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Reigning Canadian champions Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard are only three wins away from a perfect season after winning yet another round this weekend at Rallye Baie des Chaleurs, in New Richmond.

The pair pulled an early lead and never look behind. Wherever they flew by, the others struggled.

"It's a very good win, and we led from the first stage," said L'Estage at the finish of the rally.

Nathalie Richard and Antoine L'Estage celebrating (Photo: Mike Proulx)

"We pushed very hard last night, and made a good gap. Today was more about trying to manage that lead, and everything went well. A lot of guys had problems this weekend, but we did not. It has been a big team effort."

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell of Subaru Canada for example experienced brake, power and overheating issues on top of a windshield fogging up because of high humidity, but sill rallied to second place.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell airborne (Photo: Mike Proulx)

"We did a bunch of upgrades to the car, and all of those upgrades performed flawlessly," said Richard. "We had a bunch of little problems with parts that have been on the car for years. It's just sort of one of those bad luck rallies."

Crazy Leo Urlichich and Carl Williamson is another pairing that had to battle its way through the rally, on their way to a third place. A more mature than ever Urlichich pointed out how far they've come in terms of pace, regardless of their problems.

Crazy Leo Urlichich drove to a find third place (Photo: Mike Proulx)

"All problems aside, we have worked extremely hard for more than two years on improving my pace," said Urlichich. "The team has gone to extreme lengths to help me with this. This rally marks an amazing moment where I believe we were faster than Pat Richard on pace. I am very happy because of this pace, and to be honest, that is more important to me than our particular result here."

Americans Ed McNelly and Ole Holter won in the two wheel drive class on their first time out aboard their Ford Fiesta R2.

In Production GT, the win went the Gatineau's own Ouellette brothers Alex and Nick.



Final results - Rallye Baie des Chaleurs (New Richmond)

1. Antoine L'Estage - Nathalie Richard in 1 hour, 28 minutes and 31.5 seconds
2. Pat Richard - Alan Ockwell - 1hour31min45.2s
3. Leo Urlichich - Carl Williamson - 1h37min26.2s
4. Craig Henderson - Lyne Murphy - 1h37min38.9s
5. Steeve Hobbs - Jean-Mathieu Tremblay - 1h40min01.9s
6. Andre Leblanc - Rene Leblanc - 1h40min58.2s
7. Simon Losier - Brian Maxwell - 1h41min23.8s
8. Maxime Labrie - Robert Labrie - 1h42min53.4s
9. Alexandre Beland - Yvan Joyal - 1h43min03.3s
10. Michel Bois - Marie-Philip Simard - 1h43min50.2s

French light-vehicle sales edged lower in June, with France's biggest carmaker PSA losing more ground to Volkswagen even as the market decline appeared to slow.

One reason electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles have hit the market with a thud is that there are strings attached. Models such as the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf are tethered. Drivers need to plug in to recharge the battery.

BMW plans to hire thousands of permanent staff after cutting the number of its temporary workers by half, a German magazine reported.

Fiat has asked for the suspension of a court ruling ordering it to hire 145 workers who are members of Italy's largest metalworkers union and is launching an appeal against the decision.

Nothing was going to stop Brad Keselowski on the way to his third win of the year.

Not driving the backup car, nor a broken steering just prior to the start of the race at the Kentucky Speedway - nor fuel.

The 28 year-old overcame of all those obstacles for an impressive victory. And he became the first Sprint Cup driver to claim a hat-trick this season.

"Who'd have figured my best finish (of the weekend) would have came in the hardest race but that just shows the importance of teamwork and the group of guys that I have on this Miller Lite Dodge, they're just bad a*$es," said Keselowski.

"They've put together a backup car from last year in the hundred degree heat in an hour's time. Not even an hour; I think it was like 40 minutes. I wish I had a stopwatch for that. Got it on the racetrack, and got to run our laps for practice to make the adjustments we needed to be fast today and that's what bad a*$es do."

Keselowski was referring to an incident in the first practice which forced him into the backup car.

