• McLaren vs Renault industrial espionage case deepens
• Prodrive confirms that it will not enter F1 in 2008
• Aston Martin Racing appoints new MD
• BMW developing diesel WTCC engine
• Honorary doctorate for Honda F1 engineer
• ACEA: Commercial vehicle manufacturers support EC’s proposed Euro VI standards
• Jeff Rooker opens the UK's first bioethanol plant
• cfc solutions cuts fleet CO2 emissions by 27%

A report in the UK’s Times newspaper suggests that the industrial espionage case involving the Woking UK based McLaren Mercedes Formula One team and the Enstone UK based Renault Formula One team could be “as bad or even worse” than the recent case involving McLaren and Ferrari.

The Times story says that a leaked briefing memo from McLaren claims that the Renault F1 team had more than 780 individual drawings, allegedly stolen from McLaren, on their computers and that this data amounted to “the entire technical blueprint of the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars”.

The memo also names a group of seven senior figures in the Renault design and technical team including the chief designer, the head of research and development, the head of mechanical design, the head of transmission design and the head of vehicle performance, who McLaren allege discussed the McLaren technical information.

In September the McLaren team was fined $100m (£47.5m) and forfeited their points in the 2007 F1 Constructors World Championship points after the were found guilty of being in possession confidential information on the Ferrari team’s 2007 car.

Representatives of the Renault F1 team have been summoned to appear before a hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on December 6.

Dave Richards the CEO of the Banbury, UK based motorsport and automotive development company Prodrive has confirmed that the company will not take up its planned entries in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Prodrive had intended to use 2008 specification cars supplied by the Woking, UK based McLaren-Mercedes F1 team.

In an interview with the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport Richards said, "There was a dispute about our eligibility. In addition, the new Concorde agreement has been repeatedly delayed. We asked the FIA to be able to start mid-way through the season: our request was rejected.

"So for 2008 there is not a realistic chance of there being a Prodrive formula one team.

Richards says that the Prodrive F1 team will make its debut in 2009 subject to approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

He said, “We must wait for the new Concorde. Only then can we fully assess our options. Our ambition is still to be in formula one. But there was the risk of legal procedures because we wanted to use a customer car. As a result, our entire business plan was put into doubt.

"So we have chosen to re-group instead of simply race ahead blindly."

Robin Brundle has been appointed as the new managing director of Aston Martin Racing, the competition arm of the UK slow volume sportscar manufacturer which is operated by the Banbury, UK based motorsport and automotive development company Prodrive.

Brundle will oversee all commercial and operational aspects of Aston Martin racing’s global motorsport activities, including its customer team sales and support operations, working with George Howard-Chappell who continues in his role of race team principal and technical director.

Brundle was previously managing director of a multi-franchise vehicle retail business, John Brundle Motors Limited, for 23 years until the business was sold earlier this year.

According to German media reports Munich, Germany based BMW Motorsport is working on the development of a turbocharged diesel engine for the FIA World Touring Car Championship following the recent success of Spanish manufacturer SEAT with its Leon TDi model.

The FIA’s current engine technical regulations for the WTCC are thought to favour diesel engined cars. Since the SEAT Leon TDi was introduced into WTCC in July it has won three races. Factory team driver Yvan Muller was in contention for the drivers championship until last weekend’s final round in Macau, as was SEAT in the manufacturers championship.

Jock Clear, a senior race engineer with the Brackley, UK based Honda Racing Formula One team, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by his former university.

Clear who acts as Rubens Barrichello's race engineer at Honda Racing previously guided Jacques Villeneuve to the world driver’s championship in 1997 when working with the Grove, UK based Williams F1 team. He was given the title Doctor of Engineering by Scotland's Heriot-Watt university from which he graduated with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering in 1987.

The European commercial vehicle industry aims to reduce NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions by a further 80% and particulate matter by 50% compared to the current Euro IV air pollution control standards for trucks in the EU, supporting the most stringent scenario put forward by the Commission in preparation of new ‘Euro VI’ standards.

