Auto News 5

Team Penske's Helio Castroneves had earned pole for Sunday's IndyCar event in Iowa but because of an unauthorized engine change, the Brazilian has been penalized and will have to start 10th on the grid.

Castoneves will be able to keep the extra nine points he gained for having won the final heat, but teammate Will Power, who finished runner-up at the 7/8th mile oval on Saturday evening, will start on pole.

Castroneves is one of four drivers facing grid penalties for engine changes, with penalties also having been applied to Scott Dixon - who had qualified fifth - James Jakes and Josef Newgarden.

Castroneves had started the ultimate heat from pole and, apart from being challenged by Power in the final 10 laps, the veteran never had to look back until the checkered flag.

Andretti Autosport's James Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti ended-up third and fourth while Ganassi's Scott Dixon finished best of the Honda-powered drivers in fifth.

The two previous heats were quite different, the first one being more of a procession, where the other one was hard-fought, especially between Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter with only four laps to go that ended early when James Jakes lost control of his car two laps later.

Qualifying results - Iowa (IndyCar)

Heat 1
1 - Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 50 laps
2 - Takuma Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 0"7768
3 - Alex Tagliani (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Herta - 2"2856
4 - Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 2"6547
5 - Josef Newgarden (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Fisher - 6"2337
6 - Ana Beatriz (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 11"0839
7 - Sebastian Saavedra (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 14"2120
8 - Sebastien Bourdais (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 14"6719
9 - Dario Franchitti (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 15"9379

Heat 2
1 - Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 50 laps
2 - Ed Carpenter (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 0"5428
3 - Simon Pagenaud (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 2"1748
4 - Justin Wilson (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 3"9980
5 - Tristan Vautier (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 16"5997
6 - Charlie Kimball (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 17"4519
7 - Ernesto Viso (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 24"3545
8 - James Jakes (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 2 laps
9 - Simona de Silvestro (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 3 laps

Heat 3
1 - Helio Castroneves (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 50 laps
2 - Will Power (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 3"1480
3 - James Hinchcliffe (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 4"4390
4 - Marco Andretti (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 4"9046
5 - Scott Dixon (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 6"5829
6 - Ed Carpenter (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 8"3003
7 - Takuma Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 11"2950
8 - Tony Kanaan (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 16"0737
9 - Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 1 lap
10 - Oriol Servia (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Panther DRR - 1 lap

Model: 2009 to 2013 Toyota Corolla

Vehicle Type: Compact Sedan

The Verdict: The 2009 to 2013 Toyota Corolla appears, once again, to be one of the safest used-car bets going. Most issues reported are minor in nature and easily fixed. Owners enjoyed a spacious, comfortable and fuel-efficient driving experience largely free of major issues.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Price: High resale values see this generation Corolla coming in from the $10,000 mark for a 2009 or 2010 with some miles, and climbing above $20,000 for a newer, loaded, low-mileage unit. There's plenty of selection in the low teens.

What Owners Like: Commonly praised in this generation Corolla are things like seat comfort, upscale interior trimmings, ride comfort, and spaciousness including the trunk. Many owners say they appreciate the abundant range of storage spaces, as well as excellent fuel mileage.

What Owners Dislike: Common complaints include “just adequate” power output, a lazy and numb steering feel, and the likelihood of losing your Corolla in the Costco parking lot with the large number of other Corollas parked there.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Continue reading 2009-2013 Toyota Corolla Pre-Owned

While Jamie McMurray has slowly been regaining contending form; he surprised some NASCAR folks with a pole run at the Sonoma Raceway road course.

McMurray turned a lap at 94.986 mph, in a Chevrolet, during Saturday's qualifying at the 1.99- mile road course. It was his ninth career Sprint Cup pole but his first since March 2011.

"I felt like I've always raced really well here," McMurray said of a venue to get back in to Victory Lane.

"For me, the last restarts have really got me. When you have a restart at this track, guys go from top-five to 30th in about 20 seconds. It can be a track that if you have a caution at the end, you can lose a lot," he said.

Another reason for optimism was his pole here in 2007.

This was the first time NASCAR's premier division adopted a new rule for groups of five or six cars qualifying rather than single car runs.

