• McLaren appoints new head of PR
• Honda F1 team supports local school
• Alcock joins Renault
• New funding announced for Superformula
• Zytek wins manufacturing award
• German group acquires Perfect Bore and Chambon
• IMechE Hillclimb lecture in Glasgow
• FTA: “2p fuel duty increase will hinder transport’s greenhouse gas reductions”

The Woking, UK based McLaren International organisation, which includes the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team, has confirmed that has been appointed as its group head of communications and public relations with effect from January 1 2008.

Bishop was previously with London based Haymarket Publishing, where he was editorial director of its motorsport division.

The Brackley, UK based Honda Formula One team has donated £37,500 to the town’s Stepping Stones Pre-School.

The money, which was raised during a charity open day at the racing team's Brackley base, will be put towards building a new two-classroom pre-school.

Caroline Rushton, chair of the pre-school's committee, said, "Honda have been fantastic. Their support for Stepping Stones has allowed us to have this new building. Realistically we would not have been in this position if it had not been for Honda."

Nick Alcock has joined the aerodynamics group at the Enstone, UK based Renault Sport Formula One team.

Alcock began his motorsport career working at Lola Cars International before joining the WilliamsF1 Formula One team. Most recently he worked in the USA for Elan Motorsport Technology where he was responsible for the aerodynamic design of the Panoz DP07 spec chassis for the Champ Car World Series.

The organisers of the Superleague Formula, one make single seater racing championship featuring football club brands, have announced new funding for the series.

The new investors in the championship include the Spanish venture capital company Clave Mayor and a number of private Asian investors.

Superleague Formula CEO and president, Alex Andreu said, "The money raised is being spent on the production of the cars and execution of the operational plan for delivery of the championship will debut in August next year with an initial series of six races staged in Europe.

"We are now in the final phase of fund raising that will be closed by the end of November. Interest in the Superleague Formula concept has been extremely strong by investors, football clubs, motor racing teams, circuits, television networks and the media.

"The initial response from our recent club launches has shown outstanding enthusiasm for the concept from football fans."

The Derby, UK based motorsport engine manufacturer Zytek Engineering has won the top prize in the inaugural Mori Seiki European Dream Contest.

The Japanese based machine tool company, which held the contest to find the best examples of advanced machining produced by their European customers using Mori Seiki CNC machines.

First prize overall was awarded to Zytek for its fuel rail which is designed and manufactured solely for the engines that Zytek supply for all the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport cars. The company also won third prize for an oil transfer pipe.

Zytek production manager Ian Edmonds, who received the award, said, "We are honoured and delighted to have not only won the special prize for "advanced machining" but also to receive first and third place in the automotive section of the Mori Seiki European Dream Contest."

The German based Capricorn Group GmbH, which has manufacturing facilities in Moenchengladbach and at the Nurburgring race circuit near Aachen, has increased its portfolio of motorsport industry companies with the acquisition of UK based Perfect Bore Ltd and the French company Chambon SAS.

Perfect Bore in Andover, Hampshire designs and manufactures performance cylinder liners and forged pistons while Chambon in St Etienne designs and manufacturers high performance crankshafts.

The Scottish Automotive Division of the UK’s Institution of Mechanical Engineers is holding a lecture titled ‘“The Predator and Other Friends'” - A talk on Hill Climb Cars’ on Monday October 1.

The speaker is Martin Ogilvie of Prototype Car Designs, who was previously chief designer with the Team Lotus Formula One team and in the 1970s worked on the design and development of the revolutionary Lotus 78 and Lotus 79 cars that introduced the concept of ground effect aerodynamics to Formula One.

The lecture, which starts at 6.30pm, takes place in Room W110 of the Hamish Wood Building at Glasgow Caledonian University’s City Campus in Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow and is open to all interested parties.

The increase in Government fuel duty from 1 October, the first above-inflation rise since 2000, will not only put up pump prices to over £1 per litre, but will hinder efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport industry, says the Freight Transport Association, while the Campaign for Better Transport, formerly Transport 2000, says the revenues should be raised, but ring-fenced for public transport investment.

“The planned increase in fuel duty by 2p per litre from 1 October will cost goods vehicle operators about £1,500 per year for every 100,000 miles they cover,” says the FTA’s Policy Director James Hookham. “With many of the larger articulated vehicles doing over 70,000 miles per year - indeed some do up to 100,000 miles – the annual increased bill for the industry is over £130 million. As this is unlikely to be recovered from customers in higher haulage rates this year, it will cause a real drainage of cash from smaller businesses which could have been better spent on efficiency and the fuel saving measures which the Government is calling on the industry to take.”

The FTA has compiled a list of the ‘top ten greener ways’ of spending the money instead of giving it to the Treasury in higher fuel duty. It says £1,500 would buy a lorry operator anxious to reducing his carbon footprint:

1. Two drivers on the Government approved Safe and Fuel Efficient Driver training course (SAFED). Average carbon dioxide savings of seven per cent per driver per year.

2. Ten vehicle inspections for roadworthiness and maintenance conformity. A well maintained vehicle could save over £2,500 per year over a poorly maintained vehicle.

3. A two-day training course for a manager to become the ’Carbon Champion’ of the company and initiate actions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

4. Eight copies of Carbonfta, a new information service from FTA providing detailed guidance and advice on recording, reporting and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from freight transport.

5. A review of vehicle routes and schedules at three depots to optimise journey length and frequency and reduce overall mileage.

6. Five members of staff attending a one-day briefing on the major legislative and operational issues affecting hauliers in 2008, including how to record, report and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

7. A complete compliance package to make a company’s road transport operations safe, sound and environmentally friendly – comprehensive advice for the transport manager and the driver.

8. An environmental audit of two depots providing specific advice on further reductions on environmental impact of depot operations.

9. Seven hours’ training for 15 drivers – legal compliance, fuel saving, environmental policy etc.

10. Optimising vehicle performance by investment in environmental improvement measures.

Stephen Joseph, executive director at Campaign for Better Transport, said, “We want to see the revenues from this fuel increase ring-fenced for public transport and other measures that will give people real travel choices, in line with the commitment Gordon Brown made in the 2000 budget. Since 1997, the real cost of motoring has fallen while the cost of using public transport has risen. We welcome this rise in fuel duty if it is used to help level the playing field amongst transport options."

Joseph noted that Great Britain makes a higher proportion of its motorised journeys by car than any other European country except Norway, quoting a CFIT comparative study released earlier this year.