Car Trends Magazine

With a grand total of 51 cars having signed up for the season, a grid of up to 46 cars is expected to line up on the Silverstone grid on Saturday, May 6th, for the first one-hour round. The remaining cars should be ready in time for the second event in Oschersleben.

Eight manufacturers will be represented in this first race : the Ascari KZ1R, entered by British team Damax, the Aston Martin DBRS9, entered by Barwell Motorsport and BMS Scuderia Italia, the Corvette Z06 GT3, entered by Carsport Callaway and Riverside, the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, entered by Racing Logistic, Racing Box and Pouchelon Racing, the Ferrari 430 Challenge GT3, entered by JMB Racing Ferrari, the Maserati GranSport Light, in the hands of GPC Sport and AF Corse, the Lamborghini Gallardo, from Reiter Engineering and S-Berg Racing, and last but by no means least, the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, raced by Larbre Competition, SOFREV Auto Sport Promotion and Tech 9 Motorsport.

As for the drivers, they are a mixed group, including familiar faces from the British and FFSA French GT Championships, such as Roland Berville and Raymond Narac, racing a Larbre Competition Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, or Demitri Deverikos, who won the GT3 category of the British GT Championship last year with Tech 9, and who remains with the team in the GT3 Championship. Gabriel Balthazard (Sofrev), Frederic Makowiecki (Racing Logistic), James Ruffier (Riverside) are also French GT regulars.

A number of younger drivers are also taking part, such as 19-year old Jonathan Cocker, who won the British GT Championship in 2004 and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia last year, and who will be racing for Barwell in an Aston Martin DBRS9. Maxime Dumarey, racing for Tech 9 Motorsport, is only 17, and already an experienced Belcar driver. Dennis Retera, aged 19, will be racing for S-Berg in a Lamborghini.

Plenty have been regulars in the FIA GT Championship over the years, such as Lilian Bryner, Enzo Calderari and Toni Seiler, all racing for BMS Scuderia Italia in an Aston Martin DBRS9. Bernhard Müller and Michael Trunk return to Lamborghini competition with Reiter Engineering, having raced first a Porsche and then a Lamborghini in the FIA GT Championship. They will be joined at Reiter by former N-GT race winner Jürgen von Gartzen.

The field is not all masculine, with BMS’s Lilian Bryner being joined on the grid by Rachel Green in a Pouchelon Racing Viper.

With any drivers over the age of 55 authorised to take part, regardless of their careers, some extremely well-known names will also line up, such as 1998 FIA GT Champion Klaus Ludwig, racing a Carsport Callaway Corvette Z06 GT3. Or Anthony Reid, who has had a long career in touring and sports cars, and who will be sharing his Pouchelon Dodge Viper with paraplegic racer Gilles Duqueine. Tiff Needell, who raced as far as Formula One, and is now better known as a broadcaster, will be racing for Barwell.

All cars will be on Michelin tyres, and the performance of the cars will be balanced by the FIA, who have been running tests at Paul Ricard and Dijon over the past months.

FIA GT3 - THE BASICS

The Principles of the Championship :

* the most prestigious brands

* the most recent models

* limited racing preparation

* an original series concept

* prestigious meetings

* impeccable presentation

* an international environment with a welcoming atmosphere

SPORTING REGULATIONS

* two one-hour free practice sessions

* two 20 minute qualifying sessions, separated by 10 minutes

Each driver takes part in one session

The first qualifying session sets the grid for the first race

The second qualifying session sets the grid for the second race

The fastest driver in each car starts the second race, the slower driver starts the first race

Two one-hour races, with a compulsory driver change between the 23rd and 37th minute, with a rolling start.

TEAMS and DRIVERS

Each team must enter three cars

Each car has two drivers, who must not be ‘well-known’ drivers according to the criteria specified in the regulations

A maximum of three teams per manufacturer.

If there are less than six cars per manufacturer, no points will be scored

POINTS AND TITLES

There are three separate classifications :

* FIA GT3 European Champion for Drivers (scale : 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1)

* FIA GT3 European Champion for Teams (scale : 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 - all three cars score for the team)

* FIA GT3 Manufacturers Cups for Drivers (scale : 10 -6-4-3-2-1) - if at least six cars enter per Manufacturer

Technorati Tags: FIA+GT3, European+Championship, autos, auto+news, automobile, cars, automotive

THESE ads of the new generation Miata / MX-5 roadster are said to have been cut by Mazda officials. Both follow Mazda’s parent Ford, SportKa ads in philosophy, showing the bad side of the Japanese roadsters character. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Mazda+Miata, Mazda+MX-5, commercials, video, Bad+Attitude, ads, autos, auto+news, automobile, cars,

''A car of this model, Ferrari has produced only 6 cars of this model. This is the seventh one, produced in China'' says Frattini.

The European Commission has announced it's going to crack down on counterfeiting and piracy, with coordinated action and sanctions throughout the continent. The Commission has recommended a minimum sentence is a term of four years’ imprisonment where the infringement is committed under the aegis of a criminal organisation or carries a serious risk to the health and safety of individuals. The amount of the fine will have to be at least EUR 100 000 or EUR 300 000 where there is a link with a criminal organisation or any risk to health and safety. Member States may impose heavier penalties or fines.

The seizure of counterfeited goods at the borders of the European Union increased by 1,000 percent between 1998 and 2004, with 103 million counterfeited and pirated items seized in 2004.

