| Tuesday, October 30th 2012, 16:38 GMT |
Luca Filippi was fastest in GP2's first post-season test at Barcelona on Tuesday
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| By Matt Beer | Tuesday, October 30th 2012, 15:31 GMT |
Giedo van der Garde believes he is making huge progress in his Friday practice appearances with Caterham, as he continues to try and break into Formula 1
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| By Marcus Simmons | Tuesday, October 30th 2012, 15:39 GMT |
British Formula 3 teams completed their Macau Grand Prix preparations last week when they tested at Silverstone
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 29th 2012, 16:46 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen will be a much stronger driver in 2013 than he was during his comeback season for Lotus, reckons his team boss.
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| By Simon Strang | Monday, October 29th 2012, 16:58 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen says his desire to win is as strong as ever, following the news that he has signed on for a second season with Lotus.
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| By Simon Strang | Monday, October 29th 2012, 17:35 GMT |
Nico Rosberg says his Mercedes team is still motivated to finish the season on a high, despite its race performances tailing off recently.
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 17:17 GMT |
Red Bull still needs to deliver three 'perfect' race weekends if it is going to pull off another world championship title, according to team principal Christian Horner - despite the team's recent run of dominance
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| By Andrew van Leeuwen | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 17:46 GMT |
Defeated International Superstars Series title contender Tonio Liuzzi has apologised to his CAAL Racing team for getting mixed up with "dangerous driver" Andrea Larini in the finale at Pergusa - which cost him the crown
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| By Diego Mejia | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 23:40 GMT |
Jimmie Johnson jumped back up to the lead of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with his fourth win of the season and his seventh at Martinsville Speedway
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Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Matt Beer | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 03:11 GMT |
Yamaha has called up test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga to replace Ben Spies for the MotoGP season finale at Valencia
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| By Andrew van de Burgt and Pablo Elizalde | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 03:21 GMT |
Kamui Kobayashi remains confident he will be on the 2013 Formula 1 grid despite having to secure sponsor backing in order to have a chance of keeping his seat at Sauber
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| By Edd Straw | Sunday, October 28th 2012, 03:31 GMT |
Williams chief operations engineer Mark Gillan declared his team on top of its car problems after showing improved pace in India
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| By Matt Beer | Saturday, October 27th 2012, 03:43 GMT |
Moto3 world champion Sandro Cortese wrapped up pole position for the Phillip Island round as rain hit the latter stages of qualifying
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, October 27th 2012, 03:50 GMT |
Nico Rosberg thinks it vital that Mercedes ends the 2012 Formula 1 season on a high, after a run of disappointing results
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| By Diego Mejia | Saturday, October 27th 2012, 04:03 GMT |
NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase leader Brad Keselowski is sure he will be able to recover from his worst qualifying of the season during Sunday's race at Martinsville, which he will start from 32nd on the grid
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| By Jamie O'Leary | Thursday, October 25th 2012, 19:57 GMT |
Kevin Ceccon stayed on top of the timesheets on the second and final day of GP3 testing at Jerez on Thursday
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, October 26th 2012, 00:57 GMT |
Casey Stoner began his bid for a sixth straight home MotoGP victory in ominous fashion by blitzing the field in first practice at Phillip Island
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, October 26th 2012, 03:23 GMT |
Esteban Gutierrez will stand in for Sergio Perez in first practice for the Indian Grand Prix, Sauber has confirmed
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| By Glenn Freeman | Wednesday, October 24th 2012, 11:34 GMT |
Jules Bianchi and Tech 1 racing have called for rule changes to prevent drivers from winning championships by colliding with their rivals.
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| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, October 24th 2012, 15:49 GMT |
Kevin Ceccon set the pace for MW Arden on the opening day of GP3's post-season test at Jerez.
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, October 24th 2012, 15:51 GMT |
Davide Valsecchi and Edoardo Mortara will join the Lotus team's line-up for the young driver test in Abu Dhabi
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| By Sam Tremayne | Tuesday, October 23rd 2012, 16:12 GMT |
Maverick Vinales has offered an unreserved apology just five days after walking out on his Avintia Moto3 team on the eve of last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix
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| By Glenn Freeman | Tuesday, October 23rd 2012, 18:45 GMT |
Kevin Magnussen led the way on the first day of post-season Formula Renault 3.5 testing at Barcelona on Tuesday
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| By Diego Mejia | Tuesday, October 23rd 2012, 20:41 GMT |
Dale Earnhardt Jr has been cleared to return to NASCAR Sprint Cup competition next weekend at Martinsville Speedway after his injury lay-off
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Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Monday, October 22nd 2012, 15:30 GMT |
GP3 champion Mitch Evans got his first taste of the new car that will be used in the series from the 2013 season
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| By Glenn Freeman | Monday, October 22nd 2012, 16:21 GMT |
Jules Bianchi believes it is "clear" that Robin Frijns knocked him off the track to win the Formula Renault 3.5 championship at Barcelona on Sunday.
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| By Glenn Freeman | Monday, October 22nd 2012, 20:42 GMT |
Carlos Sainz Jr will get his first taste of Formula Renault 3.5 machinery during this week's post-season test at Barcelona
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| By Kevin Turner | Sunday, October 21st 2012, 14:06 GMT |
Gordon Shedden clinched his first British Touring Car title in a wet second race at Brands Hatch, taking second behind new BTCC winner Aron Smith
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| By Kevin Turner | Sunday, October 21st 2012, 16:49 GMT |
Frank Wrathall took his first British Touring Car victory in the reversed-grid race in the 2012 finale at Brands Hatch
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| By Glenn Freeman and Matt Beer | Sunday, October 21st 2012, 19:51 GMT |
Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robin Frijns has been given a 25-second penalty for his clash with title rival Jules Bianchi in the Barcelona decider, but it does not affect his championship success
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| By Jamie O'Leary | Saturday, October 20th 2012, 20:05 GMT |
Timo Scheider has been stripped of his qualifying times for Sunday's DTM finale at Hockenheim after failing a post-session weight test
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| Sunday, October 21st 2012, 02:01 GMT |
Neel Jani, Nicolas Prost and Andrea Belicchi handed Rebellion's Lola-Toyota a dominant victory at this year's Petit Le Mans
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| Sunday, October 21st 2012, 02:48 GMT |
Jamie Whincup and Sebastien Bourdais secured a qualifying lock-out for the second straight year at V8 Supercars' Surfers Paradise event
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| By David Evans | Saturday, October 20th 2012, 01:57 GMT |
Sebastien Ogier declared his start to Rally d'Italia "perfect" as he made history in his Volkswagen Motorsport-run Skoda Fabia S2000 and completed leg one in an astonishing fourth overall
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| Saturday, October 20th 2012, 02:59 GMT |
Dani Pedrosa beat Jorge Lorenzo again in final practice for MotoGP's Malaysian Grand Prix
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| Saturday, October 20th 2012, 03:35 GMT |
Alain Menu completed a clean sweep of Saturday practice sessions in the final half hour of running before Suzuka World Touring Car Championship qualifying
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| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, October 19th 2012, 02:57 GMT |
Dani Pedrosa dominated the opening MotoGP practice session at Sepang, finishing comfortably clear of Honda team-mate Casey Stoner and championship rival Jorge Lorenzo.