The key to the win was timing of his final pit stop when his crew chief, Paul Wolfe, directed him to pit later than his rivals. It gave him the track position and a fuel comfort zone for the win.

Wolfe said "to be able to fight back like we did through practice with a backup car and be in victory lane says a lot."

Pole-sitter Kyle Busch led 116 laps out of the first 129, but, a broken shock absorber sent him deep in field. Then teammate, Denny Hamlin (who announced a contract extension prior to the race) took over.

Fuel worries kept Hamlin's Toyota from threatening Keselowski's Dodge on the final restart, on lap 220 and he would finish third behind Kasey Kahne's Chevrolet.

"I had to save fuel," Hamlin said. "I could have ran harder really the whole run and try to give the 2 (Keselowski) a run for its money, but I needed a finish coming off two straight DNFs."

Kahne was on rails in the final segment he just fell a little short of the winner. "I just hoped he'd run out of gas," Kahne said. "There was no way I was catching him. We had enough gas to run as hard as I could all the way to the finish, and I was hoping his would shut off, off of two or something."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth and is second in the series standings 11 points behind Matt Kenseth who finished seventh in a Ford.

With teammates Jeff Gordon fifth and Jimmie Johnson sixth Hendrick Motorsports claimed four of the top six positions.

Defending Cup Champion, Tony Stewart, was plagued with electronic fuel injection problems, had lengthy garage time for repairs and finished 32nd.

The first production 2013 SRT Viper, the sister of the race version set to make its American Le Mans Series debut later this season, has sold for $300,000 at the Barrett Jackson Orange County auction.

In seconds, the bid had reached $100,00.

The auctioneer taking bids for the said Viper (Photo: ALMS.com)

All the proceeds will go to the Austin Hatcher foundation to help families faced with paediatric cancer.

Jamie Green (Mercedes) takes win at the Norisring thanks to a last corner overtake on Martin Tomczyk (BMW).

BMW looked set for its first 1-2 victory since its return in DTM championship, as Martin Tomczyk was leading ahead of his teammate Bruno Spengler only three laps away from the finish.

But Jamie Green's Mercedes, who came flying in the last laps of the race, first got passed Spengler and then forced his way into the lead in the very last corner, taking victory away from BMW. Green has now won four of the last five races held at the Norisring.

Mercedes has won all rounds there since 2003.

Thanks to his success, Jamie Green now stands 26 points behind championship leader, his teammate and fellow countryman Gary Paffett.

Paffett had started from pole position, but was pushed into a spin in the first corner by... Green himself. Paffett was able to get back on track at the back of the field, and made a great comeback up to fourth position at the checkered flag.

Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes) inherited the lead after Paffett and Green's incident at the start, while another contact at the first corner forced both Mattias Ekström (Audi) and later Augusto Farfus (BMW) to retire. But Schumacher, who was suffering electrical problems, dropped down the order, eventually pulled into the pits to retire.

David Coulthard had his best DTM result ever by finishing fifth aboard his Mercedes C-Coupé, ahead of Mike Rockenfeller, who was to be the best Audi driver at the Norisring.

Audi only managed to place one car in the top 10.

Canadian driver Bruno Spengler, third, took another podium finish. It was his seventh consecutive podium at the Norisring. Spengler and Green have shared the win on this track since 2006. The Canadian took three wins (2006, 2007 and 2011) and Green four (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012).

Meanwhile, Robert Wickens, from Ontario, took his first DTM points, as he finished ninth, having stared 17th on the grid.

Norisring - Final classification :
1. Jamie Green (Mercedes C Coupé) in 1h15min00.005s
2. Martin Tomczyk (BMW M3 DTM) +0.687s
3. Bruno Spengler (BMW M3 DTM) +2.335s
4. Gary Paffett (Mercedes C Coupé) +14.666s
5. David Coulthard (Mercedes C Coupé) +36.861s
6. Mike Rockenfeller (Audi A5 DTM) +37.062s
7. Andy Priaulx (BMW M3 DTM) +44.529s
8. Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C Coupé) +46.236s
9. Robert Wickens (Mercedes C Coupé) +49.254s
10. Dirk Werner (BMW M3 DTM) +49.301s
Etc.

