Category: News

Categories
News

FIA appoints barrister to examine Max Mosley case

The FIA have recently appointed Anthony Scrivener QC to undertake an independent review of the News of the World’s allegations that Max Mosley was involved in a Nazi-style sex romp. Since the allegations came to light Mosley has been under increasing pressure to stand down as FIA President, with many claiming his reign is now untenable. Several F1 teams have issued public statements declaring they have lost support in Mosley continuing at the head of the FIA. As with most things in Formula 1 these days, the appointment of Anthony Scrivener has attracted fierce debate, with many F1 insiders believing he would not be the independent investigator the FIA claim. One F1 source left their opinion perfectly clear by stating, “Everything is an inside job under Max’s rule.”

At the completion of Scrivener’s report it will be issued to all voting members of the FIA who will determine Mosley’s fate by secret ballot. It has been reported that this ballot will take place in early June.

Source: TimesOnline 

Categories
News Subaru

Three months jail for 255km/h Hume Freeway speedster

The Herald Sun is reporting a story about Victoria’s fastest recorded speeding driver. Justin Pickering, a 20 year old P-plater driving a Subaru WRX STi, was clocked at 255km/h near Seymour, about an hour north of Melbourne—or a mere thirty minutes if you drive like the young bloke! But that’s not all, Pickering had been recorded at speeds of over 200km/h the previous day near Holbrook in NSW. The speed freak, already with multiple traffic offences to his name, took things a step further when he was initially stopped by NSW Police and he cheekily sped off as the Police officer got out of his car to approach Pickering. He was finally apprehended by Victorian Police in Melbourne’s outer suburbs the following day. He’s definitely not the messiah, and is definitely a very naughty boy. The offences took place in August 2007 and his sentence was handed down earlier today. Along with his jail term Mr Pickering will be without a licence for 5 long years. Will that be long enough?

Read the full Herald Sun article HERE.

Categories
MINI News Targa Tasmania

AUSmotive heads to Targa Tasmania

Targa Tasmania

One of the great things about being involved in the MINI community is meeting some pretty cool people. A few weeks ago I was asked to join Andrew Robinson’s team at the 2008 Targa Tasmania. He’s a privateer running a 2003 MINI Cooper S and has competed in the last few Targa Tasmanias. I’ll be the gopher in the support crew and am really looking forward to being involved. The event starts on Tuesday 15 April and Robbo is currently on his way to Launceston via the Spirit of Tasmania. A mate and I from Canberra will arrive in Tasmania tomorrow morning and begin our preparations with a chance to recce a few stages tomorrow afternoon.

Robbo’s car has undergone a bit of a rebuild lately, to put it mildly, and by all accounts it is putting out some really good power. Targa will no doubt prove to be a great test for his faithful MINI. The car has been prepped by Peak Performance and one of their mechanics will also be joining our crew which will be a big help should we need to get our hands dirty. Here’s hoping young Dave doesn’t have much work to do!

With thanks to Tim from Perfect Prints you can see a few images of Robbo’s car from last year’s Targa Tasmania. The MINI will be sporting the same number for 2008. So, wish us luck and keep an eye on the results to see how our hard working MINI Cooper S fares. And I’ll be back online in a week and a bit with updates and photos.

Continue reading “AUSmotive heads to Targa Tasmania”
Categories
MINI News

Ever wanted to know how AutoSkin is applied?

AutoSkin, what the hell is that? It is a self adhesive vinyl that is applied to cars (usually) for the purposes of promotion of businesses and so on. People in Melbourne may have seen the newly released MINI Clubman around town recently and wondered just how this stuff works. If you go on over to the Decently Exposed website you can find out all about it.

See below for the finished product.

Continue reading “Ever wanted to know how AutoSkin is applied?”
Categories
Green Machines Honda News

Honda FCX Clarity – A zero emissions vehicle is here

Honda FC Clarity

Fancy a car that emits only water vapour from it’s exhaust? How about a zero emissions vehicle? Well, that car does exist. It is called the Honda FCX Clarity. Initially the FCX will be available in Southern California only, although as availability of hydrogen fueling stations expands, increased availability will follow suit. The car is only available from Honda on a 3 year lease at a price of US$600 per month. Clearly a case of small steps into the market place then. Although, this car is a much closer friend of the environment than existing hybrid vehicles, which still rely on some portion of power from conventional internal combustion engines. The FCX, then, is the future.

Continue reading “Honda FCX Clarity – A zero emissions vehicle is here”
Categories
News Targa Tasmania

Targa Tasmania upsets locals as Domain stage drives on

A recent article in the Tasmanian rag the Mercury has given the opportunity for a couple of Hobart Alderman to voice their complaints over the impending Targa Tasmania event. The piece, titled Targa racers just ‘hoons and bandits’, details a plan by the aldermen to have the Domain stage of the event cancelled. Opponents to Targa Eva Ruzicka and Bill Harvey hit out with Harvey stating, “It’s organised hooning, and we’ve a problem with hooning on our streets, Targa actively encourages that behaviour.” In support of those comments Rizicka claimed, “It encourages hooning and I get increasingly angry that Targa would appear to result in the attitude of young drivers thinking they can drive their cars like Targa competitors drive theirs,” she said. “After Targa has been, you can see and hear more of it going on, screaming cars late at night.”

Continue reading “Targa Tasmania upsets locals as Domain stage drives on”