"I thought the qualifying format was really good," McMurray said. "You get to gap yourself from the guys who are in front of you and take it pretty easy. It was very similar to practice, which I thought was good."

The Australian Ambrose, a V8 Supercar champion, was just slightly off the pole at 94.924 mph in a Ford. Ambrose had an engine problem even before his session began

"The motor quit running when I came to green flag, so I lost all of my momentum," Ambrose said. "I thought about bailing out of that lap and rolling around for a second lap, but I wasn't sure about engine temperatures. And the tires go away so fast. I didn't know if I had already stressed them out.

"So I just went for it and pretty much lost my mind there and was really mad. But it was good enough for front row."

Teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle will start third and fourth, respectively.

"I was really happy with the lap," Edwards said. "I made a couple of little mistakes, and I think I could have done better. But still, it's the best position I've had starting here."

Jacques Villeneuve, Boris Said and Ron Fellows are among those road-racing specialists competing in this race. Villeneuve qualified 22nd, Said 24th and Fellows 25th.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is all about pushing the boundaries of speed and endurance.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is all about pushing the boundaries of speed and endurance.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is all about pushing the boundaries of speed and endurance.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is all about pushing the boundaries of speed and endurance.

Beijing Auto is eyeing automakers in Europe as potential takeover targets. Banks have found three medium-size automakers with 'good brand image,' said Dong Haiyang, president of the company's newly established BAIC International Development Co.

Beijing Auto is eyeing automakers in Europe as potential takeover targets. Banks have found three medium-size automakers with 'good brand image,' said Dong Haiyang, president of the company's newly established BAIC International Development Co.

Beijing Automotive Group, which builds vehicles with Daimler and Hyundai in China, started a unit to spearhead acquisitions abroad, starting with 3 potential targets in Europe.

Beijing Auto is eyeing automakers in Europe as potential takeover targets. Banks have found three medium-size automakers with 'good brand image,' said Dong Haiyang, president of the company's newly established BAIC International Development Co.

UAW President Bob King took over the autoworkers' union three years ago with a vision for a less combative relationship with employers. King, 66, now seems close to a breakthrough on both fronts.

Los Angeles embodied America's love affair with the automobile in the last century. In this one it's trying to kick the car to the curb.

After recently announcing plans to install “Supercharger” stations across the U.S. and Canada, Tesla is now considering a battery swap option that could allow Model S owners to get a fully charged battery pack “faster than you could fill a gas tank.”

Tesla president and CEO Elon Musk tweeted the news earlier this week while inviting fans to follow a live demo on Thursday night.

In most battery-electric vehicles, the battery system is quite complex and space-consuming. Musk claims, however, that the Model S will be modified to make the swap as simple as changing batteries in a flashlight and will cost between $60 and $80.

The idea isn't new, mind you. Nissan worked with an Israeli company, Project Better Place, to develop a similar operation. Unfortunately, the latter sold less than 1,000 vehicles and ran out of business earlier this month.

Source : www.thedetroitbureau.com

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Sebastien Ogier (Volkswagen) leads rally Sardinia at the end of day one, after his team mate Jari-Matti Latvala suffered a puncture.

The Finn, who won rally Acropolis, was fastest of the qualifying stages on Thursday, but he suffered a puncture in the very first special stage of the race, which destroyed his front left wheel, and cost him about two minutes.

Photo: Volkswagen Motorsport

Sebastien Ogier, who was fastest in three special stages on Friday, stands in first position on Friday evening, 46,6 seconds ahead of Mikko Hirvonen's Citroën, the Finn being under pressure from Thierry Neuville, who stands in third position after he secured two special stages wins.

Latvala was back on track after his misfortune, and was fastest in third special stages, moving up to 5th position at the end of the day, right behind Dani Sordo's Citroën.

Evgeny Novikov (Ford), who was standing in third position after ES1, had a huge crash in ES2, his car being destroyed after it rolled several times, forcing the Russian driver to retirement.

In WRC2, Robert Kubica (Citroën DS3 RRC) was again dominant, with an advantage on more than one minute over his closest follower, Al Kuwari's Ford Fiesta RRC.