EU PRESS RELEASE

Counterfeiting and piracy: Commission proposes criminal law provisions to combat intellectual property offences

The Commission has today adopted a proposal for a directive to combat intellectual property offences that amends the proposal approved by it on 12 July 2005. It is thus responding to the Court ruling of 13 September 2005 in Case C-176/03, according to which the criminal law provisions necessary for the effective implementation of Community law are a matter for Community law^[1]. Accordingly, the proposal for a Council framework decision to strengthen the criminal law framework to combat intellectual property offences^[2] has been withdrawn and its provisions incorporated into the amended proposal for a directive.

According to Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini, who is responsible for justice, freedom and security matters, the new provisions proposed by the Commission represent the criminal law dimension of the fight against counterfeiting and piracy in Europe. Effective approximation of Member States’ criminal legislation in this field is the minimum needed to pursue together a major campaign aimed at eradicating these phenomena, which are causing serious harm to the economy. Nowadays, criminal organisations are focusing on these activities, which are often more lucrative than other forms of trafficking and on which the authorities do not crack down as much. Counterfeiters and pirates undermine legitimate businesses and pose a threat to innovation. What is more, in many cases the counterfeit goods are prejudicial to public health and safety. For the most recent statistics on counterfeiting listed by Member State please see the link: http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/customs/customs_controls/counterfeit_piracy/statistics/index_en.htm

The proposed measures are designed to bring Member States’ criminal legislation more closely into alignment and to improve European cooperation so as to combat more effectively counterfeiting and piracy, which are frequently committed by criminal organisations, often pose a risk to health and safety, and seriously harm the interests of many sectors in the European economy.

The arrangements will have to be applied to all types of intellectual property right infringements. In the directive, all intentional infringements of an intellectual property right on a commercial scale, including attempting, aiding and abetting such infringements, are treated as criminal offences. The minimum sentence is a term of four years’ imprisonment where the infringement is committed under the aegis of a criminal organisation or carries a serious risk to the health and safety of individuals. The amount of the fine will have to be at least EUR 100 000 or EUR 300 000 where there is a link with a criminal organisation or any risk to health and safety. Member States may impose heavier penalties or fines.
Technorati Tags: Ferrari, fake, China, Chinese, autos, auto+news, automobile, cars, European+Union,

GM’s Korean subsidiary unveiled the G2X roadster at the Busan International Motor Show (April 28 until May 7). Besides the name, the G2X is identical to the Saturn Sky Roadster & the Opel GT Roadster.

Like its American brother, the two-seater G2X features a 177 horsepower, 2.4-liter engine. Equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, the G2X hopes to attract urban drivers in the 21-35 age bracket, a marketing official at the auto show said.

Pricing details were still being set and the model is expected to hit showrooms within months, according to Korean officials.

In South Korea, some analysts say GM Daewoo is on track to unseat Kia Motors Corp. as the nation's second-largest automaker. Last year, GM Daewoo sold 1.15 million vehicles at home and abroad, compared with 1.26 million units sold by Kia Motors.

On the back of such promising results, GM Daewoo announced in March it would rehire all of the 1,725 workers laid off by their former employer, the bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co., by the end of next month.

"The greatest achievement during GM Daewoo's short history is welcoming back all of the workers that our predecessor had to let go," said Rick Labelle, vice president of GM Daewoo's commercial operations.

Technorati Tags: Daewoo+G2X, Saturn+Sky, Opel+GT, GM, autos, auto+news, automobile, cars, images, pictures

Three teams of three college students from Boston, Chicago and Dallas will compete in a five-day, cross-country road trip to Miami in Dodge Calibers equipped with a Chill Zone beverage storage bin, MusicGate Power liftgate speakers, MP3 jack and self-charging flashlight.

Members of the winning team each win a 24-month lease on a 2007 Caliber.

Along the way, each team will be challenged to use the Dodge Caliber to creatively raise awareness for the Global Music Project, a nonprofit organization that allows individuals to download songs for a minimum donation of $1 per song with proceeds going to select charities. All of the money raised during the Dodge High Caliber Challenge will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.

The student teams will stage events with the Dodge Caliber to encourage the local communities to download songs from the Global Music Project Web site. Points will be awarded to each team for successfully executing awareness-raising events in each city, involving community members in their charitable efforts and updating blog sites with photos and daily journal entries that highlight their experiences on the road in the Dodge Caliber.

On June 9th in Miami, all the teams will participate in one big activity. When that’s done, the winning team will be announced.

For more details on how students can qualify to become a member of a team, please go to http://www.DodgeHighCaliberChallenge.com That’s also where

DESTINATION CITIES

From BOSTON

Day 1 - Boston to PHILADELPHIA

Day 2 - Philadelphia to RALEIGH, N.C.

Day 3 - Raleigh, N.C. to JACKSONVILLE , FLA.

Day 4 - Jacksonville, Fla. to MIAMI

Day 5 - MIAMI

From CHICAGO

Day 1 – Chicago to NASHVILLE, TENN.

Day 2 – Nashville, Tenn. to ATLANTA

Day 3 – Atlanta to TAMPA, FLA.

Day 4 – Tampa, Fla. to MIAMI

Day 5 – MIAMI

From DALLAS/FORT WORTH

Day 1 – Dallas to HOUSTON

Day 2 – Houston to MOBILE, ALA.

Day 3 – Mobile, Ala. to ORLANDO, FLA.

Day 4 – Orlando, Fla. to MIAMI

Day 5 – MIAMI

Technorati Tags: Dodge+Caliber, High+Caliber+Challenge, auto+news, automobile, cars, press+release