• F1 Australian GP to relocate?
• Williams conducts first F1 bio-fuel run
• Management changes at Honda Performance Development
• UK racecar constructor passes away
• FIA Institute establishes youth helmet standard
• Silverstone to host World Aerobatic Championship

Australian media reports suggest that the Formula One Australian Grand Prix could move from its current venue in Albert Park, Victoria to a street circuit in Surfers Paradise, Queensland after 2010.

The contract to stage the race in Melbourne expires in 2010 and its future in the city was placed in doubt by the recent publication of figures for the 2007 race which show that it made a AUS$34.5 million loss.

Surfers Paradise has staged a round of the US based Champ Car World Series since the early 1990s but the viability of this series is now in question.

Queensland Events Corporation chairman Des Power has been quoted as saying that Formula One representatives had approached the Queensland Government 'some time ago' with regard to a F1 race in Surfers Paradise.

Power said, “It was a clandestine approach but the price tag was enormous. If we were again approached by F1, obviously in collaboration with (Champ Car race) chairman Terry Mackenroth, any proposition would have to be given appropriate consideration."

The Grove, UK based WilliamsF1 organisation has become the first Formula One team to run a car on fuel containing a bioethanol element, as required by the 2008 FIA Formula One technical regulations.

From January 1 all Formula One cars will be obliged to run with a 5.75% blend of oxygenates derived from biological sources. The new rules are consistent with one of the latest EU directives which will require all road cars to use the same bio-content blend of fuel by 2010

The fuel used by the WilliamsF1 team was developed by its technical partner Petrobras, a Brazilian based oil company, which has devised a new process for the manufacture of second-generation bioethanol from already-utilised agribusiness sources such as crop waste.

Shortly before last month’s Brazilian Grand Prix a Williams Toyota FW29 using the new fuel for the first time took part in the annual motorsport festival on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

The American Honda Motor Company has confirmed that with effect from January 1 Robert Clarke will step down as president of motorsport division Honda Performance Development (HPD), in Santa Clarita, California and move to a new executive advisory role at HPD that he will hold until his retirement from Honda at the end of June 2008.

Clarke, who has headed HPD since it’s founding in 1993, will be replaced as president by Erik Berkman, who is currently executive engineer, Honda R&D Americas based in Raymond, Ohio.

During Clarke’s 15-year term at HPD Honda won four Manufacturers’ Championships and 65 races prior to moving into the Indy Racing League in 2003 where it won two Manufacturers’ Championships and 28 total race victories. before becoming the single engine supplier to the IndyCar series in 2006.

Bert Ray, the founder of the Croydon, UK based Ray Formula Cars, one of the longest established racecar constructors in the UK motorsport industry, passed away last Friday after a long illness.

Ray started his motorsport career with gearbox company Jack Kinght Developments before working with the Brabham Racing Organisation’s Formula One team in the mid 1960s. He left to set up his own company which produced its first Formula Ford chassis in 1971. In its thirty six years as a racing car constructor the company scored numerous race and championship wins, it’s most recent success being overall victory at last month’s Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.

The FIA Institute has concluded a groundbreaking project to develop a crash helmet specifically for use by young drivers.

In just two years, the FIA Institute and its partner the Snell Memorial Foundation have created a new Youth Helmet Standard, designed for the physique of two age groups: seven- to 11-year olds and 12- to 16-year olds.

Few people in the industry theorised that a young driver’s helmet should not be just a smaller version of an adult one but that was a key discovery made by the FIA Institute and its partners. This project is the first of its kind to develop safety equipment specifically for young drivers.

Professor Sid Watkins, FIA Institute President said, “The Youth Helmet project demonstrates the FIA Institute’s commitment to rapid progress. Not only has it broken new ground but it has done so in record time. This is testament to the important research work carried out by FIA Institute project manager Andy Mellor as well as by motor sport medicine experts Dr Terry Trammell and Dr Steve Olvey, both Fellows of the FIA Institute.”

Initially, the Karting Research Group worked in conjunction with the Open Cockpit Research Group and Fellows of the FIA Institute to progress the project. A huge amount of data about children’s head mass, head geometry and the changes that occur with growth was then collated and analysed.

Three dimensional models, representing the average size, shape and mass of a youth’s head, were created and then sent to technical partner and helmet manufacturer Osbe, who styled them into full working prototypes. The shells and liners, to FIA Institute specification, were tested by Italian-based Newton-Milan and the best solution helmet specifications were agreed, together with the principles for joint FIA-Snell certification.

In conjunction with Newton-Milan, the FIA and Snell have also created a single international agreement on how the helmets should be tested.

Dr. Hal Fenner, president of the Snell Memorial Foundation, said: "The partnership between Snell and the FIA brings together two organisations committed to promoting safety. The new Snell-FIA CMH2007 will deliver safer, lighter helmets for young drivers."

In working with the Snell Memorial Foundation, the FIA has transferred the technology from the FIA 8860 specification helmet used by Formula One drivers, to develop a safer, lighter and more affordable helmet for grass root competitors. The FIA is now working with the world’s leading helmet manufacturers to accelerate the global introduction of the new jointly certified FIA-Snell youth helmet.

The FAI World Aerobatic Championship will be held at the Silverstone race circuit near Northampton in 2009, the first time that this premier competition in the world of air sports will have been held in the UK since 1986.

The World Championship, which is held every two years, will take place at Silverstone in August 2009 after it was confirmed that air sports rights management company Flying Aces in partnership with the British Aerobatic Association had been awarded the rights to the event by the FAI, the world’s official air sports federation in a ballot last Sunday, beating rival bids from the United States and Germany.

Richard Phillips, managing director of Silverstone Circuits Limited said, “Silverstone began its life as an airfield and we are proud to be building upon the venue’s heritage by developing another dimension to our portfolio of top international motorsport competition. The World Aerobatic Championships is another example of an elite event that demonstrates Silverstone’s leadership in the world of sport and entertainment.”

Jeff Zaltman, head of the organising committee and managing director of Flying Aces said, “We are thrilled with the FAI’s decision. This is another great example of the recent emergence of air sports as a new untapped property in the sporting world. The air sports segment is undergoing a revolution that will change the face of sport; and Silverstone’s recognition of this potential – and the FAI’s adoption of new venues – is evidence that air sports such as aerobatics are entering the mainstream. Fans at Silverstone are going to be treated to something very special.”

Alan Cassidy, chairman of the British Aerobatics Association said, “Aerobatics is one of the most challenging forms of sport requiring both physical and mental determination in the most demanding conditions possible. Aerobatic pilots endure G-forces that would knock a normal person unconscious. We are excited about the opportunity to showcase our sport at a premier venue and to bring the World Championships home to Britain.”