Industry News
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<< December 07 | Febuary 08 >>
News for 23rd January 2008
Toyota targets Le Mans with hybrid project
According to a report in the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper the Toyota Motor Corporation is planning to compete in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 2010 with hybrid cars.
In 2007 the factory supported Toyota Team SARD organisation won the minor Tokachi 24-hour race held in Hokkaido, Japan with a hybrid version of the Supra sports car.
The Yomiuri Shimbun story says that a team of Toyota engineers has already been raised from the manufacturer’s motor sports and hybrid vehicle development divisions to work on the Le Mans programme.
Toyota last raced at Le Mans in 1999 since which time the race has been dominated by the German manufacturer Audi. In 2006 Audi became the first manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with a diesel powered car.
An unnamed Toyota official is quoted in the Yomiuri Shimbun story as saying, "Audi demonstrated the excellence of new generation diesel-powered cars through the Le Mans race. We want to do the same with our hybrid model."
Brands Hatch in line for Olympic training role
A report in the Kent News newspaper says that the UK’s Brands Hatch race circuit is in line to be used as a training camp for international teams as they prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games which are to be held in London.
Jonathan Palmer, the chief executive of circuit owner Motor Sport Vision said, “This is a big deal for Brands Hatch, our facilities are world-class and we are used to looking after teams from all over the globe.
“We could attract top track and field teams to train at the circuit, or with our green-field site we would also be able to accommodate training for sports such as archery.
“We would be proud to be a part of this historic event for the country and we hope to experience the flavour of the Olympics in the weeks leading up to the London Games.
“Hosting an Olympic team would also be great news for local businesses to the circuit with the teams requiring hotels and other services.”
More than 750 towns and cities across the UK have applied for training camp status. Brands Hatch will find out later this year whether they will be hosting any overseas teams in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics.
NASCAR CEO talks up alternative fuel again
Speaking at the NASCAR Research and Development Centre during the 2008 NASCAR Media Tour NASCAR CEO Brian France reiterated that the US stock car racing sanctioning body was looking into the use of alternative fuels.
France said, “That's indicative of the kind of forward thinking we have going on right here at the centre. And while any steps we take with regards to fuels would have relatively little impact on the environment, it would be an important symbolic move. It's more important than ever to help make sure this country becomes energy independent and take the steps where we can to protect the environment. And you've got my commitment and everybody at NASCAR, we're going to do our part.”
WTCC diesel performance to be limited
The FIA has confirmed that diesel engines used in its 2008 World Touring Car Championship will have their performance controlled by a combination of restrictions on fuel pressure, turbocharger boost pressure and air/fuel ratio.
The limitations are aimed at providing parity between petrol and diesel engined cars racing in the WTCC and to that end will be tailored to each manufacturer’s engine.
FIA Touring Car Commission president Jonathan Ashman said, "Exactly how it works is still to be decided, but we can make changes at any point. Inevitably there will be a bedding-in period in the early days as it will need some adjusting.”
Champ Car race director resigns
Tony Cotman, the executive vice president and race director of the Indianapolis based Champ Car World Series organisation, has resigned.
Prior to joining the CCWS organisation in 2005 Cotman had previously worked with Galles Racing, Forsythe-Green Racing and Team Green in the CART Champcar series.
EU Energy Commissioner contradicts Commons Environment Audi Committee’s biofuels report
European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, responding yesterday to the Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s report published this week calling for a moratorium on biofuels, said: "The Commission strongly disagrees with the conclusion of the Environmental Audit Committee of the British House of Commons report, where it says that the overall environmental effect of existing biofuel policy is negative. On the contrary, it is delivering significant greenhouse gas reductions, compared with its alternative, oil."
“Today, there are only three ways to reduce greenhouse emissions in the transport sector: the shift from polluting modes to more energy efficient ones (i.e. rail, short sea shipping, collective transport); the promotion of less-consuming road vehicles, by establishing CO2/km targets; and biofuels.
“The Commission is actively promoting the first two (white paper on transport; proposal to limit the CO2 emissions from cars), but biofuels ought to be supported as well because this is the most immediately feasible way of significantly slowing the worrying growth of greenhouse gas emissions from transport. This is of critical importance in a context where rising transport emissions are wiping out the hard-earned reductions of greenhouse gases achieved in other sectors.
“However, the key contribution of biofuels to the sustainability of the transport sector should not make us forget its other benefits which are as important as the environmental ones, namely: reducing our dependency on imported oil; providing a development opportunity for poor countries, and paving the way for second-generation biofuels.
“Moreover,” goes on Mr. Piebalgs, “the report fails to mention that, until other technologies such as hydrogen became competitive, the only alternative to biofuels is oil. This means: a shrinking source of energy with serious environmental concerns in the regions where it is produced, that generates large amounts of CO2 not only when it is burned, but also when is extracted (gas flaring), transported (by tankers) and refined. Not to mention the negative impact that its fast growing price is causing to our economies, the geo-strategical tensions of the areas where it is produced and the negative impact that it has had in developing countries.
“This said,” concludes Mr. Piebalgs, “the Commission shares the House of Commons’ concern that biofuels have to be sustainable, and that this sustainability has to be guaranteed by robust standards and mechanisms to prevent damaging land use change.
"This is precisely why the new directive for the promotion of renewable energy sources will call for the promotion of only sustainable biofuels, i.e. those that can ensure a substantial CO2 saving compared to the oil that would be consumed instead. Besides this, the directive will include, as a key element, a robust sustainability scheme that not only prevents damaging land use change, but also other environmental damages, such as the destruction of rain forests.
“Currently biofuels are already traded with no such EU standards or sustainable schemes. The renewables directive will establish such a scheme for the first time in history. In this sense it will be a first step in catalysing the development of international sustainability standards for agricultural production in general.”
Nanostellar CEO to address WEF members on 'Putting Climate Change to Work'
The nanotechnology-based catalytic converter developer Nanostellar’s CEO Pankaj Dhingra will join a list of panelists at the World Economic Form in Davos to address the entrepreneurial opportunities created by global warming tomorrow, January 24.
Dhingra will also write a daily blog entry from Davos during the World Economic Forum (from today until 27 January) on Greentech Media (www.greentechmedia.com/blogs-home.html).
Nanostellar, named by the World Economic Forum as a ‘Technology Pioneer 2008’, has developed nanomaterial-based catalysts to clean diesel engines’ noxious emissions.
(www.nanostellar.com/)
Former F1 prince acquitted on theft charges
According to a report in the American Dallas Morning News newspaper Malik Ibrahim has been acquitted of 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.
Ibrahim was briefly a part owner of the now defunct Arrows Formula One team 1998 when claiming to be Nigerian royalty he 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.
Ibrahim was arrested in May 2007 on theft charges and three counts of securing and executing a document by deception. The jury's not-guilty verdict was delivered after seven hours of deliberations over the course of two days.
After the acquittal Ibrahim said, "I wish there was a word that would describe what I'm feeling. It's been hellacious. But this has restored my faith in American justice."
Despite the verdict, Ibrahim remains in the Collin County Texas Jail on $35,000 bail in connection with seven perjury charges relating to comments he made during bail hearings.