• First F1 night race this weekend
• Stewart calls for permanent F1 stewards
• A1GP season to start with smaller grid
• Windtunnel eXtreme project awaiting recovery of US economy
• Porsche attends IRL engine talks
• A1-Ring rebuild approved
• McLaren marketing man joins Abu Dhabi GP organisation
• New Rally Ireland event director appointed
• GSE Racing superbike team to run Yamahas
• Arson at Nutts Corner

On Sunday the first ever FIA Formula One World Championship race to be held at night will take place on a new street circuit in Singapore.

The 3.2 mile track is equipped with floodlighting which will allow the race to be started at 8pm local time which equates to 1pm UK time, the regular start time for European F1 events.

Three time F1 world champion driver Sir Jackie Stewart has called for the appointment of permanent Formula One race stewards following the FIA International Court of Appeal’s rejection of an appeal by the McLaren team over a time penalty imposed on it driver Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Stewart said, “I’ve said it before, but the governance of Formula One has to change and what took place this week is the latest example to highlight that. The inconsistency of the decision making is not correct for a sport that has such incredible investment involved in it.

“We need the appointment of full-time stewards because at the moment we have different stewards at every grand prix. That says a lot for what is missing. It has to change otherwise the sport could start to lose its credibility.

Speaking of the ICA verdict Stewart said, “It’s a disappointing verdict and I would have thought if it was inadmissible they would have said so earlier. But then FIA appeals are not famous for being won by the teams or drivers. The FIA never seem to overturn these kind of decisions. However, it was a very poor decision by the stewards in the first place.”

The 2008-09 season of the A1GP one make single seater racing championship which styles itself as the World Cup of Motorsport will start at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands October 5 with a smaller than anticipated field of cars.

The series organisers have has made no secret of delays that have occurred in the building of new cars the championship and this has impacted on the number that will be on the grid for the Dutch race.

A1GP CEO, Pete da Silva said, “The situation we find ourselves in is unfortunate. We have a small number of teams who will not be in Zandvoort. While these teams are obviously very disappointed, they understand we have done everything possible but just ran out of time.

“I am aware of how hard our teams have been working, and are continuing to do that day and night. The fact some won’t make the grid next week will not be for lack of trying.

"We have had an awful lot of support from many areas and I particularly want to thank our suppliers, partners and sponsors who have stood by us. We have asked a lot of many of them and they have delivered. All the teams who are racing are committed to giving the fans the exciting entertainment they have come to expect from A1GP at the Zandvoort track."

The series plans to have all its national teams on the grid for the second A1GP event in Chengdu, China on 7-9 November.

A1GP also confirmed that, contrary to speculation, the Zandvoort race will count towards the 2008-09 championship.

The group behind the American Wind Tunnel eXtreme project, which is intended to be the worlds most advanced full scale rolling road motorsport wind tunnel, are awaiting the recovery of the US economy before proceeding.

Kristen Helsel, primary principal of the Wind Tunnel eXtreme group and one of the main investors on the project said, “Right now the project is on hold while we wait for the capital markets in the US to calm down. The project will go ahead when capital is available and I hope that will be very soon.”

A report on the German motorsport-total.com website says that representatives of the motorsport department of Porsche have attended the recent meetings in the USA to discuss the future engine rules for the IRL Indy car series.

The reports quotes Porsche’s Wolfgang Dürheimer as saying, “We see the engine question in the IndyCar series as an enormous opportunity.”

Although no precise details of the future regulation have been revealed one proposal is thought to be a 1.5 litre turbocharged engine with a 1.5 bar boost limit. This says motorsport-total.com fits with Dürheimer and Porsche’s view as to how motorsport should evolve in the future in the engine, "Fewer cylinders, less capacity and a turbocharger."

Red Bull Energy drinks magnate Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has received approval from the local Styrian government to proceed with the rebuilding of the Austrian A1-Ring race circuit.

The circuit was originally completed in 1969, when it was known as the Oesterreichring, and hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix from 1970 until 1987. After the track was redeveloped and re-named the A1-Ring it staged the race from 1997-2003.

Subsequently the facility was acquired by Mateschitz and partially demolished in preparation for further redevelopment when a dispute arose with environmental protestors.

The rebuilt track is expected to ready to host events in the Spring of 2010 but Mateschitz has stated that he does not intended to hold Formula One races at the facility.

Peter Stayner who has worked in the marketing department of McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team since 1989 is leaving the Woking, UK based team to join the Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management team as it prepares to host its first F1 Grand Prix in 2009.

Stayner’s motorsport career began with Motor Circuit Developments which ran a number of the UK race circuits before he joined the RAC Motor Sports Association, the governing body of UK motorsport from which he was recruited by McLaren.

Motorsport Ireland has confirmed the appointment of John Naylor as the new event director of the Rally Ireland round of the FIA World Rally Championship, which will start the 2009 championship in January.

Alex Sinclair, the CEO of Motorsport Ireland said, "This is just the boost that the event needed, especially as John has such a close rapport with all of the volunteers who make this event possible."

The UK based GSE Racing team in Ashford, Kent has confirmed that is will run factory supported Yamaha YZF-R1’s in the 2009 British Superbike Championship.

The GSE team which has run the Airwaves Ducati team in the British Series since 2005, has signed a three-year deal with Yamaha Motor UK.

GSE team manager Colin Wright said, "We are very excited about the new association with Yamaha, this represents a new challenge for the team but as ever we intend to be competing for the British Superbike Championship from the start."

Team principal Darrell Healey said, "We have had an excellent relationship with Ducati over the years, winning three British Superbike Championships and achieving numerous successes in the World Superbike arena. I'd like to thank them on behalf of the entire team for their support."

Yamaha UK managing director Andrew Smith said, "We are delighted to be partnering GSE Racing, the UK's most successful race team, and together I am confident we can successfully build a long-term relationship both on and off the race track."

The Nutts Corner motorsport facility in Northern Ireland has suffered £100,000 worth of damage in a fire that has been attributed to arson.

In the attack the main building and two portable buildings at Nutts Corner Motor Circuit at Dundrod were set alight and a number of quad bikes and a 4x4 jeep were stolen.

The Nutts Corner track was used from 1984 to 2004 for events such as the Irish Superbike Championship and rallycross, until restrictions were placed on the venue due to noise complaints from local residents.

In June 2008 new owners announced plans to revive the track as a motorsport venue and upgrade its facilities with a conference centre, a new clubhouse and corporate hospitality facilities.