Motorsports

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Mark Webber were both punished by stewards after the Spaniard gave the stranded Australian a ride back to the pit lane on the side of his car at the close of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix. Both drivers received reprimands, though that has more serious consequences for Webber as it was his third reprimand of the season. Webber will receive a 10-place penalty on the grid at the next grand prix in South Korea. Webber's car pulled off the track in flames after an engine failure on the final lap. Rather than having a slow post-race walk back to the pits, he dashed out onto the track, hailed Alonso's Ferrari like it was a taxi and then clambered onto the sidepod for a quicker ride back. Alonso had already finished the race in second, behind Sebastian Vettel. Three cars on their slowdown laps had to take evasive action to avoid Webber and the Ferrari, and the problem was compounded by Alonso driving more slowly than permitted as he made allowances for his passenger. Vettel was in a class of his own under the Marina Bay lights, winning by a massive 32.6 seconds over Alonso and boosting his championship lead on the Ferrari driver from 53 points to 60 with six races remaining. "We are in a very good position. To be honest I am not looking at the championship too much," Vettel said. "I am just enjoying it at the moment. Days like today and yesterday are what it is all about." Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen was third, ahead of the Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and fifth respectively. Starting in pole, Vettel lost the lead at the first corner to Rosberg but took it back as the Mercedes driver ran wide at turn two. Even a safety car period just before half distance, which eroded his 12-second lead, could not prevent another Vettel victory. "The start was quite hairy, Nico had a good start, but fortunately he went a little too deep and I was able to get him back," Vettel said. "With the safety car, it was difficult but we came back ... we had very, very good pace." Red Bull teammate Mark Webber had sharply different fortunes in the race. As the Australian was threatening Raikkonen in the closing stages, he experienced an engine failure that saw him pull off the track with his car in flames. Alonso was in a generous mood after an impressive showing. The Spaniard got a superb start, going around the outside of several drivers to vault from seventh to third after two corners, and capitalised on the emergence of the safety car by pitting for his final stop, taking on a set of the harder tires which he drove for the last 36 of 61 laps. "We knew we didn't have the pace today, we had to invent something," Alonso said. "I had a good start and a different strategy ... it tastes like a victory to us." Raikkonen's participation in the race had been in doubt due to a back injury that affected him badly in Saturday's qualifying, but the Finn sliced his way through the field in the latter half of the race to move up from 10th to a podium finish. "Luckily not too much (pain during the race) but now, afterwards, it's not 100 percent but I have time to rest and get it right," Raikkonen said. "Third place - we could not have expected any more today." Ferrari's Felipe Massa was sixth, ahead of the McLaren pair Jenson Button and Sergio Perez in seventh and eighth respectively, with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Force India's Adrian Sutil completing the top ten. Vettel's victory was his third in a row in Singapore, his seventh of the season, and 33rd of his career, moving him out of a tie with Alonso and into outright fourth place on the all-time list behind Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Vettel also won from pole in the previous F1 race in Italy and took the lead on the opening lap of the Belgian GP, meaning he has now led effectively from start to finish in three successive races. With such dominance over his dispirited rivals, only an extraordinary turnaround can prevent Vettel winning a fourth-straight championship, joining Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio as the only men to achieve that feat. Ferrari had said prior to the race that the result in Singapore would determine whether to continue development of the car or to turn all resources to the radically redesigned 2014 vehicle. Alonso's second placing will likely be enough to keep Ferrari's mind on this year, but the Spaniard was realistic about his fading title hopes. "The gap is still increasing every weekend and now it's 60 points," Alonso said. "We need to be honest with ourselves. We need a lot of luck every weekend if we are one second (per lap) off their pace."

The M4 has already been unveiled as a motor show tease and this is the real thing, despite the underwhelming look of a 4 Series coupe body that looks like it's still waiting for the M work.It won't have the power of the C63 from Benz, but BMW is still touting more than 330 kiloWatts with sequential turbocharging.

Williams is providing lightweight parts including a new exhaust and carbon-fibre panels, while Nismo is tweaking the twin-turbo V6.The Nismo GT-R is expected in showrooms next year, including Australia, as the flagship of a range that already includes the Micra, Juke and 370Z in Europe.

Force-feeding spreads rapidly through the AMG range, from the SL droptop down to next year's new pocket rocket.This 2014 C63 prototype is lapping the Nurburgring with a nose that's clearly drawing extra air - for the V8 intake and turbo cooling - as well as the giant tyres and brakes needed to cope with the extra torque that's unleashed from the twin-turbo 5.5-litre powerplant.

