| By Dieter Rencken and Jonathan Noble | Thursday, February 27th 2014, 16:44 GMT |
Renault insists Friday's Formula 1 engine homologation deadline poses no major worry, even though it has not yet fully solved all the problems with its new power unit.
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| Thursday, February 27th 2014, 17:44 GMT |
Sergey Sirotkin went fastest for Fortec on the third and final day of Formula Renault 3.5 testing at Aragon.
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| By Mark Glendenning | Thursday, February 27th 2014, 21:09 GMT |
Cosworth has thrown its hat into the ring as a potential third engine manufacturer for IndyCar.
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| By Glenn Freeman | Wednesday, February 26th 2014, 17:25 GMT |
Ferrari plans to bring the main upgrades to its 2014 Formula 1 car during the final pre-season test in Bahrain.
The Italian team has run its F14 T in relatively conservative specification so far during testing, as its focus has been on achieving enough reliability to carry out long runs.
However, pre-Australian Grand Prix developments are planned to be introduced throughout the final test, which starts at the Sakhir circuit on Thursday.
Speaking about the new parts Ferrari ran in last week's Bahrain test, engineering director Pat Fry said: "We've got a few bits that we're testing to check correlation, but I wouldn't really call them upgrades.
"The main upgrades we will be bringing through at various stages of next week."
Gary Anderson assesses the current F1 pecking order
Fry admitted that the telemetry issues that cost Kimi Raikkonen some running last Friday were a setback, but he added that the team will simply try to ramp up its mileage in the remaining days to make up for it.
"We've got a bit of catching up to do, yes," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT if the delays had affected Ferrari's plans.
"We're always trying to do as much mileage as we can and we obviously got set back.
"It would have been nice to have a 100 lap day but we're a little bit short."
Ferrari completed 287 laps across the four days in Bahrain last week, with Mercedes, McLaren and Williams all marginally ahead of it on the lap chart.
Follow the final pre-season F1 test on AUTOSPORT Live from 6am UK time on Thursday February 27
| By David Evans | Wednesday, February 26th 2014, 17:20 GMT |
Rally GB's hopes of retaining a four-day route for 2014 have been bolstered after Rally Finland unveiled a similar plan.
The Jyvaskyla-based event (which runs from July 31-August 3) includes competitive mileage on four days from Thursday to Sunday morning - mirroring the approach taken by GB organisers last year.
The World Rally Championship promoter recently stated that it wanted a more formulaic approach to rallies, with a ceremonial start on Thursday evening and a Sunday lunchtime finish.
FIA rally director Jarmo Mahonen admitted there was still flexibility on the timetabling of events.
"We don't want to force anybody to run out of money," said Mahonen.
"The promoter wants to see how this works this year, but if it is bad for the business then of course we will change it for next season.
"We still have flexibility for this season, if rallies really have a reason why they want to finish [at a different time other than Sunday] then we will look at that."
Rally GB chief executive Andrew Coe had already stated he would be applying for a waiver to maintain the itinerary introduced last November.
The route issued by Rally Finland is dramatically different, with only four stages surviving from last year's route.
The highlights of the new timetable include a potential return of the city centre stage last run through the middle of Jyvaskyla in 1998 and the classic Myhinpaa test.
As expected, Ouninpohja goes in its full glory, replaced by a shorter version centred around Kakaristo.
| By Mark Glendenning | Wednesday, February 26th 2014, 20:56 GMT |
Jacques Villeneuve will return to the Indianapolis 500 this year, 19 years after he won the race.
The 42-year-old will drive a third Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry in what will be his first single-seater race since he left Formula 1 after the 2006 German Grand Prix.
"I've been fortunate enough to compete in several of the world's top racing series, and nothing excites me more than entering the IndyCar Series at its current level of competitiveness," Villeneuve said.
"Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has proven itself able to compete with the largest of teams, and I am excited to get to work with [team co-owner] Sam [Schmidt] and the team and start preparing for May."
The 1997 F1 world champion and 1995 CART title-winner has made sporadic appearances in NASCAR and sportscars since his split with Sauber.
Schmidt said that Villeneuve's return to Indianapolis was a vindication of the progress being made by the SPM team, which took Simon Pagenaud to third in last year's IndyCar standings.
