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The group of Hells Angels bikies charged including Sydney chapter boss Felix Lyle, Mostafa Jouayde, Selim Kocak, Jeffrey Sahyoun and Nonda Stamatakis.The group had been accused of attempting to extort cash from Terry Mullens, the owner of a luxury car yard at Burwood, in Sydney's inner west.They had been charged with demanding with menace between July 7 and 11, 2011, a silver BMW M3 valued at $49,000 from Mr Mullens at his dealership on Parramatta Road.They had also been charged with participating in a criminal group and intimidation with intent to cause fear or physical harm in relation to the incident.All five pleaded not guilty to the charges last year.In Burwood Local Court on Tuesday, police prosecutor Daniel McMahon withdrew all charges against the men.He said the decision was taken because of recent developments, but told the court he did not want to go into them at this stage.In a discussion over costs, counsel for Stamatakis, Paul Hardin, said police had failed to properly investigate the credibility of Mr Mullens, who was to be a star witness for the prosecution.Jouayde, 31, and Kocak, 25, were present in court for the decision and smiled broadly as the charges against them were dropped, before leaving prior to the argument over costs.Jouayde, president of the Hells Angels Parramatta chapter, last year obtained a one-off extension to his bail curfew so he could marry his fiancee, Susie Arida, in a lavish wedding ceremony in Sydney.Lyle, 54, president of the Sydney Chapter of the Hells Angels, was not present at court. Magistrate Brian Maloney adjourned the hearing on costs to May 30. 

Casey Stoner delivered a stirring win and a stern rebuke to his critics when he romped to his third straight Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix victory.The 24-year-old Ducati wizard held off world champion Valentino Rossi, who hounded him throughout the race, to cross the line 1.9 seconds ahead of the Italian with Honda's Dani Pedrosa a distant third.Stoner continued his remarkable comeback from a mystery illness which prompted a 10-week break from the series. He returned two weeks ago in Portugal and finished second to the surprise of his rivals.  But Sunday's victory, where he led virtually from the drop of the flag, was one of his sweetest under the circumstances.Throughout his layoff the Australian had had to put up with rumours he was retiring, was sick of racing, was in dispute with his team - but he produced the perfect answer today.  "At the start of the season we were competitive enough to fight for the championship but by the time we got halfway through we were just collecting points, we weren't fighting for anything," Stoner said."That's why we decided to take that decision to take time off - and this is the result of it.  I think without taking that time off we wouldn't be anywhere near the podium step today, things would have been too difficult for me and, physically, definitely I wouldn't have been able to last the race.  It's just been fantastic to come back and get a second in Portugal and (have) almost enough pace to win it and here have the pace to win ... I can't ask for more.  We definitely made the right decision to take that time off and find our way."Stoner said he remained wary after his weakening illness, waiting for his "arms to start buckling" every time he went under brakes "but it just never came".  "I was definitely a little bit more exhausted in Portugal - of course the weather was a little hotter and we hadn't done any physical training," he said."We've done a little bit this last week just to get myself back up there a little bit and there were no problems through the race."  In fact, Stoner said he could have stepped up the pace and was able to pull away from Rossi every time the Yamaha rider closed.  "I thought the track conditions were good enough to go a little bit faster than what we were," Stoner said."We were struggling with rear-end grip - I think everybody was to a certain point - but that's something we struggle with in general with our bike at the moment.  "We tried to go every which way with our settings ... but we just can't get grip out of the corners at most of the circuits we go to.  When we solve that I think things will come along a lot better and it will work a lot more smoothly."Stoner's win was his third this year, after victories in the season-opener in Qatar and in Italy, and it moved him to third place in the world championship, despite missing three rounds.It was also his 19th MotoGP victory, moving him one spot ahead of Australia's first world champion, Wayne Gardner.

A Volkswagen spokesman said in overseas reports that Porsche did not seem to have a proper strategy in place for the integration, and must develop a clearer focus on where it was heading.There is currently "no clear constructive attitude" on the part of Porsche, the spokesman said. "Therefore there is no point in having further talks at the moment," he added. Dialogue between the two parties had been "suspended," he said.While Porsche stocks plummeted overnight on the news, the company is playing down the rift, saying negotiations “are continuing in a completely normal fashion", but confirming a meeting planned for yesterday had been cancelled.The two auto giants agreed on May 6 to begin merger talks, giving themselves four weeks to agree a tie-up.The two sides have been at loggerheads following comments on Thursday by Ferdinand Piech, head of VW's supervisory board. He said Porsche had to cut its debt mountain — valued at roughly nine billion euros ($16.2 billion) — before any merger.Industry insiders say Wolkwagen is concerned about Porsche’s ability to service the debt – largely borrowed under the direction of Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking to buy the VW shares that are now worth a great deal less because of the global economic downturn.There have also been questions raised at to who would be at the helm in the event of a successful merger, with VW chief executive officer Martin winterkorn tipped for the chair. This leaves the question of whether Wiedeking would be content with a more minor role.

