Skirt wearing Richard Branson to work on AirAsia X Kuala Lumpur-London route, seat bidding proceeds go to charity

November 15, 2010 at 6:40 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Any publicity is good publicity, something perhaps both Richard Branson of Virgin and Tony Fernandes of AirAsia subscribe to. We all know about the battle of the newcomers between the two airline cum Formula 1 team chiefs, where the loser will don a stewardess outfit of the rival airline and serve passengers onboard. Lotus Racing has finished ahead of Virgin in the 2010 season, which means the Englishman will have the honour.

In the midst of celebrations last night in Abu Dhabi, Lotus Racing chief Fernandes passed Branson an AirAsia uniform and pinned a stewardess’ badge on the Virgin Racing boss. The two men then agreed how the bet would be settled.

“There has been a fantastic spirit of competition between us and Virgin Racing all season and one of the first people to come and congratulate us on the pitwall was Richard. We have had this great bet running all season and now it’s time for Richard to start preparing himself for some hard work and the likely pain of a pair of high heels!

“We agreed last night that we will run an online charity auction for the seats on our Kuala Lumpur – London route to raise money for a charity of Richard’s choice and give fans of both teams the chance to be on the flight. The date of the flight will be announced very soon and the aim is to raise as much money as we can for a good cause so the discomfort Richard will go through is worth as much as it possibly can be!” revealed Fernandes.

More details on the date of the flight and how to enter the charity auction to bid for a seat will be announced soon. Stay tuned!

56 Comments      

Paul Weller designed MINI Cooper up for charity auction

November 15, 2010 at 2:59 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

Following his headline performance at MINI’s 50th Birthday extravaganza at Silverstone last year, mod rock legend Paul Weller has collaborated with the BMW owned brand to create a one off car which will be sold in a live global online auction. All proceeds from this one month auction will go to charities Nordoff Robins (music therapy services) and War Child, which helps kids living in war zones.

Weller’s inspiration for the design – featuring pink and brown stripes with a single silver line running up the bonnet and over the roof – came from the colours of a Ben Sherman shirt he designed for the clothing brand some years ago.

“I’ve always loved and driven MINIs so when I was given the opportunity to design a bespoke Cooper I wanted to create something that reflected the mood and colours associated with the Mod era, which was also the classic Mini’s hey day. I’d already expressed these colours in a shirt I designed for Ben Sherman a few years ago, so it made sense to me to continue the theme using a MINI Cooper as a palate,” said Weller, also known as the The Modfather.

Weller’s MINI is a 2009 Cooper with 17” Crown Spoke alloys, black leather, Bluetooth, front heated seats, and Chili Pack. Bidding started on 11 November at www.paulwellerminiauction.com. The car is on display in MINI’s flagship showroom on Park Lane, London for the duration of the auction. Images after the jump.
[Read more...]

24 Comments      


French daily: Renault to sell 25% of F1 team to Proton?

November 15, 2010 at 11:45 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports, Proton, Renault

According to Paris daily Le Figaro, French carmaker Renault is about to sell its remaining 25% stake in the Renault F1 Team to national carmaker Proton, and that the deal will be formalised this Wednesday, citing unidentified people close to the matter. Renault has already sold 75% of the team to Genii Capital Partners last year.

Proton’s wholly owned subsidiary Group Lotus will be the team’s sponsor, and will pour about 30 million euros ($41 million) annually over five years into the team, the report said, adding that the team’s new name may be Lotus-Renault as the French automaker will continue supplying engines. Renault engines will also power champions Red Bull Racing and Lotus Racing next season.

Rumours of a “Lotus-Renault” surfaced earlier this month. When questioned, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn not only did not deny the rumour, but hinted strongly at the possibility of a name change for the F1 team. Click here to read what he said.

62 Comments      

Fernandes: We brought honour, pride to the Lotus name

November 15, 2010 at 11:14 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Virgin Racing and HRT could not better 12th in Abu Dhabi, which means that Heikki Kovalainen’s 12th place finish in Suzuka clinched 10th place for Lotus Racing in the constructors’ championship. But team boss Tony Fernandes has more than just TV money to be happy about. He told Autosport:

“There are three things I am really happy about. One is that we have got tenth in the constructors’ championship. Two, which is probably just as important as tenth is that we have built a great team. Paddy McNally was saying to me that truckies are coming to talk to me and I know all their names, and I said that was our culture – everyone counts,” he said.

“But the third aspect which I can finally say, and I have resisted from saying it all these months, is that Colin Chapman would have been very proud of what we have achieved. We are the only team that really had to come up from scratch – in the same way that Colin Chapman built his team.