Villeneuve relives his 1995 Indy win
"We're very pleased to have a driver of the calibre of Jacques in our line-up in May," Schmidt said.
"He's a former winner in the event and brings tremendous experience from his success in the world's top racing series.
"The trust Jacques is putting in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports also validates the progress all of our team members have made in creating an organisation capable of competing with anyone."
The Canadian recovered from two laps down to win the 1995 Indy 500 when leader Scott Goodyear was penalised for illegally passing the pace car during a late restart.
Villeneuve has already announced that he will contest the new World Rallycross Championship this year.
| By Hal Ridge | Tuesday, February 25th 2014, 18:16 GMT |
Tanner Foust will contest four rounds of the 2014 World Rallycross Championship at the wheel of a Marklund Motorsport-run Volkswagen Polo RX.
The six-time European Rallycross Championship event winner will race at two of the rounds he won last season - in the UK in May, and in Finland one month later.
Alongside that pair, he will also race in Canada in August and Turkey in October.
"This year is going to be the most competitive yet," said Foust.
"It's been amazing to be a part of rallycross as it has grown over the past few years and I can't wait to get back out there and race in 2014."
The Top Gear America presenter, who first raced in Europe in 2010, will partner Marklund Motorsport drivers Toomas 'Topi' Heikkinen and Anton Marklund.
Team principle Jan Marklund said signing Foust is a major coup for his outfit.
"Integrating a driver as talented as Tanner Foust into our programme is going to be incredibly exciting for Marklund Motorsport," Marklund added.
"Tanner's record behind the wheel is excellent and it will be great to get his thoughts on the development of the car - especially as we now have our partnership with Volkswagen Motorsport."
Foust will race a full Global Rallycross schedule for Andretti Motorsport firstly at the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo developed by Marklund Motorsport before the team switches to a new VW Beetle mid-year.
| By Mark Glendenning | Tuesday, February 25th 2014, 19:05 GMT |
Tony Kanaan insists he is under no illusions about the expectations associated with replacing Dario Franchitti in Ganassi's storied #10 entry.
Kanaan was initially signed by the team to drive its #8 entry alongside Charlie Kimball, but was promoted onto Ganassi's front line alongside Scott Dixon after Franchitti was forced to retire upon medical advice.
When asked by AUTOSPORT about the pressure of inheriting the torch from a driver as successful as Franchitti, Kanaan said that both he and the team have set the bar high.
Opinion: Franchitti has matched his heroes
"The expectations are the highest possible, not just from me but from my boss and everybody else," said the Indy 500 winner.
"The team [and] the results speak for themselves, and it's almost like you can't avoid it [the pressure].
"I don't have a problem. I'm in a very good place, and I am extremely confident in my capabilities.
"I've just got to work and try to find out what's good for me and go forward.
"What worked for Dario sometimes is not going to work for me in the car."
While conceding the #10 Ganassi entry offers no place to hide, Kanaan believes the pressure of needing to maximise good equipment is preferable to the very different stresses of recent seasons.
"I kind of like this type of pressure," he said.
"I worked extremely hard with Jimmy [Vasser] and the [KV] team just to survive, and it's nice to wake up and not have to worry about some of the stuff that I had to over the past three years.
"It definitely gives me better peace of mind to just be able to think about the race car."
| By Kevin Turner | Tuesday, February 25th 2014, 20:02 GMT |
British Touring Car squad Ciceley Racing has revealed the Mercedes A-class it will run in the championship this season.
Ciceley ran Adam Morgan to seventh in the 2013 standings, using a Toyota Avensis, but announced in September it would be switching to a new Mercedes for 2014.
The team has also attracted backing from WIX Filters, which supported Rob Austin Racing's Audi last year, and unveiled the car tonight.
Thanks to the NGTC regulations, many of the parts from the Avensis have been utilised in the Mercedes, but a number of others have had to be made or modified.
Morgan hopes to start testing the car next week, ahead of the BTCC launch event at Donington Park on March 18.
| Saturday, February 1st 2014, 16:05 GMT |
Ross Brawn has insisted his retirement from Formula 1 is permanent and he will not return to the sport.
Since parting company with Mercedes at the end of 2013, Brawn has been linked with multiple roles in the F1 paddock, most recently as a replacement for Martin Whitmarsh at McLaren.