Championship :
1. Paffett 95 points, 2. Green 69, 3. Spengler 58, 4. Tomczyk 54, 5. Ekström 47 (...), 17. Wickens, etc.

Coming off two seasons in the Word Rally Championship, Kimi Räikkönen was hoping to score a few podiums for his comeback season in F1.

On the back of strong results, he is now gunning for the top step.

"If you asked me before the start of the season whether I would be happy with podiums I would have said yes," admits the 2007 F1 champion.

"But now I've had some good results, I want more."

The two Lotus cars have been increasingly fast this season, and have been win contenders for the few last grands prix. Still, neither Romain Grosjean nor Räikkönen have been able to seal the deal yet.

The 28-year-old Finn hopes to put an end to this run at the upcoming British Grand Prix, held at Silverstone - a track he likes.

"It's always such a good feeling going to Silverstone. It's a great place to race. I have a long history there. It was the real base for the start of my international racing career in Formula Renault in 1999 and 2000," he says.

"Since then I've always enjoyed racing at Silverstone. I don't know why."

Not even rain, the traditional mood damper, can change that.

"The track conditions change very quickly, which makes the car more tricky to set up. It's part of the fun racing in England."

Rain or not, Silverstone is the perfect venue for Lotus to grab their first win of the season. Perhaps that's why they waited?

"It would be fantastic to win again there, especially with the factory just down the road. I'm sure we would have some fantastic celebrations."

Source: Lotusf1team.com

Professional stunt driver Terry Grant, who thrilled the crowds at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed by driving a Nissan Juke up the 1.86-kilometre hillclimb course on two wheels, will now attempt to set a Guinness record for the fastest time in reverse with a Nissan LEAF.

"The LEAF Reverse Record isn't going to be easy and will be very challenging," he confessed. "I'd prefer to do it on a nice straight and level strip of tarmac rather than on Lord March's drive. The hill not only climbs, but is also full of twists, turns and obstacles.''

The attempt is part of Nissan's ambitious social media-driven campaign, The Big Turn On, which aims to prove that the LEAF is not only environmentally friendly, but also safe, economical to run, practical, and fun to drive.

Championship leader Gary Paffett (Mercedes) set the best performance in qualifying at the Norisring, fifth round of the DTM season.

The Brit continues his domination in this year's championship, after he led his team mate Jamie Green by only 32 thousand of a second. Augusto Farfus' BMW and Mattias Ekström's Audi will share the second row of the grid.

Gary Paffett, Mercedes C-Coupe. (Photo: DTM)

Meanwhile, that was a disappointing session for Canadian driver Bruno Spengler (BMW), who classified only 17th at the end of the qualifying session. "Qualifying did not run to plan, Spengler said. My wheels locked on several occasions and I had problems with my braking, which is particularly important on this circuit. We will now work hard to overcome these problems in time for the race. On Sunday I hope to finally get through the first few corners unscathed again. Then we will see what is possible."

The session went even more difficult for Rob Wickens (Mercedes), the other Canadian driver in DTM, who will start from the 17th position for tomorrow's race.

Norisring - Qualifying:
1. Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 49"139 - Q4
2. Jamie Green (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 49"171 - Q4
3. Augusto Farfus (BMW M3) - RBM - 49"255 - Q4
4. Mattias Ekstrom (Audi A5) - Abt - 49"369 - Q4
5. Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 49"023 - Q3
6. Martin Tomczyk (BMW M3) - RMG - 49"049 - Q3
7. Bruno Spengler (BMW M3) - Schnitzer - 49"100 - Q3
8. Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 49"156 - Q3
9. Andy Priaulx (BMW M3) - RBM - 49"186 - Q3
10. Edoardo Mortara (Audi A5) - Rosberg - 49"195 - Q3
(...)
17. Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupe) - Mucke - 49"248 - Q1
Etc.

