Mercedes."

Departed McLaren driver Sergio Perez said he is not surprised the team has bounced back after a dismal 2013 season.

"The development of the 2013 car was given up very early in the season to focus on 2014," the Mexican told F1's official website. "That was McLaren's target -- all 2014."