But at a fishing event in Aberdeenshire on Saturday, Brawn declared that his F1 days were definitely over this time.
"What they didn't realise when I was invited here was they had a scoop because the world's press was trying to find out if I was retiring or not," Brawn was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
"This is the busiest time of the year for Formula 1 and I said I would come along and open the River Dee.
"If they had put two and two together they would have realised I was definitely retiring.
"I'm retiring - it's not tongue in cheek.
"I'm going to take a year to enjoy the fishing and then see what life brings.
"I'm looking forward to it but I've got no other plans."
Opinion: Why Ross Brawn should run F1
Brawn previously took a sabbatical from F1 when he left Ferrari in 2006.
He had joined the Italian team after being one of architects of Michael Schumacher's title success with Benetton in 1994-95 and helped the German and Ferrari to dominate F1 in the early 2000s.
His last F1 absence ended when he returned with Honda for 2008 and ultimately took over the team to form Brawn GP when the Japanese firm pulled the plug on its involvement.
The Brawn team then swept to a shock 2009 title with Jenson Button (pictured) before transforming into the new Mercedes works outfit.
Brawn stayed on as team chief until last season, when a new structure headed by Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe was implemented.
| By Hal Ridge | Saturday, February 1st 2014, 13:22 GMT |
European Rallycross event winner Frode Holte has unveiled his new Hyundai i20 Supercar for the 2014 season.
The launch took place at the Sorlandets Motorsport Show in Mandal, Norway, on Saturday.
"We have worked with this car for a long time," said Holte.
"No one has built a car like this for Supercar before. We are very excited to start testing for the season."
The Norwegian plans to contest the new World Rallycross Championship, but with the season's budget yet to be finalised, he could focus on the five-round European series that runs within the world championship calendar.
"We have a lot of testing to do before we are ready," said Holte.
"I really want to drive in the world championship, but if it isn't possible we are going to to the European championship, that's for sure."
This season will be the first time Holte has driven anything other than a Volvo in European competition.
He last contested a full European season in 2011, claiming his first overall victory at Essay in France.
Holte drove in the final two events of the 2013 series but did not to make it to the final.
| Saturday, February 1st 2014, 16:22 GMT |
Esapekka Lappi grabbed the Rally Liepaja lead from young Russian Vasily Gryazin at the end of a surprise-packed first day of the European Rally Championship's Latvian round.
Monte Carlo Rally hero Bryan Bouffier had led the first stage of the event, only to damage his PH Citroen's radiator on SS2, forcing him to retire with an overheating engine.
That handed first place to 20-year-old Russian Gryazin, who competes under a Latvian licence.
Running seventh on the road helped Gryazin as the stages had been covered with a fresh blanket of snow overnight, but it was not the sole reason why he was able to pull half a minute clear of the field in his Sports Racing Technologies Ford over the first three stages.
ERC video highlights on the AUTOSPORT rallying page
Factory Skoda driver Lappi then started to reel him in, though. Three straight stage wins for the Finn allowed him to inch ahead of Gryazin by 2.6 seconds at the end of Saturday's final stage.
After battling with Lappi at first, Craig Breen and last year's Rally Poland winner Kajetan Kajetanowicz slipped away from lead contention, with Breen escaping from Kajetanowicz to hold a secure third, albeit a minute off the top spot.
The second works Skoda of Sepp Wiegand languished as low as 22nd in the morning as the German struggled with the conditions, but he subsequently picked up his pace and recovered to fifth.
Leading positions after SS6: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Esapekka Lappi Skoda 1h17m30.6s 2. Vasily Gryazin SRT Ford +2.6s 3. Craig Breen Sainteloc Peugeot +59.2s 4. Kajetan Kajetanowicz M-Sport Poland Ford +1m35.9s 5. Sepp Wiegand Skoda +2m19.3s 6. Siim Plangi Mitsubishi +2m23.5s 7. Martins Svilis SKN Mitsubishi +2m27.7s 8. Raul Jeets MM Ford +3m20.6s 9. Vitaliy Pushkar Boar Mitsubishi +3m22.7s 10. Janis Vorobjovs Mitsubishi +3m26.1s
| By Mark Glendenning | Friday, January 31st 2014, 17:15 GMT |
Team Penske president Tim Cindric has backed the new NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff system, and believes that it will provide more incentive to teams and improve the spectacle.