...when the chaotic Malaysian Grand Prix was abandoned as a ferocious storm lashed the Sepang circuit. Nick Heidfeld was second in his BMW Sauber, benefiting from pitting only once to Button's four times in a race that became a lottery. Timo Glock in a Toyota was third, while Australia's Mark Webber was sixth in his Red Bull for his first points of the season. The race was finally halted after 32 laps as rain pelted down, lightning flashed around the circuit and visibility deteriorated. Not since Brazil in 2003 has a race has been called off because of weather. Formula One bosses must take some of the blame after pushing for a 5pm start instead of the regular 3pm slot to satisfy European television audiences. Drivers and constructors get only half the usual number of points because the race was halted at less than three-quarter distance. Tropical Malaysia routinely gets wild storms, and it was clear that if one hit during the 56-lap race, it would be difficult to finish with daylight disappearing. Toyota's Jarno Trulli came fourth and Rubens Barrichello in the other Brawn was fifth ahead of Webber. World champion Lewis Hamilton picked up valuable points by coming seventh, with Nico Rosberg filling out the top eight. As black clouds threatened rain, the race got off to a sensational start with pole-sitter Button half-asleep when the lights turned green. The Briton, who won last week in Melbourne, went to the first corner fourth behind Rosberg, Trulli and Fernando Alonso. Undeterred, Button sped past Alonso before the opening lap was over and started closing on the leaders. Barrichello, who started ninth with a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox, stormed up to fourth and the top four started to pull away. By lap eight, they had a 13-second gap on fifth-placed Alonso, clearly benefiting from their controversial rear diffusers. Only Williams, Toyota and Brawn have them fitted and they have been the subject of protests by BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull.

Only a major mistake stands between Jamie Whincup and a maiden V8 Supercars championship after the Ford driver blitzed the Desert 400 round in Bahrain.Whincup was flawless in his clean-sweep, winning all three races on Friday and Saturday to stretch his championship lead to 187 points over Mark Winterbottom with two rounds remaining.It was the 25-year-old's fifth round win of the season and seventh straight race win after triumphs at Bathurst and in all three races at Surfers Paradise last month.It also helped erase the demons of his last visit to the Middle East track where he effectively lost the championship in 2007 by failing to collect a point.With Whincup closing in on the title he so desperately wants, the championship leader said he would take a more conservative approach into the final two rounds at Tasmania's Symmons Plains and Sydney's Oran Park.“We're not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” Whincup said yesterday.“There's still 600 points up for grabs in six races so, of course I'd be silly not to change my approach from here on in.“I want this championship more than anyone else and will do whatever it takes to try and be No.1 at the end.”The Triple Eight Racing team of Whincup and Craig Lowndes lit up the desert in their red Ford Falcons, with Lowndes claiming second overall in the round from the impressive Russell Ingall.Whincup's rivals coming into the event, Winterbottom and Holden's Garth Tander, both found trouble.Winterbottom at least kept himself in contention with fourth placings in the last two races, the first of which was stunning considering he started from 21st on the grid after an opening-day crash with Tander.“We won't be giving up,” Winterbottom said.“One DNF (did not finish) will put (Whincup) under pressure and he's at the back.“You never give up but it's getting harder.”Tander's hopes of retaining his championship were effectively buried after a disappointing weekend.He was 23rd in the last race after crashing into teammate Mark Skaife, who finished only one race in a miserable round for the Holden Racing Team.Whincup has 2916 championship points, ahead of Winterbottom (2729) and Tander (2624), who also refused to concede defeat.“It's still mathematically possible and the next two tracks we're going to we've been very strong at the last two years,” Tander said.“We won't be giving up without a fight.”The teams will return to Australia for the Tasmania Challenge, which begins on November 21.   ROUND 12DESERT 400, BAHRAINRACE 3 RESULTS1 Jamie Whincup (Ford)2 James Courtney (Ford)3 Craig Lowndes (Ford)4 Mark Winterbottom (Ford)5 Russell Ingall (Holden) CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS1 Jamie Whincup 29162 Mark Winterbottom 27293 Garth Tander 26244 Craig Lowndes 23675 Steven Richards 2178 

The 21-year-old German driver defeated Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren by 12.5sec on the slick Monza circuit to give Toro Rosso its first win.BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica was third ahead of Fernando Alonso of Renault, while Nick Heidfeld of BMW-Sauber was fifth.Briton Lewis Hamilton worked his way up from 15th on the grid to finish seventh, maintaining his lead in the overall drivers' standings.Felipe Massa of Ferrari was sixth and now trails the Hamilton by just one point with four races left. Australia's Mark Webber finished eighth for the final point.Neither Vettel nor his Toro Rosso team could contain their emotions as the young driver emerged on to the podium with fists pumping.Vettel never lost his nerve during the wettest race at Monza for 27 years as he broke Alonso's mark of F1's youngest winner. Alonso, a two-time world champion, was 22 when he won the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix.Vettel will partner Webber at Red Bull next season as he replaces the retiring David Coulthard.The safety car was brought out for the start, with the steady drizzle failing to let up and all cars using extreme wet tyres to navigate the damp track.Vettel, who also was the youngest driver to start from pole, held his position over Kovalainen on the flying start thanks to a clear track and none of the poor visibility that the rest of the field had to deal with from the resulting spray.Hamilton pitted later than many of his rivals and was trailing only Vettel by the time he stopped to refuel, while defending champion Kimi Raikkonen was stuck behind the traffic in 10th by his first stop.Hamilton pushed Webber out down the straight in the closing stages with the cars touching wheels to force the Red Bull driver off the track.Only Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella retired despite the slippery conditions. 