For years, the Yaris has been a symbol of cheap, reliable transportation, and that reputation will probably stick to it forever. On the other hand, Toyota's subcompact is also known for being, well, rather unexciting.


I know, subcompact hatchbacks aren't meant to be as thrilling as sports cars, but it doesn't mean that we must endure years of mind-numbing dullness either. After all, rivals like the Honda Fit, the Ford Fiesta and the Kia Rio are far from being monotonous.

Virtually unchanged since its 2006 model-year intro, the Yaris was in desperate need of a refresh, as sales nosedived after the 2008 calendar year tally of 40,602 units. In 2011, less than 8,000 Yaris hatchback and sedans found homes in Canada.

The 2012 Toyota Yaris Hatchback is mostly new, although the extent of its overhaul is not that apparent at first glance. Despite all the improvements, though, the Yaris closed the gap between it and its rivals, but still falls short in terms of power, driving pleasure and equipment levels.

By the way, the Yaris Sedan soldiers on unchanged for 2012, waiting for Toyota to decide its fate. Redesign or retirement? We'll go for eventual redesign.

Same powertrain
Under the tiny hood of the Yaris, the 1.5L inline-4 remains, still producing 106 hp and 103 lb-ft of torque. It's enough to propel the Yaris to highway speeds with ease; on paper, however, the modest output pales in comparison to the Fiesta's 120 hp, the Chevrolet Sonic's 135 hp and the Hyundai Accent/Kia Rio twins' 138 hp.

The Yaris also gets an optional 4-speed automatic transmission, which doesn't sound very trendy when the competition's boasting 6-speed gearboxes. Our Yaris LE 5-door was equipped with a 5-speed manual, which we were glad to sample.

Toyota claims the Yaris' suspension has been retuned for “improved driving feel.” Truthfully, the front stabilizer bar has increased in thickness, but that's it for the improvements. The Yaris still isn't the most rewarding subcompact to drive; it's just not as frisky as some of its competitors, such as the Fit.

Fuel economy is also improved for 2012, although the difference is nothing to get excited about. With the manual transmission, ratings drop from 6.9/5.4 L/100km city/highway to 6.6 and 5.2. Our average over the course of the week is a decent 7.2L/100km.

The 1.5L inline-4 is back for 2012, still developing 106 hp and 103 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Sébatien D'Amour)

New interior
The first thing you'll notice between the old Yaris and the new one is that the instrument panel has returned to where we usually look for it. The controversial pod mounted in the middle of the dash drew a lot of criticism, although it never really bothered me.

The heating and ventilation knobs are now aligned horizontally instead of being stacked on top of each other, and the overall look is more modern. On the other hand, the dash loses its practical flip-out cupholders and, obviously, the storage bin located behind the steering wheel. The door panels have also been redesigned.

The interior of our test Yaris boasts two-tone fabric seats to go along with the black and grey dashboard. We just wonder who thought of adding the samples of industrial-grade cloth on the sides of the seat cushions; not a good idea from an aesthetics standpoint. And I really like having a centre armrest, but the Yaris Hatchback doesn't offer one.

One major improvement the Yaris benefits from this year is increased cargo space. The hatchback's wheelbase has increased by 50 mm (or about 2 inches) while overall length is up by 75 mm (3 inches); cargo volume climbs from a ridiculous 260 litres to a more respectable 442 litres. Fold the rear seatback down, and you get 728 litres of space, or about as much as in the Fiesta.

The first thing you'll notice between the old Yaris and the new one is that the instrument panel has returned to where we usually look for it. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

More standard equipment
The base Yaris CE 3-door, priced at $13,990 before taxes, freight and delivery charges, now gets four speakers (instead of two), a new stereo with a USB port and Bluetooth connectivity, a height-adjustable driver's seat, a 60/40-split folding rear seatback, power door locks, a rear window wiper and nine airbags (instead of six). Air conditioning is optional.

The Yaris LE 5-door lists for $14,890, and compared to the 2011 version, gains the CE's upgrades as well as a $370 price drop. Our tester is also equipped with the $1,100 Convenience Package, which adds A/C, cruise control, keyless entry and power windows. Not bad, although a $15,595 Kia Rio LX+ costs less and also boasts fog lamps, heated front seats, wheel-mounted audio controls and a centre armrest.