Under the new system, which was first rumoured earlier in the month before being confirmed this week, 16 drivers will qualify for the 10-race Chase based on wins during the previous 26 races.
From there, four drivers will be eliminated from contention every three races, leaving just four in contention for a winner-takes-all finale at Homestead.
While the early response from fans has been mixed, the initial reaction from within the paddock has largely been positive.
Cindric told AUTOSPORT that although there could be scope for the system to be improved, he remains convinced that it is a change for the better.
"I'm excited," he said. "Change is difficult for everybody to digest sometimes, but when I look at that format ... I've been in a few discussions about how to make it better, and I think the details need to play out, but I think it's a really good format.
"It will keep the teams motivated throughout the season because it's not as simple as winning a race and then taking a break.
"Once the Chase section of it starts, or the playoffs, or whatever they're referring to it as now, I think it's going to be really exciting."
One of the features that particularly appeals to Cindric is the opportunity for drivers to salvage their championship hopes if they encounter a problem early in the Chase.
Last year, Penske's Joey Logano suffered an engine glitch in the first race of the Chase that essentially ended his title campaign.
"You're racing for fifth at best from that point on," said Cindric of Logano's 2013 title pursuit. "Now, you still have a couple more chances to recover.
"Certainly the way that Homestead is going to play with the final four racing to the line at the end, I think it will be among the most exciting racing that we've seen, regardless of what type of car it is."
| By Gary Watkins | Friday, January 31st 2014, 20:14 GMT |
The Interlagos round of the World Endurance Championship has been moved from its August date to become the series finale at the end of November.
The Brazilian event, originally lined up for August 31, has been rescheduled as a result of a request from promoter Emerson Fittipaldi and will now take place on November 30, two weeks after the Bahrain round.
Two reasons have been given for the request: a desire to have longer to promote the event after the end of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in June and July; and a shift in the date of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos to November 9.
This meant the August date was unavailable because the circuit has to be prepared for the arrival of Formula 1.
The move means that there is now a gap of more than three months between round three of the WEC, the Le Mans 24 Hours on June 14/15, and the start of the non-European leg of the championship at Austin in the USA on September 20.
Series organiser the Automobile Club de l'Ouest has reached an agreement for its race to be held on the Saturday of the joint promotion with the United SportsCar Championship at Austin.
Revised 2014 WEC calendar: April 20 Silverstone (GB) May 3 Spa (B) June 14/15 Le Mans 24 Hours (F) September 20 Austin (US) October 12 Fuji (J) November 2 Shanghai (PRC) November 15 Sakhir (BH) November 30 Interlagos (BR)
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, January 31st 2014, 18:42 GMT |
Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi is not concerned that Renault's problems could last until the start of the 2014 Formula 1 season, despite its troubled week at Jerez.
Renault encountered a difficult first pre-season test in Spain, with a host of different issues limiting the running of its Caterham, Toro Rosso and Red Bull teams.
But despite it having failed to conquer the issues by the end of the test, Kobayashi reckons Renault has the resources and skills to get on top of the situation.
"I am not worried," explained the Caterham driver. "They did the best job for the last couple of years so I am not really, really worried.
"They mentioned before coming here that they were quite a lot on the back [foot] with the programme. I said [to them], are you surprised by this result? They said no because we are missing a lot of schedules and are late.
"We have to see how much they work in these two weeks with this data, and we will see how much they improve in Bahrain. And if at the Bahrain test everything is well I will be pretty happy.
"It is very important everyone works in these two weeks, especially for the Renault engine, for us, and for Red Bull. Everyone is the same. We are missing a lot of mileage."
Caterham emerged from the Jerez test with the highest mileage completed of any of the Renault teams.
It managed 76 laps over the four days, with Toro Rosso completing 54 laps and Red Bull doing just 21 laps.
RENAULT WORKING ON SOLUTIONS
Renault's engine chief Rob White has reiterated his belief that there is enough time for improvements to be made to its sub-systems controls to allow it to get some meaningful running done at the next tests.
"Of course we now have a large job list for Bahrain as a lot of the items we wanted to test in Jerez we have not been able to cover," he said.
"The next stage is to identify the root causes for the problems we experienced, to develop the solutions to strengthen our validation process so we can be more confident to tackle Bahrain in a more normal way."