“We didn’t have a big budget, we didn’t have huge sponsors, we didn’t have a team like Vijay (Mallya, of Force India) who bought an outfit, or other people who have bought teams. We didn’t have an F3 team to back us up like Dallara or Manor, we had to build everything from scratch and it was me, Mike Gascoyne, Harry Nuttall, Silvi (Schaumloeffel) and a dog, who walked into Hingham. It was a place I had never been to in my life and I can say today that I am really, really proud,” he beamed.

“I can say that wherever he is he would have been proud after 16 years of us bringing the Lotus name back. Many people have talked about it, but we did it. And I am thrilled that we were able to do it and do it with style. This is the first time I have said it, but I am confident to say that we have brought honour and pride to the Lotus name,” the AirAsia boss added.

Our man Harvinder Singh spoke to the Lotus Racing boss in a telephone interview before the season finale. Click here to play it.

32 Comments      

First image of Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet!

November 15, 2010 at 2:59 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Nissan

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

This is the very first official photo of the 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, set to debut at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. This image was released on Nissan’s Facebook page.

The two-door drop top Murano doesn’t look too bad, and I suppose there is a market for this in the US especially, there are many sunnier states where they absolutely love their convertibles and of course Americans love their SUVs – combining both could either be brilliant or a travesty, and so far the result of the transition to 2-doors and no roof doesn’t look too bad. It’s probably going to look worse with the soft top roof up though.

Full details to come soon as Nissan releases more info.

20 Comments      

GM’s Baojun brand for China to be launched this month

November 15, 2010 at 2:23 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet

General Motors will be launching a new sub-brand in China under its SAIC-GM-Wuling Automotive Co joint venture later this month, and it will be called Baojun. The Baojun brand will be positioned under the Chevrolet brand in China and it will offer various low end vehicles including passenger cars, SUVs and minivans.

“The Baojun will be a full range of products that is targeting the low end of the segment. We will compete against the Geelys, the Cherys and the BYDs with the Baojun brand,” said GM China chief Kevin Wale. He did not comment on the price range for the Baojun brand cars.

The car you see above is apparently one of Baojun’s offerings – it doesn’t look bad at all! It’s supposed to be called the Baojun 630 and is built on the Buick Excelle platform with a wheelbase of 2,600mm, which makes it sort of like a small C-segment or large B-segment car with a shorter wheelbase than the Cruze’s 2685mm.

35 Comments      

First season mission accomplished for Lotus Racing

November 15, 2010 at 1:48 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Even as Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel celebrate their mighty achievements in Abu Dhabi, Lotus Racing will leave the track happy as the Malaysian owned team has secured its primary goal for the season – tenth place and the best of the new teams. Heikki Kovalainen finished the Abu Dhabi GP in 17th place while Jarno Trulli’s race came to an three laps before the end after his rear wing fell off.

“I am completely relieved, completely ecstatic, completely happy and completely vindicated in making the decision to go into F1. What we have achieved today is what dreams are made of. To complete 19 races after having just five months to build a car and finish in tenth in style is something that is truly magical. It shows you that even in the modern age where money and power counts for so much, there is a chance for ambition and dreams to shine,” said Team Principal Tony Fernandes.

“2010 is a year that we can be proud of. We brought Lotus back into F1 after many had talked about it, but we did it. I can confidently say that everyone associated with the Lotus history can be very proud of what we have done this year. This is the first chapter of a long career ahead and we will create our own future, destiny and history from here.

“I am thankful to all the incredibly special staff we have in Hingham, Malaysia and here in Abu Dhabi for what they have done this year and my abiding memory of 2010 comes from one of our engineers, who told me he had achieved higher grid positions with other teams, but never with a team that feels as special as this. To all the Lotus fans thank you so much for your support – we could not have done it without you. I am thrilled that Lotus Racing has opened up F1 to everyone out there, and we cannot wait to see you next year,” the AirAsia boss added.

Remember the bet? Now it’s time to see Sir Richard Branson in that sexy red stewardess outfit!

13 Comments      

Chevrolet to offer 2.4 twin-turbo V6 in IndyCar

November 15, 2010 at 1:27 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, International News, Motorsports

The IndyCar series in the US will be a two-engine affair in 2012 when GM Chevrolet joins Honda as engine suppliers to the series. Chevrolet will be offering a 2.4 litre twin-turbocharged direct injection all-aluminium V6 to the series, powered by E85 ethanol. Honda has been the sole supplier since 2006.

