• McLaren apologises for industrial espionage scandal
• FIA president moves to cancel WMSC hearing
• Renovation work at Silverstone
• Race circuit lighting system demonstrated in Australia
• US race team owner wins pioneer award
• F1 ‘Prince’ facing further charges in US
• Proposed US CAFE limit won’t cut CO2 emissions over long term - WRI report
• German media speculate on €95 g/km per car penalty for exceeding EU’s 130g/km CO2 limit
• T&E emissions survey ‘makes strong case’ against EU weight-based standards

In a letter to FIA president Max Mosley two days before last weeks FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Monaco, the Woking, UK based McLaren Mercedes Formula One team has admitted that confidential information from the rival Ferrari team had been more widely 'disseminated' within the McLaren organisation that was previously thought and it has offered to cease development of parts on the 2008 McLaren F1 car that could have been designed using the Ferrari data. The letter also makes a public apology to the FIA, Ferrari, the Formula One community and to Formula One fans throughout the world and offers assurances that changes were being made at McLaren which would “ensure that nothing comparable to what has taken place will ever happen again.”

The letter, signed by McLaren Group chief operating officer Martin Whitmarsh reads:

‘Dear Mr Mosley and Members of the World Motor Sport Council,

‘We have very recently received a copy of the report by the FIA Technical Department, to the World Motor Sport Council pursuant to its 13th September 2007 decision. In the light of this report and its conclusions we felt that it was appropriate to write directly to you to express our sincere regret in regard to some of the matters that had been brought to light.

‘Whilst with great respect to the authors of the report, we do not agree with all of the conclusions that have been drawn following this most impressively thorough and daunting investigation into the engineering processes of McLaren Racing, we accept the central conclusion that some pieces of Ferrari information may have been disclosed via Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan, directly or indirectly to individuals within McLaren other than Pedro de la Rosa and Fernando

Alonso.

‘It is a matter of deep regret for us that our understanding of the facts has improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own prior investigations. We apologise unreservedly if our prior ignorance of some of these facts has misled the World Motor Sport Council and we can only assure you all that this was never our intention.

‘We must nonetheless accept that our own investigations into this matter were insufficient, although we would ask you to have regard to the fact that such investigations were conducted during a highly intense racing season and under significant time pressure. As a result, our investigations focused most strongly on satisfying ourselves that no Ferrari confidential information had been used directly or indirectly on the 2007 and 2008 cars.

‘The FIA investigation was extremely exhaustive, comprehensive and we trust that it is apparent, as is acknowledged in the report, that McLaren co-operated fully and speedily with all requests made by the investigating team. We also believe that the investigators found no evidence of concealment or data cleansing as they reviewed the comprehensive materials supplied.

‘To put this investigation into context, the investigating team interviewed 20 key engineers, accessed 22 personal computers belonging to key members of the organisation and retrieved by computer search 1.4 Tera Bytes of data stored on the central computer systems of McLaren Racing (this latter data is equivalent to approximately 75 million sheets of A4 typed information).

‘We would respectfully suggest, however, that despite our embarrassment that pieces of Ferrari information may have penetrated our organisation beyond our previous belief, the inspection has not reached any conclusion that McLaren used Ferrari confidential information on the 2007 or 2008 car (subject to issues as to the deployment quickshift, fast fill or CO2 as a tyre gas for 2008, in respect of which see below).

‘We do, however, accept that the inspection provides some support for the conclusion that is set out in paragraph 8.11 of the WMSC's decision of 13 September 2007. In particular that "a number of McLaren employees... were in unauthorised possession of ... Ferrari technical information" for which we have been most severely punished. However, it does not establish that the information in question was used on the 2007 or 2008 cars.

‘We understand that the World Motor Sport Council does not have time to receive a full hearing in regard to this matter during its meeting on 7th December. However, we are aware that the Council will make a procedural decision to determine how this matter is now addressed and taken forward.In this regard, we can only seek to provide the Council with the briefest understanding of the impact of this matter upon our team and respectfully request that the Council appreciates these facts and determines a process which is proportionate to the seriousness of the case, taking into account the penalties that have already been inflicted upon the team.

‘We respectfully request that the members of the Council consider the significant disruption that has occurred within the team as a consequence of this matter. Whilst McLaren has a strong partnership with Mercedes-Benz, which supplies its engines, it is still an independent team which is responsible for the generation of the majority of its own budget for the design and development of the chassis and the subsequent operation of the cars.

‘Therefore, apart from the morale sapping consequence within the team, its ability to continue its task of generating investment has, as I am sure anyone can imagine, been made virtually impossible.

‘Consequently, the long term damage to the team's previously outstanding record and commercial capability is significantly greater than that potentially envisaged by the fiscal penalty that was previously imposed upon the team. We would respectfully ask that in the light of this and the fact that it is reasonable to assume now that all of the damaging facts have been presented, that it may be appropriate and also incidentally in the interests of Formula One generally, to bring an urgent conclusion to this affair.

‘Toward that end we would like to express our willingness, despite not agreeing with the findings, to enter into discussion with the FIA Technical Department as to a moratorium of an appropriate length in respect of the use of quickshift, fast fill or CO2 as a tyre gas.