“We are global technology leaders and want to make a long-term commitment to protecting the environment. Our efforts will reduce emission levels from trucks to the most ambitious level possible and result in a substantial contribution to further improving air quality”, said Aad L. Goudriaan, chairman of the commercial vehicles board of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), addressing the industry’s 4th annual Commercial Vehicle Conference this week.

Noxious emissions from commercial vehicles have already decreased substantially over the past decade. The most advanced trucks now on the market produce 75% less NOx and 94% less particulate matter than Euro I trucks in the early 1990s. Particulate matter emissions from the total truck fleet in the EU15 are 40% lower than a decade ago despite a 50% increase in miles driven The new Euro VI levels proposed by the industry will reduce NOx and particulate matter emissions by 95 and 98% respectively, compared to the levels at the time of Euro I.

“We are now seeking harmonisation of standards worldwide”, Goudriaan added. “The new, highly ambitious emission levels proposed by the industry should enable the EU and the US to align future pollution control standards, paving the way for harmonised standards around the globe.”

The EC has agreed with the ACEA during the CARS 21 discussions that harmonisation of technical standards is essential for the vehicle manufacturers to stay competitive. The EU first introduced air pollution control or ‘Euro’ standards in 1991.

Food and Farming Minister Jeff Rooker yesterday opened the UK's first bioethanol plant, run by British Sugar in Wissington, Norfolk alongside the world's largest beet sugar factory. The 70 million litres of bioethanol produced annually are produced from 110,000 tonnes of locally grown sugar beet. The sugar factory's combined heat and power plant also provides energy for the bioethanol plant ensuring that bioethanol produced delivers 60% lifecycle carbon savings compared with petrol.

In March 2008, the Government will introduce the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) which states that 5% of all fuel to be sold on forecourts must be from renewable sources by 2010. The new plant at Wissington will contribute directly to reaching this target.

Jonathan Nash, Managing Director of Saab Great Britain, said at the opening: "Saab, as the only volume car manufacturer to offer an environmentally-friendly engine choice across its entire range, welcomes this exciting new initiative. Bioethanol has an important part to play in reducing CO2 emissions from road transport and it is great to see British Sugar sourcing crops locally and maximising efficiency across their facility - it's clear that they are at the forefront of sustainable bioethanol production in the UK."

The Wissington plant’s opening comes shortly before the EU is to issue regulations concerning the environmental credentials of EU- and import-derived biofuels contributing to the EU’s 10% 2020 renewable fuels obligation. Planet Ark reports that Ewout Deurwaarder, an official from the EC’s energy directorate, yesterday suggested that biofuels would have to demonstrate a saving of at least 10% in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil-derived fuels. Other criteria are likely to include avoiding growing biofuel crops on land that naturally stores carbon, and where they would reduce biodiversity.

- Draft EU legislation on climate change and renewable energy is due to be presented on 23rd January 2008, in the form of a ‘Strategic Energy Technology Plan’. European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs said yesterday, “EU energy research is often under-funded, dispersed and badly coordinated. If the opportunity facing the EU is to be seized, actions to develop new energy technologies, lower their costs and bring them to the market must be better organised and carried out more efficiently.”

UK fleet management software supplier cfc solutions says it has cut the carbon footprint of its own car fleet by 27% in the last 12 months, although its fleet of 22 cars has increased by three. Measures taken include reducing the number of face-to-face training and presentation sessions in favour of Webex online video conferencing, more car-sharing when staff are undertaking similar routes at similar times, and better journey planning.

The reduction has been measured using cfc's own CO2 Report Generator, a new feature added earlier this year to the company's FleetPlus fleet management software. Using manufacturer CO2 figures for each vehicle, the software calculates the carbon footprint figures based on information recorded about journeys and vehicle use. The tool can be set up to suggest where alternative forms of transport such as the train or other public transport may result in a lower carbon output than using a company vehicle for a specific journey.