The 26-year-old McLaren driver took full advantage when luckless Brazilian Felipe Massa pulled up and retired with three laps remaining after the engine of his Ferrari blew up on the main straight.As smoke billowed from his car, Massa slowed and stopped, gifting the quiet Nordic driver his first win in his first season with the McLaren team after spending his rookie year at Renault last season.Massa had exploded off the grid to steal a march on pole starter Lewis Hamilton, denting the Briton's hope of a hat-trick of wins.The Ferrari driver, starting on the second row, made a daring dart on the first bend to capitalise on a sluggish start by drivers' championship leader Hamilton, driving for McLaren.By the fourth lap the Brazilian had a tight 1.169sec lead over the Briton, with a chasing pack of Kovalainen and Timo Glock some 3sec further back.Massa's Ferrari team-mate, defending drivers' world champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen, came home third behind the amazing German Timo Glock who was second for Toyota just a fortnight after leaving the German Grand Prix in an ambulance.Two-time world champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso, the man who swapped seats with Kovalainen, was fourth for Renault ahead of championship leading Briton Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren.Hamilton ran second for a long period until a puncture after 41 of the 70 laps wrecked his hopes of completing a hat-trick of wins.Massa led brilliantly until three laps from the finish when he was hit by misfortune and had to pull out leaving Kovalainen to grab the best result of his career.There was drama in the pitlane on lap 31 when a small fire broke out on Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais' Toro Rosso but it was quickly dealt with by his crew.The result left Hamilton five points ahead of Raikkonen in the drivers' championship with Massa now eight points behind. 

World champion Casey Stoner accused Valentino Rossi of dirty tactics after the Italian great ended his winning streak with an aggressive ride at the US Grand Prix early yesterday.

Briton Lewis Hamilton opened up a clear lead in this year's Formula One drivers' world championship last night by winning a thrilling German Grand Prix for McLaren Mercedes-Benz.It was the 23-year-old Englishman's second win in succession — the first driver to do so this year — and his fourth this season and eighth of his career, a feat that hauled him clear of all rivals and gave McLaren its first win here in 10 years.Hamilton finished first after being forced to dominate the race and then, after two safety car interventions, regain the lead thanks to the cautious strategy of the McLaren team.He drove brilliantly, passing both Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari and then Massa's compatriot, Nelson Piquet of Renault, with bold moves in the final laps.Hamilton finished 5.5 seconds ahead of Piquet, who claimed the first podium of his career. Massa was third.Hamilton leads the standings by four points from Massa, whose Ferrari team-mate, defending champion Kimi Raikkonen, is seven points adrift after finishing a disappointing sixth.Hamilton had dominated the first half of the race after powering away from the ninth pole position of his career.The Geneva-based driver had built-up a lead of about 12 seconds by lap 36 when Timo Glock crashed out in his Toyota. Glock lost control of his car at the last corner when the right rear tyre suddenly deflated, sending him spearing into a wall.The German, 26, slid backwards down the home straight before his wrecked car finally came to a stop. Glock was clearly dazed after he got out of the car and was later taken to the medical centre.Hamilton was kept out on the track as all his main rivals made their final pit-stops under the safety car.He dropped to fifth when he was forced to make his final pit-stop, but soon passed team-mate Heikki Kovalainen for third spot.Hamilton then hunted down Massa, overtaking his rival on lap 57.Australian Mark Webber failed to finish after crashing out on the 41st lap. 

The Ford driver Posted his second round victory of the year in round seven at Queensland Raceway yesterday.Winterbottom won races two and three after finishing second in race one on Saturday to secure the overall round win from Holden's Russell Ingall and Ford's James Courtney.The Ford Performance Racing driver now holds a 122-point lead over defending V8 champion Garth Tander in the series, with the Holden driver fourth on the weekend.Winterbottom was flawless all day yesterday, setting up his triumph by surviving a race two crash-fest to win the middle peg of the three-race sprint round.He got the better of fellow Ford driver and Saturday's race one winner Courtney off the grid and also won the battle of the pitstops.Then Winterbottom held off Ingall at the start of race three and didn't give anyone else a sniff to close out the victory.Ingall, with a second and two thirds for the weekend, finished second overall to post his best result since moving to the Supercheap Auto team at the start of this season.