The 2012 Yaris starts at $13,990, while our decently equipped LE 5-door with the Convenience Package goes for $15,990. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

The 2012 Toyota Yaris Hatchback is undeniably better than ever. A lot of improvements, marginal or significant, make this subcompact a more compelling choice. The problem is that the competition is just too good; some are more fun to drive, some are more fuel-efficient, some are better equipped and some are more practical.

In no aspect does the Toyota clearly upstage its rivals. The Yaris has the rest of the group within distance, but is still running behind, screaming “Hey, guys, wait up!”

BMW plans to hire thousands of permanent staff after cutting the number of its temporary workers by half, a German magazine reported.

French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg called on the management of PSA/Peugeot-Citroen to divulge its intentions for the future of its car plants quickly.

Slumping European markets have led auto industry executives to worry about possible contagion spreading across the Atlantic, but June new-car sales in the United States are expected to hit a five-year peak for the month.

Despite two decades of economic stagnation, Japan remains a lucrative market for the exotic Italian automaker Ferrari and its rivals.

Mercedes-Benz is offering incentives on its new A class in Germany in a bid to lure customers away from rivals BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

The very last Mazda vehicle using the famous rotary engine will roll off the assembly line this month at the company's Hiroshima factory. Despite conquering the hearts of many driving enthusiasts with its ability to generate more power than traditional engines of the same size, the Wankel consumed a fair amount of oil and gas, which didn't please Mother Nature.

Photo: Mazda

The only remaining model that used this powerplant was the RX-8 and it sold only 2,896 units in 2010. The car stopped being distributed in Europe two years ago after it failed diagnostics tests for the new emission requirements.

Mazda now banks on its highly efficient SKYACTIV technologies to reduce its carbon footprint and attract more customers in hope of turning a profit.

Still, the Japanese automaker is reportedly planning to introduce an electric car using hydrogen to fuel the rotary engine and generate power for the battery. Could 2013 mark a resurrection? We'll see.

Source: bloomberg.com

Some might say five-time Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson, out-raced the wind to win his first pole since September 2010, and 26th in his career.

“So happy to get the pole,” said Johnson. “ We have been second quite a bit and we have been off quite a bit the past few times over the last year-and-a-half so it's nice to win the pole and get that great starting spot and pit road pick ... so that is fun.”

Qualifying was stopped for almost 20-minutes when gusty winds hit the Kentucky Speedway almost midway through the qualifying line.

Johnson was in his motorhome, watching qualifying, when the wind hit. “thought there for a minute that somebody backed into our motorhome and hit it so I opened the door to look out and when I opened the door, the wind almost took the door off the hinges and I was like, okay, I don't know what is going on and there was a lot of stuff blowing around at that point.”

A tent blown over when the wind hit the Kentucky Speedway. (Photo: NASCAR)

Driving a Chevrolet he turned a 29.700 second lap, with an average of 181.818 mph. Johnson edged defending winner Kyle Busch's Toyota for the pole.

Last year's winner of the inaugural race, Busch averaged 181.421 and was only 0.065 seconds slower than the pole winner. Busch was disappointed “"Oh, it was alright,” he said. “Certainly hoped for a little bit more there, but unfortunately didn't achieve what we needed to.”

Denny Hamlin, Busch's JGR teammate was third fastest and Kevin Harvick was fourth quick.

Matt Kenseth, the Sprint Cup points leader who surprised many by his announcement to leave Roush Fenway Racing, was 23rd.

Photo: NASCAR

J.J. Yeley and Mike Skinner failed to qualify.

In other news Brad Keselowski had an issue with Juan Pablo Montoya in the first practice which resulted in a wall banging for Keselowski. And it required the young driver to go to a back- up car. In the second practice Keselowski, driving the backup car, intentionally put a bumper on Montoya's car . Keselowski went to the NASCAR hauler.