• ITV to show F1 on line
• Sydney makes Australian night GP offer
• Coughlan leaves McLaren
• Snetterton noise dispute resolved
• Motorsport technology museum planned
• 2008 MIA US Business Development Mission
• Renewable Fuels Agency welcomes DfT terms of reference for review
• Automotive X PRIZE sponsor to be announced on 20th March
• ECO car withdrawn from Sebring race

UK television company ITV has reached an agreement with Formula One management under the terms of which it will show broadband internet coverage of all 18 races in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship on its website.

The deal also includes all Friday practice sessions, which have never been shown on television before as well as Saturday practice and qualifying sessions, the race and press conferences. ITV currently has the UK television broadcast rights for Formula One and its new online deal is understood to be for one year initially.Coverage will start with this coming weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

Mark Sharman, ITV’s director of news and sport said, "We know from listening to our viewers that there is great demand from motor sport fans to watch F1 practice sessions and press conferences."

Morris Iemma, the premier of New South Wales has revealed that the city of Sydney would be willing to stage the Formula One Australian Grand Prix as a night race after the current deal to stage the race at Albert Park in Victoria expires in 2010.

The future of the race at Albert Park is in Victoria in doubt due to the reluctance of the race organisers to start their event at a time more suitable to European television schedules.

Iemma told the Australian magazine Auto Action, "We're certainly interested. We don't know if the race is available or not; it's just been speculation. But if the race is available at some stage we'd certainly be interested.”

The Woking, UK based McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team has cancelled its contract with design engineer Mike Coughlan, who was a central figure in an industrial espionage scandal in 2007.

Coughlan, who worked as chief designer for McLaren, was suspended by the team when it emerged that he was in possession of confidential data belonging to the rival Ferrari team.

In September the McLaren team was fined $100 million and lost its points in the 2008 F1 constructors championship after it was found to have made use of that information.

MotorSport Vision, the owners of the UK’s Snetterton race circuit in Norfolk, have reached an agreement with local environmental health officers over noise issues at the track.

In February 2007 the Breckland Council began legal proceedings against MSV last year following a number of complaints about loud and intrusive noise causing a nuisance to nearby villagers. However it has now scrapped the noise abatement notice agreeing to a range of measures to control the noisiest vehicles that use the track.

A council spokesman told the Eastern Daily Press newspaper that MSV has agreed to limit the number of weekends of unsilenced vehicle racing, to control the number of unsilenced vehicles on the circuit at any one time, to limit the operating times of unsilenced vehicles, to building a noise barrier and to improve communications with local residents.

Steve Askew, executive member of Breckland Council, said, “I am delighted that Breckland Council and MSV have recognised the issue of noise nuisance to local residents and have put in place control measures to help protect the local environment. Negotiations have been long and protracted resulting in a 'Statement of Best Practicable Means', which will reduce the level of nuisance noise experienced by our residents.”

MSV CEO, Jonathan Palmer said, “Whilst it must be appreciated we are operating a business that will inevitably be heard close by, we do recognise the need to protect the local environment, and to work to address local residents' concerns over noise.

“We have always worked strenuously with the council to achieve a fair and balanced solution. Going forward, we are committed to working with the council to produce an overall noise management plan for the site, which should make things better still for the local community.”

Renowned motorsport designer engineer Giacomo Caliri has revealed plans to establish Expotecnica, a motorsport technology museum in Modena.

The museum, which is intended to demonstrate the evolution of motorsport technology and highlight the achievements of motorsport engineers, will include a conference facility, a reference library and a cultural foundation.

During his active motorsport career Caliri worked with the Ferrari, Fittipaldi, ATS and Minardi Formula One teams and ran his own design studio.

The UK’s Motorsport Industry Association is organising another Business Development Mission to North Carolina and Indianapolis, as it has done for the past five years.

The 2008 Mission, which will run from May 16-25 is expected to benefit from the recent merger of the Champ Car and IRL Series, the successful introduction of the 'Car of Tomorrow' into the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the success of the Grand Am sportscar racing championship and the encouragement of green technogies in the American Le Mans Series sportscar racing championship.

MIA CEO Chris Aylett said, "The re-creation of a single major US championship for Indy Cars, and the introduction of new 'green' regulations provides UK motorsport companies with a tremendous opportunity. So does NASCAR's 'Car of Tomorrow', partly phased in last year and now mandatory for all. We didn't need much excuse to return to the home of either type of racing, as our previous trips have opened the door to millions of pounds worth of business for UK companies. However, new regulations mean new technology, and we must keep reminding our American cousins of the unrivalled expertise that the UK industry can offer."

For further information contact Alicia Warden at

The Renewable Fuels Agency yesterday welcomed the terms of reference from the Department of Transport for a review on the indirect impacts of biofuels, announced last month by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly.

The study will include an assessment of the available evidence on the indirect effects of biofuels on land use change, both within the EU and internationally, and the consequences for greenhouse gas savings. It will also examine the effects of an increasing market for fuel crops on international food prices and food security. The study will be led by the RFA Chairman, Professor Ed Gallagher, and will consult scientists and experts from around the world.

Yesterday Mariann Fischer Boel, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development gave a speech at the 2008 World Biofuels Markets Congress in Brussels, entitled ‘Biofuels: not a magic wand, but a valuable policy tool. She said of the increasing controversy over first-generation biofuels’ economic and environmental impacts:

“I know that various objections have been raised, and the Commission takes them seriously. But we believe we can answer them. The first objection is that using first-generation biofuels in many cases supposedly does not cut greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s true that some biofuels don’t show clear benefits. So let's simply not use them!

“On the other hand, most biofuels do actually offer benefits compared to fossil alternatives. Typically, biodiesel made from European-grown rapeseed makes a greenhouse gas saving of 44 per cent compared to fossil fuels. The typical figure for ethanol made from sugar beet is 48 per cent. I could cite other very positive values.

“Under the rules proposed by the Commission, a given biofuel would count towards a Member State's target only if it made a greenhouse gas saving of at least 35% compared to fossil fuels. That's a very healthy difference. And the standard applies both to domestic production and to imports.”

The Automotive X PRIZE, an international, multimillion dollar competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles, will announce its much anticipated title sponsor and multimillion dollar prize purse at the New York International Auto Show on 20th March, signalling the official beginning of the Automotive X PRIZE competition.

The independent and technology-neutral Automotive X PRIZE competition is open to teams from around the world that can design, build and bring to market 100 mpg or equivalent (MPGe) vehicles that people want to buy and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance.

Details of the competition are available at the X PRIZE Foundation’s website (http://auto.xprize.org.)

The ECO Project Radical LMP2 sportscar has been withdrawn from this coming weekend’s Sebring 12 Hour race due to problems with its homologation papers.

Earlier this month the Norfolk, UK based ECO Project team announced plans to race in the 2008 American Le Mans Series sportscar racing championship with a Radical sports prototype chassis powered turbo diesel running on biodiesel fuel made of nuts from jatophra trees.