Ron Hornaday, Jr, Derrike Cope, and Chad Little were among the notables inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame on Thursday evening in Napa, California.

“The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car racing.   

“The mission of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame is founded to preserve history and heritage of the important role west coast stock car competitors have played in the sport's development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport,” from WCSCH media.

Ron Hornaday Jr. (Photo: NTS Motorsport)

Ron Hornaday, Jr., who may be best known these days by his four championships in the Camping World Truck Series, was inducted by Kevin Harvick. Harvick recalled that Hornaday went from being his hero, to his friend and eventually driving one of Harvick's trucks in that series.

Chad Little raced at the Cup level for Roush Racing . Little was 1987 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Champion and Current Tour Director for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Derrike Cope won the 1990 Daytona 500.

Also honored was Buddy Jobe who once owned Phoenix International Speedway.

And Randy Lynch 2007 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Car Owner Champion
was also honored.

Four hours into the 90th Le Mans 24 Hours, the top 3 positions are occupied by Audi cars, but the death of Allan Simonsen has overshadowed the festivities.

After a few tensed hours, when Toyota had two prototypes in second and third, Audi broke free of the Japanese. The german prototypes, led by Benoît Tréluyer in the No. 1 car, are now holding the top 3 positions.

Photo: Audi Motorsport

Both Toyota were running in 4th and 5th positions at the four-hour marker. The car driven by Lapierre, Wurz and Nakajima lost several minutes after a fuel pressure issue. As expected, both Rebellion's Lola Toyota were running 6th and 7th, the first of the independent LMP1 cars, ahead of the Strakka Racing's HPD.

In LMP2, the ORECA were holding the top positions, the Thiriet Racing's car leading ahead the prototype ran by G-Drive Racing, with the OAK Racing's Morgan Judd in third position

In GTE Pro, the two works Aston Martin stood 1st and 2nd early in the evening. Driving the No. 93 Viper SRT, Canadian Kuno Wittmer was 9th in class.

The AF Corse Ferrari F458 was leading the GTE Am class ahead of both IMSA Performance's Porsche 911.

Allan Simonsen has become the first fatality at the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1997. The Dane succumbed to injuries sustained in an early crash.

Simonsen went off the road in the corner just before the Hunaudières straight, trying to avoid another car on lap 4. He was transferred to the circuit's medical centre immediately after his crash, but could not be saved.

The 34-year-old was racing in his seventh 24 Hours of Le Mans.

His teammates in the No. 95 car were his fellow countrymen, Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen.

Allan Simonsen, Aston Martin Vantage GTE (Photo: Aston Martin Racing)

Many road closures in the United Kingdom is making it that much more difficult for race fans to find the Silverstone circuit, where the British Grand Prix will be held next weekend.

So much more difficult that the local police has urged fans who intended to use their GPS to instead rely on road signs to find the track.

"You are advised not to rely on satellite navigation systems to direct you to Silverstone as there are temporary one-way systems and road closures in force," wrote Sean Bell, of the Northamptonshire Police, in a release.

Despite all the efforts taken, the police asks fans to expect their journey to the race track to be delayed by the road work.

The British Grand Prix is the largest sporting event in Britain this year.

Former World Champion Kimi Räikkönen is looking forward to the upcoming British Grand Prix, which is scheduled for next week.

The Finn, who scored only three points over the last two races, is hoping to put his championship back on track at Silverstone.

"The last couple of races have been more a question of surviving not attacking and that's not what anyone wants," he admitted. "Silverstone is a more normal circuit and we've been okay at every other permanent circuit so far this year."

Perhaps, Räikkönen is hoping to build on the success he has enjoyed on the former airfield. He won there in 2007 with Ferrari, but before that as well, when he was racing in Formula Renault.

Silverstone (Photo: WRi2)

"I have a long history (at Silverstone). It was the real base for the start of my international career in Formula Renault in 1999 and 2000. Since then I've always enjoyed racing at Silverstone. I don't know why; there must be this nostalgic feeling that I have every time we go there."

Then again, the prospect of celebrating a win on a track so close to the Lotus factory of Enstone must help too.

"I would be fantastic to win again there, especially with the factory just down the road.

"I'm sure we would have some fantastic celebrations."