‘We trust that the seriousness with which we regard this matter is apparent from this letter and that it gives you confidence that we will do everything in our power to avoid any repetition of these events. We have reflected on these matters carefully and critically and in particular on the comments made by the FIA President, Max Mosley, to the effect that had we contacted Jean Todt as soon as we were aware of the "whistleblowing" information coming from Stepney these matters could all have been avoided.

‘Moving forward, we would like to reassure the Council that we have put in place procedures to prevent further recurrences of such conduct and would like to offer to the FIA if this of interest to open a dialogue whereby McLaren would make every effort to try and improve its relationship with the FIA.

‘We apologise wholeheartedly once more that it has taken the intervention of the FIA and a time consuming process to expose all of the facts emanating from this matter, but we hope that when the Council members have had time to consider the circumstances surrounding this case and the pressures that have been placed upon McLaren during our investigations, that our lapses in this respect are at least partially excusable.

‘We remain at your convenience if we can further assist your deliberations in respect of this matter.’

In response to the McLaren letter FIA president Max Mosley has asked the World Motor Sport Council for permission to cancel its meeting on February 14, at which a report on the 2008 McLaren Formula One car would have been examined ,and for the Ferrari-McLaren industrial espionage case to be considered closed.

A statement from the FIA said, "In the light of McLaren's public apology and undertakings, the FIA President has asked the members of the World Motor Sport Council for their consent to cancel the hearing scheduled for 14 February 2008 and, in the interests of the sport, to consider this matter closed."

To read the report by the FIA Technical Department to the World Motor Sport Council on the 2008 McLaren F1 car visit www.fia.com/public/mclaren.pdf

Work is due to begin next week on the building of a new pit wall at the UK’s Silverstone race circuit near Northampton, which stages the Formula One British Grand Prix among other international events.

The new structure which complies with the latest current FIA requirements and will be built from 10km of steel reinforcing bars, 1000 cubic metres of concrete and 330 metres of debris fencing and it has been designed to withstand impacts from speeds of more than 250km/h. Construction is expected to last for six weeks.

A major programme of renovation work is due to begin in July 2008 aimed at gaining Silverstone a new contact to stage the F1 British Grand Prix from 2009 onwards.

Hella Australia demonstrated a new race circuit lighting system at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway on November 12.

The demonstration of the new system, named ARTIS, was attended by technical observers and racing circuit operators who were present to inspect and report on the performance and in particular the safety of the lighting system and equipment.

Representatives of the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) attended on behalf of the FIA along with a camera team sent by the Formula One broadcast and media organisation FOM, who evaluated the capability of the lighting system to produce high quality broadcast footage.

US race team owner Carl Haas has been chosen by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association to receive its 2007 Pioneer In Racing Award which will be presented in Indianapolis in January.

Haas, who has in the past 40 years run teams in CART/Champcar series, Can-Am, Formula 5000, NASCAR and even briefly in Formula One, said, “I'm honored to be recognized by AARWBA as a Pioneer In Racing. They have had the opportunity to cover the sport and have come to know many people who have made an impact on auto racing both on track and off. I am proud that they feel I have made a contribution. My enthusiasm for racing grew from the first time I was exposed to it as a driver and I have enjoyed being involved as a competitor, team owner, advisor, promoter, and racing car and parts importer and distributor. It was never a job; it has always been a passion."

Malik Ibrahim was briefly a part owner of the now defunct Arrows Formula One team is facing perjury charges for giving false testimony during criminal and civil trials earlier this year relating to the theft of substantial amounts of money from the father of a driver contracted to his Maverick Motorsports team that was competing in the NASCAR Busch Series secondary level US stock car racing championship.

Claiming to be Nigerian royalty, in 1998 Ibrahim styled himself as Prince Malik Ado Ibrahim and was instrumental in the transaction in which bankers Morgan Grenfell bought into the Arrows team. A deal that would eventually lead to the team’s collapse four years later.

In May 2007 Ibrahim was arrested in Los Angeles facing charges that included the theft of around $625,000 from Robert G. Richardson Sr father of Busch Series driver Robert Richardson Jr., by promising that the money would be deposited into a Bank of America trust account that did not exist.

Ibrahim is currently being held in Collin County Detention Center in Texas on a total bond of $1,535,000 but was last week presented with further indictments in which Collin County District Attorney’s Special Crimes Unit allege Ibrahim perjured himself seven times during hearings in his criminal trial and depositions in his civil trials including allegedly lying about a master’s degree he claims to have received from the University of Southern Carolina.

Proposed fuel efficiency standards in both the U.S. and EU will not reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks over the long term, according to a report released yesterday by the World Resources Institute.

"Total emissions from this part of the transport sector are dependent on how many people drive, what they drive, and how they drive," said the report’s author Lee Schipper, director of research at EMBARQ, the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport. "Fuel efficiency standards only address what they drive, and they don’t even do that very well."

Schipper presented his analysis of actual on-the-road fuel efficiencies in several countries over the last decades at an event in Bali during the annual UN climate summit.