The Spaniard, who captured pole for last year's abandoned race, was the first rider to dip into the 2m01s bracket.
With a quarter of the session to run he had worked his way down to a 2m01.621s, at the time putting him almost half a second clear of Stoner and Lorenzo.
It wasn't until the final two minutes that the pair were able to close that gap, although neither was able to really threaten Pedrosa's benchmark.
Stoner, in his second race weekend following his return from injury, came closest, eventually ending the session 0.152s down.
Lorenzo meanwhile clocked a 2m01.934s on his penultimate tour, just over three tenths down on his title rival.
While Stoner's form suggests he could be a factor in Sunday's race, Lorenzo can still clinch the title by simply finishing third in the remaining three races, regardless of what Pedrosa manages.
Fourth and fifth went to the Tech 3 Yamaha pair of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, the Italian edging the intra-team battle by three hundredths of a second. Both riders finished more than six tenths down on Pedrosa however.
Ben Spies on the second works Yamaha claimed sixth ahead of LCR Honda's Stefan Bradl, the last rider to get within one second of Pedrosa.
Ducati's Nicky Hayden edged out Gresini Honda's Alvaro Bautista, third last weekend at Motegi, for eighth, while Pramac's Hector Barbera beat the second works Ducati of Valentino Rossi to 10th.
Rossi, winner of the last grand prix here in 2010, was more than 1.6s off the ultimate pace.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Dani Pedrosa Honda 2m01.621s 2. Casey Stoner Honda 2m01.773s + 0.152s 3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 2m01.934s + 0.313s 4. Andrea Dovizioso Tech 3 Yamaha 2m02.236s + 0.615s 5. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha 2m02.266s + 0.645s 6. Ben Spies Yamaha 2m02.358s + 0.737s 7. Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 2m02.617s + 0.996s 8. Nicky Hayden Ducati 2m02.754s + 1.133s 9. Alvaro Bautista Gresini Honda 2m02.872s + 1.251s 10. Hector Barbera Pramac Ducati 2m03.221s + 1.600s 11. Valentino Rossi Ducati 2m03.274s + 1.653s 12. Karel Abraham Cardion Ducati 2m04.624s + 3.003s 13. Randy de Puniet Aspar Aprilia 2m05.029s + 3.408s 14. Aleix Espargaro Aspar Aprilia 2m05.077s + 3.456s 15. Colin Edwards Forward Suter-BMW 2m05.387s + 3.766s 16. Michele Pirro Gresini FTR-Honda 2m06.058s + 4.437s 17. James Ellison Paul Bird Aprilia 2m06.452s + 4.831s 18. Roberto Rolfo Speed Master Aprilia 2m06.470s + 4.849s 19. Yonny Hernandez Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 2m07.257s + 5.636s 20. Ivan Silva Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 2m07.291s + 5.670s 21. Danilo Petrucci Ioda Suter-BMW 2m07.818s + 6.197s
| By David Evans | Thursday, October 18th 2012, 19:09 GMT |
The leading crews on Rally d'Italia have written to the event director demanding changes be made to open-ended barriers - similar to the those involved in the accident which killed Gareth Roberts earlier this year – on one of the new Sardinian stages.
Sebastien Ogier and his co-driver Julien Ingrassia contacted the organisers after the recce, concerned by the barriers on a new stage included for the first time this season.
There were five points of concern on the Tergu-Osilo test which runs tomorrow.
Ogier said: "We made a report to the FIA directly, asking to protect the barriers. Already, there were too many accidents like this, so something had to be done.
"I don't want to race in the condition like this. OK, they were not exactly on the line, and if you stay on the road then you can have no problem but you never know what can happen."
Ingrassia is a member of the WRC's safety working group and he emailed his fellow working group members with their concerns.
"I noted the places where they are very dangerous and for three points [in the stage] it was very bad, so this is why I made the email to them," said Ingrassia.
"We have spoken about this with huge importance since some very bad accidents in the last 15 months. This is the black point of the moment and I was really upset and angry that nothing has been done on a new stage like this."
Event director Antonio Turitto said the crews' concerns would be addressed.
"We know about these places," he said. "And we will put the straw bales at the end of the barriers. The only reason we didn't put the bales there during the recce is in case they get stolen. But we will put them there before the cars go through."
| By Sam Tremayne | Friday, October 19th 2012, 03:39 GMT |
Maverick Vinales will miss the final three races of the 2012 Moto3 season after splitting with his Avintia Blusens team.
The 17-year-old had a mathematical chance of securing the title heading into Malaysia, his tally of five wins and seven podiums enough to put him second overall, 56 points down on Sandro Cortese.
He didn't appear in the opening practice session at Sepang however, and amid talk of unhappiness with his team confirmed he has quit the outfit three races before the season's end.
Vinales, who did at least travel to Sepang, blamed the team's poor performance and refusal to allow him to leave at the end of the year for his shock early exit.
"We won't take part in the race as the team hasn't complied with the agreement we had," he said.
"Since halfway through the season, [the team] haven't done all they could.
"I'm always giving my best. I wanted to leave the team after those last three races and have a 'clean' break-up, but they wouldn't agree so today I'm heading home.
"It's definitely always better to finish in a good way. I would have raced until the end of the season if they agreed to release me at the end of the year."
Vinales had recently signed a contract extension with Avintia Blusens, but declared he was now far from confident he could achieve him ambition of winning next year's Moto3 title with the team.
"You can sign whatever you want, but when things just get worse and worse, you have to find solutions," he said.
"It's not that much about the support, but I think it's a second division team.
"I have to try and win the championship next year and I don't think I could do it with this team, so that's why I took this decision."
Vinales' shock withdrawal means Cortese will, barring disaster, clinch the inaugural Moto3 crown this weekend.
The 22-year-old German has fewer wins than Vinales (three to Vinales' five) but has missed the podium just twice all season.