“This engine program will be a showcase for the efficient and powerful engine technologies that parallel new Chevrolet vehicles like the Camaro, all-new Cruze compact and Equinox crossover,” said Chris Perry, head of Chevrolet marketing.

The first team to commit to competing in IndyCar using the new Chevrolet engine is Team Penske. All entrants will be open to use the new Chevrolet engine option.

4 Comments      

Sebastian Vettel becomes 2010 Formula 1 World Champion!

November 14, 2010 at 10:43 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Sebastian Vettel has been crowned the 2010 Formula 1 World Champion after driving a remarkable race at the Abu Dhabi GP. Today’s achievement adds to Red Bull’s 2010 constructor’s title which the team bagged last week in Brazil. The youngest ever World Champion from Germany was the first driver to cross the finish line after starting from pole. His top rival, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who could have become champion if he finished in fourth place only managed seventh and lost the title by four points.

The double World Champion spent a lot of time behind Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and failed to overtake the Russian rookie and that pretty much took his championship chances away. Red Bull’s Mark Webber who was also a strong contender for the championship suffered from the same fate and spent the entire duration of the 55-lap race behind Alonso.

Vettel’s first place finish was accompanied by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton who was closing the gap between himself and Vettel during the final few laps. Third place went to Hamilton’s teammate Jenson Button, champion of 2009. This meant that the podium of the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP at the Yas Marina circuit was made up by the 2008 champion (Hamilton), 2009 champion and of course of the freshly-crowned 2010 champion.

Fourth was taken up Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg while Renault’s Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov finished in fifth and sixth places respectively. Alonso crossed the line in seventh ahead of Webber while ninth and tenth spots were taken up by Jaime Alguersuari from Toro Rosso and Felipe Massa from Ferrari.

The best of the new comers is officially Lotus Racing as Heikki Kovalainen finished the race in 17th place ahead Virgin’s Lucas di Grassi. The Hispania duo Bruno Senna and Christian Klien finished in 19th and 20th. Jarno Trulli of Lotus who suffered from various issues including a broken rear wing managed 21st. The were only three retirements of the day and they were Timo Glock of Virgin, Michael Schumacher of Mercedes and finally Vitantonio Liuzzi of Force India.

All drivers had clean starts when the lights went green but Alonso slipped from third to fourth by the first corner. Vettel managed to maintain his lead and stayed up in front, ahead of both the McLaren drivers. Just moments later, within the first lap, Schumacher spun while exiting a corner and Liuzzi crashed straight into him. That caused the one and only Safety Car period of the race.

After the restart the top positions were maintain with Vettel leading the McLaren drivers, Alonso, Webber and Massa. Webber was the first of the top runners to pit after suffering tire issues. His pit stop then prompted Massa and subsequently Alonso’s pit stops. Many say that if Alonso didn’t pit as early as he did, he could have collected his third title. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he got stuck behind Petrov until the very end of the race as the Russian already performed his pit stop during the Safety Car period earlier. Webber was also in the same train, behind Alonso.

Alonso tried his best to overtake Petrov but the Russian did an excellent job in keeping the title contender at bay. Today was the final race of the season and we will meet again next for the 2011 Bahrain GP on March 13th. Meanwhile expect more news from the high-adrenaline world of Formula 1 as teams perform winter testing with new Pirelli rubber, launch their new contenders and announce their drivers. We will also find out if Lotus Racing will be able to keep the “Team Lotus” designation.

66 Comments      

Vettel scores pole in Abu Dhabi with Alonso in third!

November 13, 2010 at 10:23 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Red Bull has carried over its momentum from the Brazilian GP with Sebastian Vettel’s pole in Abu Dhabi under the starry Arabian sky. The German who is also a strong title contender will start tomorrow’s race ahead of Lewis Hamilton from McLaren. Mathematically, Hamilton is still able to become champion this year but it looks quite unlikely for the Brit. Championship leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari managed to secure the ever-so-important third spot in the dying minutes of the qualifying session.

McLaren’s Jenson Button who is officially out the title hunt is fourth ahead of Mark Webber, who currently lies second second in the table with 238 points, just eight points behind Alonso. The other Ferrari of Felipe Massa’s will start the race from sixth. Williams’ Nico Rosberg, Renault’s Robert Kubica, Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher and Force India’s Adrian Sutil complete the rest of the top ten.

The Lotus drivers managed to finish the session ahead of both the Virgin drivers in the final qualifying of the season. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen are in 19th and 20th positions respectively. Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi are in 21st and 22nd while the two Hispania drivers complete the last row. It’s a must-watch race tomorrow so make you sure you tune in!

You can check out the full results here.

22 Comments