The report finds that industry has held fuel efficiency almost constant while increasing weight and power. Standards currently proposed in the U.S. and Europe would lead to a 33% increase in fuel efficiency – defined as distance travelled per volume of fuel – in the U.S. and about 25% in Europe once all cars on the road meet new standards. It will probably take 15-20 years for all vehicles on the road to meet any new standard, because it would only apply to cars yet to be sold. There will be additional delay between the time any new standard is set, and its coming into force.

"It will actually take longer than 20 years for the effects of any standard to be fully realized – and the effect will be significantly less than is generally realized. The current proposals are not enough,” said Schipper. "Meanwhile, the number of people driving, and the congestion they drive in, will increase so much that the atmosphere will see greater overall emissions from this sector compared to today, not less."

In 20 or 25 years, then, according to the WRI report, the on-the-road average efficiency of cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. might reach 28 mpg – as a result of the 35 mpg standard under consideration in the U.S.

Schipper said, "The atmosphere sees the real emissions, not those of artificial test conditions. Many policymakers are only considering the happier numbers accurate for new cars under ideal conditions, not air conditioning, not sitting in traffic, not how they work when they’re not well maintained."

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector is critical to mitigate climate change. Automobiles account for 9% of total energy use and 20% of oil use in major industrialized countries, although in the U.S. this share is much higher.

"U.S. car buyers and drivers may be slowly waking up," said Schipper, noting a small ‘uptick’ in fuel economy of 2006 model year cars. "We need to do everything we can to improve fuel efficiency – but we also need to drive smaller, lighter vehicles. And we need to drive them less."

The WRI report is at: pdf.wri.org/automobile-fuel-economy-co2-industrialized-countries.pdf

The European Commission may propose next week to charge car manufacturers €95 or £68 per gram/per car for CO2 emissions exceeding the 130g/km limit due to come into force in 2012, according to reports in both the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the Financial Times Deutschland yesterday. A Commission source quoted by the European edition of Automotive News last week had indicated that €90 per gram was the highest of three levels of penalty under consideration.

Average new car CO2 emissions in the European market were 160g/km in 2006, with PSA Peugeot Citroën and Fiat, at just over 140g/km, the two manufacturers’ fleets being respectively furthest and second furthest below this average according to EU data obtained by the T&E environmental transport lobby group and published last month.

A £68/g penalty per car would cost all manufacturers in the EU market an average of over £2,000 per car sold (should they fail to reduce their fleet emissions further by 2012). Coincidentally, a study commissioned by the European Commission and quoted by the ACEA had estimated a cost per car of up to €3,000 (c£2,140) for the technological advance required for manufacturers, on average, to reduce their emissions by the required 25%. A vehicle-related target of 130 grammes CO2 per kilometre by 2012, as proposed by the Commission, is not feasible, according to the ACEA.

In terms purely of the penalty mooted yesterday, DaimlerChrysler would face an average £3,944 per-car charge with its 2006 average emissions of 188 g/km, while PSA would at its current fleet emissions level face a fine of ‘only’ about £800 per car sold across its range, less than half the projected all-makes average.

The Transport & Environkment (T&E) lobby group says its latest survey of CO2 reductions from new cars by manufacturer by makes a strong case for avoiding weight-based future standards.

The survey published last month and reported on this site was based on official EU monitoring data obtained by T&E under EU freedom of information legislation.

The German government is, according to T&E, involved in a lobbying effort to make the forthcoming EU CO2 standards differentiated according to vehicle weight, while France is heading a coalition of EU member states threatening to veto any Commission proposals that would penalise smaller cars.

T&E says its latest survey shows that a weight-based system would remove the incentive for CO2 reductions. The companies that did best in reducing emissions in 2006 cut their average weight, while those that did worst produced heavier vehicles, while evidence from Japan indicates that weight-based emissions standards have failed to half the trend towards heavier cars.

A T&E briefing paper, ‘Danger ahead – why weight-based CO2 standards will make Europe’s car fleet dirtier and less safe’ shows that if market share is ignored, the Japanese vehicle fleet has got heavier by more than 6% in the first eight years after the weight-based system was introduced. In addition, the average Japanese petrol car increased in weight by 8.4% between 1995 and 2005, 1.2% more than the average European petrol car.

In America, the weight-based CAFE standards introduced in 1975 led to a 28% increase in average vehicle weight.

T&E director Jos Dings said: “Our figures show that the failure to cut the weight of cars is one of the main reasons why CO2 emissions and fuel consumption are not going down. If the EU wants different limits for different types of car, it should opt for smarter ‘footprint’-based standards.’ (Based on track width multiplied by wheelbase length.)

- In the first formal response from MEPs to the Commission’s proposals for cutting down the climate impact of fuel production (Article 7a of a proposed revision of the EU fuel quality directive), the European Parliament’s Environment Committee has supported obliging fuel producers to make a 10% cut greenhouse gases by 2020, and said only biofuels that deliver lifecycle emission savings of at least 50% compared with fossil-based fuels should count towards this requirement.

(www.transportenvironment.org)