After Vinales, his next-nearest challenger is Luis Salom, 61 points in arrears.
| By Diego Mejia | Wednesday, October 17th 2012, 16:11 GMT |
Dale Earnhardt Jr plans to return behind the wheel next week testing a car before he is cleared to get back to competition a few days later at Martinsville Speedway.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver continues to rest following his concussion diagnosis, which sidelined him from last weekend's Sprint Cup event at Charlotte and the coming Chase round at Kansas Speedway, the same venue where he suffered a first concussion during a crash while testing on August 29.
Earnhardt's sister Kelly wrote on a blog on Wednesday morning that his brother continues to rest in order to recover after he experienced headaches following a multi-car crash on the last lap of the Cup playoff race at Talladega.
According to Earnhardt, if the healing process continues according to plan he would test a car next week, hoping to get cleared to compete again.
"If all goes according to plan, and he continues to improve to 100 per cent, he will test a race car early next week to be cleared for Martinsville," Earnhardt's sister wrote.
"This has definitely been a eye opening experience and one that I hope we don't revisit in his career. The outpouring of support has been great, and well, the criticism, you can learn from that as well."
On Tuesday Earnhardt spent the day at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center doing "different therapies and exercises" before returning home where he continues to consult with doctors daily.
Regan Smith, who suffered an engine failure while running in the top-ten last weekend at Charlotte, will replace Earnhardt at Kansas again this weekend.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Gary Watkins | Wednesday, October 17th 2012, 20:03 GMT |
Stephane Ratel has come out against plans for a single GT category to replace GTE and GT3.
Ratel, the architect of the GT3 category and the world's leading promoter of GT racing, has announced that he opposes the plan put forward last week by the FIA and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest at Le Mans after meeting with the sport's governing body on Tuesday morning.
He has put forward an alternative plan for international GT racing in which GT3 is retained.
In as statement issued by his SRO Motorsports Group, Ratel argued that GT3, which was introduced in 2006, should be retained on stability grounds.
It described GT3 as one of the "fastest growing categories in motorsport", which had brought 14 marques together in a single class. It stated that those marques should "not be disturbed by the need to rescue the ACO GTE category".
Ratel also argued that GT racing required different classes like other forms of motorsport.
"GT racing deserves, like most other major categories, different steps of development," read the statement. "This should correspond to the variable levels of team and manufacturer involvement. There is as much a need for two categories in GT racing as there is in prototypes where LMP2 cars run alongside LMP1 entries."
A third argument against working towards one class was the differing needs within the marketplace. He said any attempt to merge the two divisions would "go against the interest of the teams and manufacturers competing in each category", which could mean some marques no longer being able to compete.
Ratel's alternative plan calls for the GT3 category to be retained, while keeping a cap on costs by limiting developments. He said there should be the launch of a new FIA GT2 category to replace GTE where performance balancing would be limited to success ballast.
He said this would be "a category where GT manufacturers will prove through competition they can produce the best road-going GT car."
The FIA and the ACO jointly announced last Friday at the Fuji World Endurance Championship round that they want to replace GTE and GT3 with a single class. They announced that they wanted a class with a strict rulebook, as in GTE, with the lower costs of GT3.
No timescale was set for the introduction of the new class ahead of the first meeting of a working group next month. ACO sporting manager Vincent Beaumesnil stressed that it would not come into force before 2015.
Porsche, which builds cars for both GTE and GT3, has also come out against the FIA/ACO plan (SEE MAG). Marque motorsport boss Hartmut Kristen's views echoed of Ratel when he said that two types of car were required to meet the needs of professional and semi-professional or amateur GT racing.
| By David Evans | Wednesday, October 17th 2012, 20:09 GMT |
M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson has admitted breaking the news of Ford's departure to his M-Sport workforce was the hardest thing he's ever had to do in the sport.
Wilson explained the situation to his 230-strong staff in Cumbria as Ford was announcing its decision to the wider world.
Wilson has revealed that only five members of staff at M-Sport knew of Ford's intentions before Monday.
"There was complete shock, total shock," said Wilson. "There was nobody in the company - apart from the five people who knew - who saw this coming. But you can't believe how everybody has rallied around since the news.
"I have been touched from both within the company and outside of M-Sport by the support we've had from everybody. Put it this way, we've had 10 times the number of messages that we had when we won the world championships. It's been unbelievable.
"They've been non-stop and they've gone way beyond what I thought everybody thought about us.
"We've got a great product and now I've just got to get up and work a bit harder," said Wilson.
While admitting that his focus remains firmly on securing the funding to continue next season, Wilson admitted he would be open to talking to other manufacturers.
| By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde | Tuesday, October 16th 2012, 14:27 GMT |
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali is convinced Felipe Massa will repay the faith the Italian squad had put in him by extending his contract.
The Maranello-based outfit confirmed on Tuesday that Massa will continue to partner Fernando Alonso next year, ending months of speculation about the Brazilian's future.
Although Ferrari admitted it had talked to other drivers regarding the second seat, Domenicali has no doubts Massa will prove that keeping him onboard is the right decision.
"We are happy to have lengthened the relationship with Felipe for one further year," Domenicali said.
"He has been part of our family for more than 10 years and he has demonstrated, especially in this last part of the season, to be again competitive at the maximum levels, as is expected of every driver at the wheel of a Ferrari.
"We have always supported Felipe, even during the most difficult moments of his career, and we are certain of his worth and that he will be able to repay the faith that has again been put on him."
Massa, who has driven for the team since 2006, said he was elated after securing a new deal.
"I'm extremely happy with this agreement," said the Brazilian.
"Ferrari is my sporting family and I've always raced in Formula 1 with engines built in Maranello: I can't see myself at the wheel of a single-seater powered by other engines.
"I want to first of all thank president Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali, who have put their faith in me and have always supported me, even at the most difficult times.
"Both of them, the team and every fan can be certain that I will do everything within my possibilities to help the Scuderia in reaching the goals it sets for itself every year."
| By Lito Cavalcanti and Jamie O'Leary | Tuesday, October 16th 2012, 16:15 GMT |
Formula 1's most experienced driver Rubens Barrichello has brought forward his Brazilian V8 Stock Car debut to this weekend at Curitiba.
The IndyCar racer announced earlier this month his plan to contest the big-money, non-championship race at Interlagos on December 9 on condition of £70,000 being donated to the children's charity he founded with his friend Tony Kanaan.
However, he will now also take in this weekend's race plus the following event at Brasilia to acclimatise to Full Time Sports' Peugeot 408 machine.
The 40-year-old Brazilian had his first test in the car at Curitiba on Monday, beginning with a series of four-lap stints in the morning and then undertaking a 40-minute race simulation during the afternoon.
His best lap of around 1m21.5s would have put him 25th on the grid for the Curitiba V8 race earlier in the season.