Ford will not be lost to V8 Supercars — at least for another year — with the manufacturing giant set to extend its sponsorship of the Ford Performance Racing team for a further 12 months. In a move that will keep the fierce Holden versus Ford war alive, Ford is on the verge of handing a new set of keys to FPR.Ford has been in deep negotiations with the team and V8 Supercars for the past month with the manufacturer considering options in a tough car market. The decision to axe the Falcon and cease Australian operations at the end of 2016 led to widespread speculation Ford would end its association with the sport when its contract with FPR expired at the end of the year.But Ford is likely to sign on for another year with FPR and V8 Supercars, presenting a strong case for the manufacturer to stick around and take the fight to Holden, as well as new comers Nissan, Mercedes and soon Volvo. “A 12-month deal is looking likely,’’ a well-placed V8 source said.  “Negotiations look -encouraging and as of last week a new deal was looking imminent.”The new deal will leave Ford fans rejoicing and give the sport another year to convince the manufacturer there is a long-term future in V8s. The “Car of the Future’’ platform has enabled manufacturers easily to adapt many models for racing in the series, with Nissan this year bringing in the mid-size Altima and Volvo to unleash the S-60 on famous tracks such as Mount Panorama and Phillip Island.V8 officials have shown Ford their long-term plans and confirmed it would be able to race with a mid-size entry, with the sport aware of a shift towards smaller cars in the current economy. Depending on Ford’s plans, the Mustang may also be revived and is the preference of Ford drivers Mark Winterbottom and David Reynolds.Winterbottom yesterday said he hoped to see Ford remain in the sport for a long time, saying it was vital to the success of the category. “It is important for the sport that they stay,’” Winterbottom said yesterday. “Ford has such a long history in the sport and they have so many fans that would be shattered if they left.” 

The Holden legend yesterday quit his post as V8 Commissioner in a move that opens the door for a driving return. Skaife yesterday announced he is standing down from the high-profile position after guiding V8 Supercars through a tumultuous period that has seen him spearhead the revolutionary “Car of the Future” program.In his role of chairman of the V8 Commission, Skaife was instrumental in negotiating Nissan and Volvo’s return to the sport, as well as restructuring the V8 Supercars television department. Skaife was forced to abandon his driving career when he took up the role with the racing legend told he could have no “conflict of interest”.But on the eve of the endurance season — with the Sandown 500 set to begin today — Skaife is now considering making a return for next year’s endurance races after deciding not to stand for re-election. Skaife is already being hunted by several teams and recently knocked back a drive with the Triple Eight-run Microsoft 2013 Bathurst wildcard entry with his role ruling out a dream Bathurst return.There will be no such road blocks next year and the former Holden Racing Team owner and driver will be free to resume his assault on Peter Brock’s Bathurst record with Skaife needing three more Mount Panorama wins to equal the “Bathurst King”.Skaife had tired of the politics of his role and will take up another position where he will still work with the V8 board as a strategic adviser. Strangely, Skaife will wield more power in his new role with the commission working under the V8 board that Skaife will now directly work alongside.“I am enormously proud and honoured to have been the very first commission chair and of the incredible success of the new generation product which has led to the best racing in history,” Skaife said. “The commission has worked diligently to guide V8 Supercars through the Car of the Future introduction and in making decisive sporting recommendations to the board.“At times there has been robust and passionate debate, but that has led to significant outcomes, making the commission a critical part of the overall governance of the sport. I thank each and every member of the inaugural commission for their support of me as chairman; and of the professional and meticulous work it has done. I look forward to stepping up within V8 Supercars in a broader strategic and business development role to assist James and the board through the next stage of growth.”V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton said Skaife’s tireless contribution had been invaluable and that he would assume the role of Strategic Business Development and as an adviser to the board. “Mark’s contribution as commission chairman has been exemplary,” Warburton said. 

