Today's news in full

News Headlines
Today's news in full
News Summaries
Syndication

• Ecclestone won’t retire from F1
• Kuwatis buy 40% stake in Prodrive
• Bosch developing customer KERS
• Doubts over Mecachrome viability after huge Q3 loss
• IRL appoints Brazilian ethanol supplier
• UK motorsport alliance meets MPs

In an interview with the Gulf News newspaper Formula One impresario Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he will never retire.

He told the paper, “The first day I won't be going into work is the day they will be lowering me into my grave – and that won't be for a long time to come. I feel as fit as a fiddle.”

The Kuwaiti private investment firm The Investment Dar company has acquired a 40% stake in Prordrive, the Banbury UK based based automotive and motorsport development company.

Prodrive chairman David Richards, who previously owned 90% of the company and will remain the majority shareholder, said, “This investment follows a year of planning, during which time we have identified a number of opportunities to expand our motorsport and road car activities.”

In 2007, Mr Richards headed a consortium that included TID and which acquired the Aston Martin sportscar brand from Ford.

Prodrive, which employs a worldwide staff of 1,000 people worldwide, operates the Subaru team in the FIA World Rally Championship and designs and builds GT racing versions of Aston Martin sportscars that compete in various series including the FIA GT and Le Mans Series championships.

The German competition electronics company Bosch Motorsport has confirmed that is developing a motorsport kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) that will be available on a commercial basis to customers.

The Bosch KERS is described as a modular system which is intended ti be suitable for all applications from Formula One to DTM touring car racing and 24-hour endurance races.

Klaus Böttcher, the director of Bosch Motorsport, said, "In comparison with the hybrid technology of production vehicles, the concepts for motor racing are considerably more powerful and, at the same time, more compact. We are already holding discussions with many teams from various racing series."

The Bosch Motorsport hybrid system comprises a battery, electric motor and the

KERS controller which contains the power electronics, battery management and the management system for hybrid and engine functions. Either a lithium-ion battery with scalable capacity or a flywheel energy storage device is used for storing energy. The latter is said to be capable of storing up to 750kJ of energy. The electric motors weigh 4-8kg with a maximum power of 60kW. Thanks to its modular structure, the Bosch KERS can be assembled individually so that the weight, robustness and performance suit the requirements of the respective race series.

The Canadian headquartered company Mecachrome International Inc, which includes a French division that supplies manufacturing and engineering services to motorsport organisations including the Renault Sport Formula One team, has announced a 20.9 million Euro loss for the business quarter ending September 30 2008.

A statement issued by Mecachrome confirming the loss also said, “There are material uncertainties resulting from current events and conditions that create substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.”

The statement cited, “delays announced on several of its major aerospace programs and reduced volumes in the automotive and motor sports business” as reasons for the loss and added, “the Company's ability to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities depends on the success of its restructuring plan initiated in the second quarter of 2008, the continued support of shareholders, lenders, suppliers and clients and its ability to access sufficient financing to allow the Company to meet its obligations on a timely basis.

“In light of the going concern uncertainty, the Company is reviewing and evaluating its alternatives to improve its liquidity and financial position and reduce its financing costs. These may take the form of a debt restructuring, recapitalization, potential capital infusion, or other type of transaction. To this end, the Company will obtain the advice and recommendations of its financial advisor.

The statement further confirmed that Mecachrome that due to “the ongoing evaluation of various alternatives with respect to Mecachrome's financial position”, the company would not make a scheduled interest payment, due November 15.

Christian Jacqmin, who was recently appointed as president and CEO of

Mecachrome, said, "We are actively pursuing all courses of action in order to secure liquidity, including active discussions with clients, suppliers, existing and potential new lenders as well as various other stakeholders. In addition, we are renewing our focus on operational restructuring in order to continue to reduce our cost structure, expand our margins and improve our cash flow generation, while maintaining the excellence of our products and services, for which we are known. We are committed to these improvements that will allow us to realign our business model to reflect the current business environment."

The US based Indianapolis Racing League has appointed the Brazilian company APEX-Brasil as the official supplier of bioethanol fuel for the IndyCars series with effect from 2009.

Under the terms of the multi-year deal APEX-Brasil in cooperation with UNICA (the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association) will seek a partnership with a US-based ethanol company to supply the IndyCar Series with corn-based ethanol.

A statement issued by the IRL said, ‘One of the primary messages of the new partnership is that regardless of the sources used in the production of ethanol - corn, sugarcane, or various cellulosic materials in the future - the end product is identical, a clean, renewable bio-fuel that reduces dependence on fossil fuels and combats one of the major causes of climate change.’

Terry Angstadt, the president of the commercial division of the IRL said, "The move to other sources of ethanol is a natural progression as the ethanol industry continues to grow and evolve. We continue to strive to be on the leading edge of the greening of racing. The IndyCar Series was the first motorsports series to mandate use of a renewable fuel, and now we will work with the ethanol industry in both the United States and Brazil to promote the use of all types of ethanol by consumers.

"During our recent manufacturer roundtables, the participating engine companies were enthusiastic about our potential use of various sources of ethanol. We feel this move is another step in the right direction with our goal of introducing a new engine and chassis by the 2011 season."

The Motorsport Alliance recently held an official lunch at the UK’s House of Lords this week (11th November), its first official engagement since launching earlier in 2008.

The Motorsport Alliance is a joint initiative between the Motor Sports Association

- the UK’s governing body of four wheel motorsport), the Auto-Cycle Union – the UK’s governing body of two wheel motorcycle sport) and the Motorsport Industry Association - the UK’s industry association for motorsport.

The event was hosted by MIA President, Lord Astor of Hever and attended by Lord Jopling (Conservative), Rt Hon Lord Drayson (Labour, Minister for Science), Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal-Democrat, Culture, Media and Sport), Tim Boswell MP (Conservative, Daventry) and Rt Hon Peter Hain MP (Labour, Neath), together with senior representatives from the MSA, ACU and MIA.

A number of topics were discussed, including how the profile of British motorsport could be raised amongst the wider public, how the grass roots of two-wheeled and four wheeled sport could be stimulated, how the future of the British Grand Prix could be safeguarded and the role that motorsport can play in addressing today’s environmental challenges.

Speaking after the lunch MSA chairman Alan Gow said, “It was a very encouraging meeting. There was a great deal of consensus amongst the group and a genuine desire and commitment to address some of the biggest issues facing the sport. We resolved to continue an open dialogue with Westminster and are very optimistic of making genuine progress in many key areas.”