"In the first laps, I thought of asking the guys to take off the doors, but I got used to it gradually," Barrichello said.
"I still miss seeing the wheels move, but that's a saloon car, not a single-seater, and I must learn to drive it"
He is due to test again at the same track on Thursday, benefitting from the three hours of pre-race running that V8 rookies are allowed.
Barrichello will carry #17 on his car in deference to V8 Stock Cars' most successful driver, Ingo Hoffmann, who was one of his childhood heroes.
| By Diego Mejia | Tuesday, October 16th 2012, 18:53 GMT |
NASCAR has dropped the qualifying rule which guaranteed starting spots for the top 35 drivers in the owners' points as part of wider competition changes for 2013.
The top-35 rule came into effect in 2005 and applied to points-paying events.
In its stead, a new qualifying system will be introduced from the start of next season in which speed will be prevailing factor.
NASCAR will use a 36-6-1 format in which the fastest 36 cars make the race on speed.
The next six spots will then go to those best placed in the owners' standings but not already qualified.
The final grid spot will be available for the most recent eligible past champion. If no previous champions are entered or eligible, a maximum of seven cars will qualify based on their ranking in the owners' points.
The order in which cars complete their qualifying runs will once again be set by a draw, and if qualifying is cancelled the field will be set based on practice speeds.
The unique qualifying procedure for the season-opening Daytona 500 will be affected by the scrapping of the top-35 rule, with the Duels now taking a bigger role in setting the grid due to the elimination of guaranteed spots.
Alongside the qualifying changes, NASCAR also announced that testing will be opened up to once again include tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule. Testing at current circuits was banned in 2009.
"We feel like it's time to open that up and allow the teams to manage their testing and get back to facilities that host our events," said NASCAR's Robin Pemberton.
"We made the decision at the end of 2008 to restrict testing, primarily for economic reasons. Now we believe it will be best for the garage and for the tracks to have some testing return in 2013."
Additional changes were also announced for the Nationwide and Truck Series, including the downsizing of the field for the second-tier series from 43 to 40 cars.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Sam Tremayne | Monday, October 15th 2012, 15:22 GMT |
Malcolm Wilson admits his M-Sport outfit will need to reviews its options in the wake of Ford's decision to withdraw works support for its WRC effort.
M-Sport has run Ford's factory squad since 1997 and has taken 52 wins, plus the manufacturers' world championships in 2006 and '07.
Wilson pledged to continue developing the Fiesta WRC in preparation for 2013, but said its future programme would have to be reviewed.
Ford is in talks with M-Sport to provide continued vehicle and engineering support.
"Confirmation of our key championship programmes for 2013 is our first priority and a challenge that the team here is very much looking forward to," Wilson said.
"After that we can review all options and determine the right direction for the future.
"My intention is that we will continue to push to secure stage wins and overall results on the forthcoming events for Ford and to push forward with the development work that was started in March this year to improve and refine the Fiesta WRC even further, ready for the 2013 season.
"We will also continue to work closely with our colleagues at Ford Racing towards the launch of the Fiesta R5 for March 2013 and the improvements that we are working on for the R2 car which will continue to the form the basis of a series of national and regional young driver programmes in the future."
Wilson paid tribute to Ford's role in a partnership that has spanned 16 seasons, and said he sympathised with the company's decision.
"M-Sport is extremely proud of our history with Ford since 1997," he added.
"208 podium finishes, scoring points on 156 consecutive events and 52 wins from 225 starts in the WRC along with two world titles underlines the dedication and commitment of the whole team in Cumbria.
"I would like to thank Ford of Europe for their enthusiastic support and the faith shown in the team over the past 16 seasons.
"We understand that tough decisions have had to be made to safeguard Ford jobs, we accept the commercial reality of the situation and look forward to continuing our strong technical partnership into the future."
| By Sam Tremayne | Monday, October 15th 2012, 16:44 GMT |
Don Panoz believes the DeltaWing can still have a future in single-seater competition.
The car was originally conceived as a replacement for last year's IndyCar chassis, but after losing out to the Dallara DW12 found its way into competition via the Le Mans 'Garage 56' concept.
Panoz reckons there could still be an appetite for the car, which has raced as the Nissan DeltaWing in sportscars this year, to be used in single-seaters.
"The original design was created as a single-seater/open wheel car and the concept certainly can still be used in that format," he said.
"At our facility here in Braselton we've mass produced cars in the past for Champ Car, the Superleague Formula series and other junior formula. We certainly have the capability.
"When you look at the enormous number of single seater championships around the world - especially in Europe – we know there is interest in making their championship stand out from the crowd.
"While the die-hard fan can obviously tell the difference between Formula 1, IndyCar, Indy Lights, GP2, World Series by Renault or Formula 2 – the casual fan has no idea.
"That is where the potential growth in the sport is – attracting new fans, younger fans.
"Every youngster that ever sees the DeltaWing is blown away by it. We'd love to see a single seater championship of DeltaWings do battle on track one day."
The DeltaWing faced an uncertain future following its Le Mans bow, but was eventually cleared to compete in next year's American Le Mans Series and the new championship that will result from the merger of the ALMS and Grand-Am in 2014.
Panoz said the decision had provided a massive boost to the company, adding: "Now we know the car can compete for wins and championships, the game has changed quite significantly.
"It was obviously very difficult for a potential customer to purchase a car without knowing where they could race it. That hurdle has now been cleared.
"The phone began to ring over the weekend after the ALMS/IMSA announcement and we're already dealing with enquiries from prospective customers."
| By Jamie O'Leary | Monday, October 15th 2012, 17:33 GMT |
Michael Schumacher's former Ferrari race engineer Chris Dyer has joined BMW's DTM programme.
Dyer worked with Schumacher from 2001-06 and later became the Italian squad's head of race track engineering before being replaced by Pat Fry last year.
BMW confirmed to AUTOSPORT that the 43-year-old Australian will take over as the project's chief engineer from Mike Krack, who is leaving his role at the end of the season.
Dyer will make his first race appearance for BMW at this weekend's Hockenheim season finale.
He has a strong background in touring cars, having worked with the Holden Racing Team in Australia in the mid-nineties alongside Craig Lowndes and Peter Brock.
| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 14th 2012, 10:54 GMT |
Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a podium finish in the Korean Grand Prix were wrecked by a rear anti-roll bar failure.