One of the big magnets at Frankfurt motor show this year was the dynamic BMW i8 - but performance purists might be horrified to learn the Bavarian muscle car only has a three-cylinder turbo 1.5-litre petrol engine. And an electric motor.But the output is staggering: 170kW/320Nm from the tiny petrol motor and the rest from the electric power plant, for a total output of 266kW and a whopping 570Nm of torque. It goes to 100km/h in 4.4seconds and uses next to no fuel. Try 2.5litres/100km.It's an all-wheel drive model, with the electrics powering the front wheels and the three-potter the rear. Most of the body is of carbon fibre plastic, the suspension and other underbody parts are aluminium and the electric bit can be recharged at home in about four hours.BMW says the i8 is likely to go from concept to production in a matter of months and has even worked out a price for it: US$136,000. It might be a tad more if it comes to Australia.Ferrari produced a 458 Speciale, said to be its 'best V8 ever'. The blue-striped red coupe producing some pretty decent numbers: 445kW/540Nm, three seconds flat from standstill to 100km/h and a top speed of 325km/h.Across the passage Fiat had a flotilla of its cute littlies. There was the 500e, an electric powered one with a 140km range, the 63kW GQ Twinair, a turbo S version with 77kW and one called Living which offered a head-spinning 88kW.Plus a 500 Abarth circa 1959, one of the world's earliest mini hotties, alongside the latest and considerably bigger version. But Alfa Romeo's 4C was possibly the best of the Italian sporting machines, a lovely blend of style, performance and balance at a comparatively affordable price.  

Rallying is an extreme sport -- and it requires extreme people. Not just the drivers who drift and flick their cars around gruelling circuits, but the co-drivers and navigators who support and pilot them, keeping calm as they call the route and directions.But this co-driver raises the bar on brave insanity. During the Rally de Campo Viera in Argentina, a team ran into trouble when their throttle pedal stopped working. While that would spell the end of the rally for most teams, this pair came up with a truly genius solution.The co-driver opened the bonnet, sat in the engine bay, and worked the throttle from there. With the bonnet up, the driver had to race with his head craned out the window to see. But they rallied on.ALSO SEE: Watch a giant boulder skim a car | videoAnd it seems they didn't hold back, either, with this bit of footage showing them attacking the corner hard -- the rear end drifting around, the co-driver delivering more throttle and pushing them out and down the road. We don't know what their eventual result was, but even if they didn't place well, there's no doubt they deserve applause for finishing at all.Watch video here.This reporter is on Twitter: @karlapincott 

Aussie motorsport heritage flexed its muscles last weekend with a spectacular show of local racing champions and their cars. Held at Sydney Motorsport Park, the ninth annual Australian Muscle Car Masters once again included a gathering of our most famous racing cars and drivers from the past half-century. This rolling history spanned several categories and eras of Australian motorsport, including Group N, S, A, and C, V8 Supercar, Formula 5000, plus a variety of current historic racers.  Notable examples included the 1986 Bathurst 1000-winning Grice/Bailey Chickadee Commodore, the 1992-winning Richards/Skaife Winfield Skyline GTR, and the Perkins/Ingall Castrol Commodore driven to victory in 1997.Legendary drivers in attendance included Allan Moffat, Fred Gibson, Harry Firth, John Goss, Leo Geoghegan, Jim and Steve Richards, Kevin Bartlett, Allan Grice and Neil Crompton.The highlight of the event was easily the ‘Bathurst Grid Spectacular’ held on the Sunday, where 60-odd previous Bathurst entries lined up on the grid for an hour of high-speed parade laps, and the variety of machinery and sounds proved that Australian motorsport runs far deeper than just Ford and Holden-badged racers.There were hundreds of classic road cars also on display, plus nearly 30 individual races held over the two days.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn

Formula One ace Mark Webber has virtually given away the identity of his replacement at Red Bull Racing next year, suggesting during a post qualifying interview at this past weekend’s 2013 Belgian Grand Prix that fellow Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will get the seat.Asked who he would like to see race with Red Bull Racing alongside current world champion Sebastian Vettel from the 2014 season onward, Webber told Channel 10: "The decision's made. We all know who it is. I'm happy with that decision. It's good for him and good for Australia."Ricciardo currently drives for Red Bull Racing feeder team Scuderia Toro Rosso and has already been confirmed as one of the top contenders for the seat, along with fellow Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne and Lotus’ Kimi Räikkönen. Jean-Eric Vergne is French while Räikkönen is Finnish, so the placement of either would not be good for Australia, as Webber hinted.Ricciardo has since responded to Webber’s comments, saying that to his knowledge nothing has been confirmed yet. Webber, as previously reported, is quitting F1 at the end of this season to join Porsche next year in its LMP1 campaign in the World Endurance Champion, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans.A formal announcement on his replacement may be made as early as the 2013 Italian Grand Prix in two weeks. Stay tuned for an update.www.motorauthority.com