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| Sunday, October 14th 2012, 11:17 GMT |
Korea Sunday quotes: Williams
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 14th 2012, 16:31 GMT |
Red Bull has been urged to banish thoughts of its world championship chances, as team principal Christian Horner says it cannot afford to ease off in its push for wins
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 14th 2012, 03:11 GMT |
Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes can target a stronger end to the 2012 Formula 1 campaign now it has made progress with its latest updates
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 14th 2012, 03:20 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen refuses to get carried away with hopes of a Lotus resurgence, despite the team's improved Korea form giving him a shot at staying in title contention
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| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 14th 2012, 03:33 GMT |
Jenson Button thinks McLaren can be confident about its race chances for the Korean Grand Prix because of its strong long-run pace in practice - but is under no illusions about how tough it is going to be to make progress
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| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, October 13th 2012, 02:20 GMT |
Pirelli believes a one-stop tyre strategy could be a possibility in the Korean Grand Prix because of the unique nature of the circuit.
The track surface and layout of the Yeongam track poses a difficult challenge for the teams, with getting the tyres in to the right operating window a bigger challenge that dealing with degradation.
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery believes that could mean strategy being fairly straightforward in Sunday's race.
"Here it is quite a strange circuit because it looks like a permanent normal fast circuit but the surface itself is like a street circuit," he said. "It is very smooth, so there are low wear levels.
"From the tyre point of view, the structure comes under relatively heavy loads in terms of braking and laterals, but the compound itself is worked quite lightly which is why we came with the soft and super soft.
"Last year, people suggested that decision was quite crazy and we would have five or six pit stops - and we saw there were two.
"That will be replicated this time around, possibly with people looking at a one-stop race."
Hembery said the lap time difference between the super soft and soft tyres is between 0.2 and 0.6 seconds depending on the car - which makes it possible that some of the teams at the bottom end of the top 10 in qualifying may elect not to go for a lap time on the super soft.
"That is absolutely possible," said Hembery. "It is that close – as you might be able to go a vast majority of the race on the soft tyres. The rear tyre could probably do the whole race, as here you are front limited."
| By Jonathan Noble | Saturday, October 13th 2012, 02:42 GMT |
Jenson Button says he is excited about the prospect of becoming McLaren's de facto team leader next year.
The former world champion will be joined by the relatively inexperienced Sergio Perez at the Woking-based team next year - which means there will be more reliance on him to head up car development this winter.
But rather than be unsettled by the prospect of having a new team-mate in 2013, Button believes the change of situation will be a huge boost to him - and will even help make him better.
"It is always exciting having new team-mates," he said in Korea. "You always learn something from someone, even if they are inexperienced.
"It is always interesting to see how they read data and their style of driving. He [Perez] is obviously not as experienced as Lewis, and Lewis has been here [at McLaren] a lot longer than I have, so I suppose you do lose a little bit.
"But I am not worried. I feel I can set-up a car with my engineers pretty well, and I like pressure on us to perform, I like that feeling.
"I have had that through most of my career at BAR and Honda, and it is something I enjoy - and something I am looking forward to."
Button is also well aware that the departure of Lewis Hamilton means that he will now be central to the work this winter on the 2013 contender.
"It is better for me going forward to the end of the year for next year's car, yes," he said.
| By Sam Tremayne | Saturday, October 13th 2012, 03:02 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel built on his impressive Friday showing by going half a second clear in final practice for the Korean Grand Prix.
The German, winner of the past two grands prix in Singapore and Japan, has never started off the front row at Korea.
He gave himself the perfect chance to extend that run with a fantastic late run on the super softs, improving his own personal best several times and working his way down to a 1m37.642s.
That put him comfortably clear of the chasing pack, which was led by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
The Briton had been more of a match for Vettel on the softs, but was unable to match the German's improvements in the final minutes and on the red super soft compounds.
Jenson Button finished third in the second McLaren, while Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen - the latter running with the Coanda-effect exhausts - secured fourth and fifth.
Championship leader Fernando Alonso was sixth fastest ahead of Mark Webber, who was prevented from completing a super soft run by electrical engine issues.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Williams's Pastor Maldonado and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10. Hulkenberg finished 1.2s down on Vettel.
The session began in understated fashion, with a dearth of on-track action once the initial round of installation laps was completed.
That situation was finally remedied 16 minutes in when Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen headed out.
The latter's second flyer, a 1m39.748s, kept him top while Pastor Maldonado, Nico Hulkenberg and Jean-Eric Vergne joined the fray, but he was demoted by Vettel when Red Bull emerged 24 minutes into the running.
Four minutes on Webber confirmed the team's pace by dropping the benchmark to a 1m38.766s, which would keep him top until the final 20 minutes.
At that stage Ferrari and McLaren were both yet to go out, but when they did it was with an instant impact.
The Scuderia was the first to bite, and at the session's halfway mark Alonso shot up into second.
Minutes later McLaren also joined the track, with Hamilton and then Button demoting the Spaniard. Hamilton's second effort was enough to finally relegate Webber and put the Briton top.
He was soon joined by Button, who set the fastest time in sector two en route to making it a McLaren 1-2 at the top of the charts.
That didn't last long however, as Vettel shot back to the top with a 1m38.215s, around three tenths of a second faster than Hamilton.
That would be as fast as anyone achieved on the soft compound, with the majority of the field pitting for a switch to super softs shortly after Vettel set his mark.
Aside from Webber's late issue, there were relatively few issues during the 60 minutes.
Bruno Senna was urged to pit for a front wing complaint, although Williams managed to rectify the problem with a minimum of fuss, while Caterham's Vitaly Petrov was warned not to cross pedals late on.
The Russian was still able to edge out team-mate Heikki Kovalainen to finish 19th, just behind Senna.
HRT's Narain Karthikeyan meanwhile felt he had cause for complaint when baulked slightly by Sauber's Sergio Perez, an incident not dissimilar to the one which earned Michael Schumacher a Friday reprimand.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.642s 17 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.169s + 0.527s 12 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.511s + 0.869s 13 4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.582s + 0.940s 16 5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m38.666s + 1.024s 18 6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.705s + 1.063s 12 7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.766s + 1.124s 7 8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.791s + 1.149s 13 9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.833s + 1.191s 16 10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.932s + 1.290s 17 11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.954s + 1.312s 17 12. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m39.010s + 1.368s 20 13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m39.150s + 1.508s 18 14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.156s + 1.514s 18 15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.345s + 1.703s 14 16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.448s + 1.806s 17 17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.537s + 1.895s 18 18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m39.706s + 2.064s 18 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m41.114s + 3.472s 14 20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m41.437s + 3.795s 19 21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.684s + 4.042s 16 22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.062s + 4.420s 15 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m42.845s + 5.203s 15 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.882s + 5.240s 14 All Timing Unofficial
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 12th 2012, 02:51 GMT |
Red Bull believes title success in 2012 would be its 'biggest triumph' in Formula 1.
Although the team is chasing its third consecutive world championship, team boss Christian Horner believes that the way it has fought back this season would make this title much sweeter.
"I think it would be our biggest victory in many respects, because it doesn't get easier," said Horner, when asked by AUTOSPORT about how this year's title would compare to the previous two if Red Bull won it.
"2010 was a phenomenal achievement and the realisation of having achieved it, while in 2011 we defended the title better than we won it.
"This year with the regulation changes we achieved over the winter there has been a real challenge, so whoever wins this championship is going to be very deserving because it has been one of the toughest years in recent F1 history."
In 2010, Vettel took his and Red Bull's first title at the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi, while a year later he was dominant throughout the campaign and helped secure both crowns early on.
Red Bull is currently leading the constructors' championship by 41 points from McLaren, while Vettel has slashed the deficit to Fernando Alonso to just four points in the drivers' contest. There are now five races remaining, starting in Korea this weekend.
Many observers believe Vettel is now favourite for the championship - because of the current form of the Red Bull car – but Horner is not so convinced about that.
"The only thing we have seen this year is that it is impossible to make predictions," he explained.
"We've had two strong races in Singapore and Suzuka, there are five races to go and we are just taking the remaining five races one race at a time.
"So, to be honest, I don't think anybody has any real clarity as to how they are going to perform this weekend. However this is a track that we have performed well at previously, and hopefully we can be strong here again this weekend."
He added: "It was great to get back to back victories in Suzuka and Singapore and it was important for Sebastian to take a healthy amount of points out of Fernando.
"He has taken 35 points in two weekends, so it demonstrates how quickly things can change, which is why it would be wrong to make any assumptions or predictions about the forthcoming races."
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, October 12th 2012, 03:02 GMT |
McLaren has won the right to claim a corporation tax deduction on the £32 million fine that it was handed for its involvement in the 2007 spying controversy with Ferrari.
After a recent appeal hearing in front of judges against the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Woking-based team successfully argued that the fine was 'connected' with its trade so could be put against tax.
HMRC had claimed that McLaren's fine should not be tax exempt because it had been handed to the team for activities that were not directly related to its racing programme.
Its solicitor Akash Nawbatt argued: "The penalty arose from McLaren's interference with Ferrari's intellectual property: such interference was not part of McLaren's trade or incidental thereto.
"The legitimate gathering of information was part of its trade but the illicit gathering of information was not. McLaren had said as much in its submissions to WMSC in the July hearing."
The tribunal's two judges were divided in their opinion over the matter, however, which meant the view of presiding Judge Charles Hellier held sway. He believed the fine could be tax deductible.
In his summary, Judge Hellier stated: "This cost was not one imposed on McLaren, but one which it was contractually obliged to pay under contractual obligations undertaken for the purposes of its trade... the penalty was something which arose from its trade, was connected with its trade and was incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of its trade."
The court ruling issued by the tribunal's judges revealed that in the year to December 31 2007, McLaren's turnover was £127 million but it made a loss of £35 million, mainly as a result of its fine.
In 2008, McLaren made a profit of £5 million, while in 2009 it has increased that profit to £50 million.
The exact level of the fine - which at the time was $100 million (USD) minus the loss of commercial revenue from Formula 1 which would be withheld - worked out at exactly £32,313,341.
HMRC has the right to appeal the ruling.
| Friday, October 12th 2012, 03:34 GMT |
Toyota started its home round of the World Endurance Championship on top as it beat Audi in opening practice at Fuji.
Kazuki Nakajima, back in the Toyota line-up for the first time since the Le Mans 24 Hours, set the pace with a lap of 1m28.809s.
Benoit Treluyer made a late improvement in the championship-leading #1 Audi to take second from Allan McNish in the #2, but was still 0.419 seconds down on the Toyota.
Strakka's HPD was the best of the non-factory LMP1s, ahead of Rebellion's #12 Lola-Toyota.
Signatech's #26 ORECA-Nissan set the LMP2 pace.
Richard Leitz's Felbermayr-Proton Porsche beat the Ferraris to the GTE-Pro top spot, while the #50 Larbre Corvette was fastest in GTE-Am.
Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Time 1. P1 Wurz/Lapierre/Nakajima Toyota 1m28.809s 2. P1 Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer Audi 1m29.228s 3. P1 Kristensen/McNish Audi 1m29.457s 4. P1 Leventis/Watts/Kane Strakka HPD 1m31.038s 5. P1 Prost/Jani Rebellion Lola-Toyota 1m31.654s 6. P1 Brabham/Chandhok/Dumbreck JRM HPD 1m31.700s 7. P1 Baguette/Kraihamer/Sato OAK Pescarolo-Honda 1m31.732s 8. P1 Belicchi/Primat Rebellion Lola-Toyota 1m33.466s 9. P2 Panciatici/Ragues/Rusinov Signatech ORECA-Nissan 1m33.525s 10. P2 Martin/Graves/Nakano ADR-Delta ORECA-Nissan 1m33.655s 11. P2 Nicolet/Lahaye/Pla OAK Morgan-Nissan 1m34.046s 12. P2 Perez Companc/Minassian/Kaffer Pecom ORECA-Nissan 1m34.424s 13. P2 Potolicchio/Dalziel/Sarrazin Starworks HPD 1m34.510s 14. P2 Mailleux/Lombard/Tresson Signatech ORECA-Nissan 1m34.888s 15. P2 Giroix/Ihara/Deletraz Gulf Lola-Nissan 1m35.864s 16. P2 Zugel/Gonzalez/Julian Greaves Zytek-Nissan 1m36.639s 17. P2 Holzer/Schultis Lotus Lola-Lotus 1m37.780s 18. GTE P Lieb/Lietz Felbermayr Porsche 1m41.378s 19. GTE P Fisichella/Bruni AF Ferrari 1m41.708s 20. GTE P Bertolini/Beretta AF Ferrari 1m42.000s 21. GTE P Mucke/Turner Aston Martin 1m42.021s 22. GTE A Bornhauser/Canal/Lamy Larbre Corvette 1m42.175s 23. GTE A Krohn/Jonsson/Rugolo Krohn Ferrari 1m42.233s 24. GTE A Ried/Roda/Ruberti Felbermayr Porsche 1m43.932s 25. GTE A Belloc/Bourret/Gibon Larbre Corvette 1m44.104s 26. GTE A Camathias/Kobayashi/Daniels JWA Porsche 1m44.310s 27. P2 Liuzzi/Rossiter/Weeda Lola-Lotus
| By Pablo Elizalde | Wednesday, October 10th 2012, 14:08 GMT |
Fernando Alonso is convinced he will be able to stay in the championship fight until the final race despite Sebastian Vettel's momentum.
Red Bull driver Vettel has won the last two races to reduce Alonso's lead to just four points with five races to go, the German taking a dominant victory in the Japanese Grand Prix last Sunday.
Although Ferrari seems to have fallen behind Red Bull in the development race, Alonso is optimistic that his team can still take a step forward that will keep him in the fight.
"I am sure we can be in the fight right down to the wire," Alonso said on Ferrari's website.
"The people who are working on the car are the same who have done the job so far and there's no reason to think they can't do a good job again now.
"Let's not forget that, if I am still leading the championship, it's because we have been capable of improving the car significantly compared to the start of the season and also because we are capable of always getting the most out of what we have to work with.
"We have not been gifted anything, indeed Spa and Suzuka deprived us of places that were easily within our grasp.
"It's not through some sort of divine miracle that we are in this position, it is down to the work of all us, from first to last. Formula 1 is a team sport: you win and you lose together."
The Ferrari driver believes his team's lack of competitiveness in some of the recent races is more a reflection of how this season is full of ups and downs rather than a lack of development.
"For sure, there are some teams who, in this final part of the season have made a significant step forward, while we have not matched that, especially in terms of how the car behaves on certain types of track.
"However, it is equally true that, at Monza for example, we had a car that was good enough to take pole, while then at Singapore, we got a bit lost and to a certain extent, we also suffered at Suzuka, even if there, Felipe showed he was pretty competitive in the race: if we weren't as quick as the Red Bulls, we were at least a match for all the others.
"Actually, these ups and downs seem to be the norm this season: in Japan, the McLaren seemed less strong than in the previous race while Red Bull stepped up significantly, as indeed did Sauber."
| By Michele Lostia and Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, October 10th 2012, 16:33 GMT |
Honda has warned it would consider quitting MotoGP if Dorna's spec ECU proposition becomes mandatory.
Dorna has long advocated a move to a spec system in order to cut costs and level the playing field. It recently announced that a spec ECU will be made available to any team that wishes to use it from 2013.
Honda has been the most vocal opponent of the scheme, warning that it could pull out of grand prix racing.
"If [Dorna boss] Carmelo Ezpeleta carries on with his decision to force a control ECU and a rev limit, then Honda might retire from MotoGP," HRC team principal Shuhei Nakamoto told Motosprint.
"Yamaha and Ducati agree with us, and so does Suzuki. The responsibility is Ezpeleta's, this is his decision."
Nakamoto was however speaking before the recent announcement that Dorna will take over the organisation and promotion of the rival World Superbike Championship from 2013.
The deal effectively means Dorna could also introduce a spec ECU into the category, thereby negating Honda's previous threat that "in order to develop electronics technology we could switch to [World] Superbikes, since there are no limitations in that series and the manufacturers are free to develop their projects."
Ezpeleta confirmed the issue of spec ECU's was on the table for 2014 and would be discussed at the forthcoming Japanese Grand Prix.
"I want MotoGP to follow Moto3's style. This idea (control ECU and rev limit), like others, is currently under discussion for 2014," he said.
"We'll soon go to Motegi, where I will have some very important meetings with the Japanese. I'm optimistic: we'll find a solution that is OK for everyone."
For an in-depth analysis of what spec ECUs could mean for MotoGP, click here.
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 11th 2012, 02:19 GMT |
Monisha Kaltenborn has become the new team principal of Sauber, with its former chief Peter Sauber electing to step back from his day-to-day running of the outfit.
Sauber has always made it clear that he did not want to be running the team when he turned 70 next year, and has decided that now is the right time for the change to take place.
Kaltenborn becomes the new team principal with immediate effect, and Sauber will continue in his role as president of the Sauber Group's board of directors.
Speaking about the change, Sauber said: "We decided a long time ago that Monisha would take over from me, but we left the timing open.
"Now is a good time for both of us, so this is the right moment to pass on the baton. After all, there have been a number of races I've been unable to attend - most recently the Japanese Grand Prix, where the team put in an excellent performance.
"I'm in no doubt that Monisha has all the necessary skills to be an outstanding team principal, and I'm equally certain she will ensure that the values underpinning the company live on. That is very important to me."
Kaltenborn, who originally joined Sauber in 2000 as head of its legal department, has been CEO since January 2010 and owns a third of the company.
She is excited about her new responsibilities – and will become the first female F1 team principal.
"Naturally I'm very aware of the major responsibility I have for Peter Sauber's racing team," she explained. "He founded the team over 40 years ago, and in the spring it will be 20 years since Sauber lined up for its debut Formula 1 grand prix.
"We are the fourth-oldest team in F1. To build up a project like this and keep it alive in a difficult environment is a tremendous achievement. I have set my sights high and am committed to taking the team forward as Peter Sauber would want and leading it on to success."
Sauber is currently sixth in the constructors' championship, just 20 points behind Mercedes with five races to go.
| Tuesday, October 9th 2012, 14:40 GMT |
Lola Cars International has ceased trading after the administrators concluded that the famous British racing car constructor could not be sold as a going concern.
Lola, which was established in 1958, went into administration in May with debts totaling more than £20 million.
The company had continued to trade through the summer while joint administrators Mark Newman and James Snowdon of CCW Recovery Solutions LLP sought a buyer.
A statement issued on Tuesday read: "At the end of September, having not received an acceptable offer for the business as a going concern, we considered whether or not we should continue trading.
"During the first week of October we concluded that a going concern sale of the business was not going to be possible, and the company ceased to trade on Friday, October 5, which unfortunately led to the redundancy of the remaining staff working in the business."
The administrators said they expected to conclude a sale of the assets of the company in the near future. It is unclear whether they will be sold in their entirety or whether the assets will go up for auction.
The trademarks to the Lola name and the intellectual property rights to its designs are owned by Lola Group Holdings.
Lola Composites, which also went into administration in May, continues to trade. The administrators remain in discussion with "two seriously interested parties" but stated that "neither has committed to progressing their purchase at this time".
Their statement continued: "Following a review of the likelihood of a sale of the business in the short term, and the current order book, we had to consider our staffing needs going forward, and we had no alternative but to make a further 23 staff redundant."
| By Tom Mallett | Tuesday, October 9th 2012, 15:04 GMT |
Formula 2 champion Luciano Bacheta will drive a 2011 Williams Formula 1 car at Silverstone on October 18.
The 22-year-old has been given the opportunity as his prize for winning the F2 crown. Bacheta has previously competed on the F1 package in GP3, but the F2 championship is his first senior title.
"I had no idea it would be so soon. I've received a measurement chart for the race suit and we'll ramp up the preparation now," said Bacheta.
After a dominant start to the F2 season gave him an early points lead, the Romford driver said he had begun preparing for the F1 chance before the title was confirmed at the end of September.
"All year while I was leading the championship I was thinking that I could be driving a grand prix car so I've been training with F1 in mind," he said.
"I'm so excited and I'm really motivated for it and even before I won the championship I thought I would be ready for it."
The last two F2 champions, Mirko Bortolotti and Dean Stoneman, were able to join the F1 young driver tests in Abu Dhabi for their Williams prize drives, but this year the squad used its rookie test allowance at Silverstone in July, running its reserve Valtteri Bottas.
| By David Evans | Tuesday, October 9th 2012, 15:55 GMT |
Jari-Matti Latvala believes he took a big step closer to being able to match Sebastien Loeb on asphalt with his second place in France last weekend.
The Ford driver ended the event just 15.5 seconds adrift of winner Loeb.
Latvala had been in the thick of the lead battle until he dropped time going off the road on the first run through the Pays d'Ormont test on Saturday morning.
He rates the performance as his best on asphalt so far.
"I really have learned a lot," said Latvala. "It was a very tough event and I now know where I have to work to go quicker.
"My problem is still in the muddy sections of the stage. When the road is fast and wide - like a race circuit - then I am OK and I how to make the time.
"It's when the rain is coming and the grip is changing all of the time, this is when Loeb is still taking the time.
"I have to work on it some more, but I am going in the right way.
"This is definitely my best result, we were much further away from him [Loeb] in Germany when we were also second.
"Of course, I wanted the win, but this is a good result."
Although the next World Rally Championship round is Sardinia is on gravel, the majority of the mixed-surface season-closer in Spain in November runs on asphalt.
| By Sam Tremayne | Monday, October 8th 2012, 15:18 GMT |
Jorge Lorenzo says he has no idea what will happen in his 2012 MotoGP title fight with Honda rival Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa's championship ambitions took a massive blow when he was wiped out on the first lap at Misano, ending his run of two straight wins and allowing Lorenzo to pull 38 points clear.
Lorenzo however was unable to match his rival at Aragon, and consequently had his lead trimmed by five points.
Pedrosa can now claim the title if he wins every race and Lorenzo finishes third or lower - a situation complicated by Honda's recent superiority and by Casey Stoner's return at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
Lorenzo said he was focussing on each race rather than the championship picture, but admitted it was still too close to call.
"In my first two times in 250s, and then [2010 in MotoGP], I have been in a very similar situation: always with a small or big difference - it depends how you see it - to second," he said.
"Every time I could handle it and finished by winning [the championship].
"I don't know what is going to happen this time but I don't want to think too much about that; I just concentrate on every race, on riding and getting the best result and being as fast as I can be."
Lorenzo added that Pedrosa has grown as a force over 2012. The Honda rider only missed the podium once in the opening seven races, but didn't triumph until round eight when he defeated team-mate Stoner at the Sachsenring.
"Dani started in a good way, but for him it was difficult to win races no? [He was] always on the podium but not winning; myself and Casey were winning all of them," he explained.
"But then Casey crashed at the Sachsenring and Dani won, and there the championship got closer between us as a trio.
"I think Dani changed a bit at this moment and started to think about the possibility of winning. He [was on a] high and rode even better in the next races."
| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 8th 2012, 15:31 GMT |
Ferrari has conceded that it needs to revise its approach to the world championship battle in the wake of Fernando Alonso's disastrous Japanese Grand Prix.
Alonso's lead in the title race has been cut to just four points after he crashed out at the first corner at Suzuka and closest rival Sebastian Vettel delivered a crushing victory.
With Ferrari well aware that it does not have the fastest car, the pressure is on the outfit to make much-needed improvements to its car so Alonso does not lose out to his Red Bull rival.
Team principal Stefano Domenicali knows that Suzuka may well prove to be a significant moment in the title battle, but has urged his outfit to remain calm.
"Now, with the situation of not scoring any points [in Japan], it is different and, if any of the others have any problems, we need to make sure we score more points," he said.
"But for sure we need to think differently now, because that race advantage is not there. But it [the title fight] is still in our control."
Domenicali has flown back to Ferrari's Maranello factory for a post-race debrief, and will spend a few days there before travelling to the next race in Korea.
Ferrari's development progress has been put under the spotlight with rivals Red Bull and McLaren having edged clear in recent races, but Domenicali has defended the work of his team.
"We need to stay very rational here because McLaren was on an unbelievable pace in Singapore, and everybody said they were flying," he said.
"We saw Red Bull this weekend was impressive, so we need to see what we can do to match their development - or see if this track was better for them.
"But for sure we need to know that the others are pushing and we need to keep the positive pressure on our engineers to make sure we deliver the development.
"When I hear that we have not developed the car for many grands prix, it is not true. The truth is that the level of development is very high, but we need to start higher because when you start there [in the middle of the grid] anything can happen."
| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 8th 2012, 16:09 GMT |
Red Bull is refusing to believe that it is now in the driving seat for the world championship, despite Sebastian Vettel's crucial victory in the Japanese Grand Prix.
Vettel closed to within four points of leader Fernando Alonso with his triumph at Suzuka, and the strong pace of its car has left him as the main threat now to Ferrari's hopes of the crown.
But Red Bull boss Christian Horner thinks that the recent bad luck suffered by Alonso - who has retired twice on the opening lap in the last four races – is a warning that it too could face its own troubles over the remaining five grands prix.
"I think that Fernando is a very shrewd and formidable opponent and over a season luck tends to balance itself out," explained Horner. "Seb has had two DNFs through reliability.
"Fernando has been unlucky [in Spa] with [Romain] Grosjean, who seems to be a common factor with some of the incidents, and the puncture he picked up, so luck tends to balance itself out over a 20 race season.
"It will be down to what the two of them do on track now, and the relative performance of the cars over the remaining five races."
Although Horner suspects that the world title fight is boiling down to a battle between Vettel and Alonso, he is not yet ruling out challenges from Kimi Raikkonen or Lewis Hamilton.
"Never say never, especially this year," he said. "I think before the summer break Fernando had a significant lead, and since then we were second in Spa. We were unlucky in Monza but we should have scored reasonable points.
"We won in Singapore and we won here, so we have managed to eat into that gap. And hopefully we have some circuits coming up that should suit the characteristics of our package in the remaining races."
He added: "We have seen McLaren have had a really strong streak of performance and let's not underestimate them either, and we certainly don't.
"I think Ferrari has got big upgrades coming over the next couple of races, which they have mentioned. We can only control what we are doing and try and get as much performance out of our package as we possibly can – we cannot control what others do."
