Australian rally driver, Brendan Reeves, has been given the chance to test drive a Ford Fiesta World Rally Car in the UK this month. Reeves, who finished fourth overall in this year’s FIA WRC Academy, has been rewarded for his excellent 2012 performances with an invitation to attend the exclusive test day. Reeves will have the opportunity to test drive a World Rally Car during a one hour test session in the UK. The 24 year old is rapt to have been offered the test drive and whilst it means a trip to the UK at his expense, he is grabbing it with both hands. “I’m stoked to be given this chance to drive a Fiesta World Rally Car,” Reeves said.  “It is a nice reward for our efforts this year and driving the World Rally Car will give me a real taste of the next level of the sport. “I had the chance to sit beside Ken Block in his Fiesta World Rally Car just prior to Rally Finland this year and it was a great experience.  To now have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a similar car myself is fantastic. “Testing the World Rally Car is a great opportunity and I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully it leads to more similar opportunities in the future. “We haven’t confirmed our program for 2013 just yet. We learnt so much in 2012 and competing in the Academy again has been really important for our careers and we’d love to be able to continue competing in the World Rally Championship again in 2013. “I’d really like to thank M-Sport for the amazing efforts they put into the WRC Academy this year and also for giving me the chance to take part in the test drive.”

Scooters are the two wheeled counter-part of motorcycles but is one the riding world would rather forget. However, when you match Bayliss, Crump and McCoy with 50cc Scooters, the world all of a sudden begins to think differently…..even if it is only for a short time. This month, December 8/9, at the Gold Coast Parklands Showground’s, the World’s toughest scooter event will return, the Insure My Ride Le Minz 24 Hour Scooterthon presented by TGB Scooters. Into its eighth year, the Scooterthon is certainly an event that continues to grow, and this year it is sure to be world class. Three time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss will team up with three time World Speedway champion Jason Crump plus multiple Guinness book world record holder Mark ‘Brownie’ Brown to take on 25 other teams in the world’s most demanding scooter endurance test. Multiple Moto GP and World Superbike race winner Gary McCoy plus many more excellent riders will also start on the grid. Bayliss who is use to 1000cc under his seat was beaming after his short ten minute stint in front of the cameras for the media last week. “I can’t wait for next [this] week, it’s going to be a lot of fun riding with Crumpy and Brownie, these little scooters are great on this track. “I hope everyone comes down to support this great event, it’s only a gold coin donation entry and it all goes to charities” said Bayliss. “I would also like to announce that I want to donate all my ride gear from the event to Mat & Chloe Rogers (Mat Rogers Duel International Rugby legend) for their great children’s charity 4 ASD KIDS” Bayliss continued. “This event it’s not about the size of his engine, it’s about the size of his heart,” said Rogers. “This is a very kind gesture Troy has offered us, a helmet would have been great but to have all his ride gear to auction is amazing. This will help so many children and we can’t thank Troy enough.” Mat, together with his wife Chloe, head up the great children’s charity ’4 ASD KIDS’ www.4asdkids.com. The Scooterthon each year supports a number of charities and this year is no different, ‘Give me 5 for kids’ Children’s Charity and ‘Racesafe Medical team’ will split all gold coin entry donations and funds raised from a major raffle that includes first prize of a new TGB Scooter. Where – Gold Coast Parklands Showground’s When – Sat 8th Dec 12 Midday – Sun 9th Dec Midday Special Guest Riders include - Troy Bayliss – 3 x World Superbike Champion & Moto GP Race Winner Jason Crump – 3 x World Speedway Champion Gary McCoy – Multiple Moto GP and World Superbike race winner Darcy Ward – 2 x Under 21 World Speedway Champion Peter Spida Everitt – AFL legend and tallest guy you will ever see on a 50cc scooter.

Husqvarna Rallye Team By Speedbrain have signed up top Italian rider Alessandro Botturi to take part in this year’s Dakar aboard the Husqvarna TE449 RR by Speedbrain. This will be the second Dakar for the thirty-seven years old rider from Lumezzane (BS), after his surprising eighth place finish in last year’s rally which earned him the prize of “rookie rider” in the competition. Botturi brings from the world of enduro a wealth of experience, in which he has won a string of important victories in the world championship and the International Six Days, as well as having taken nine Italian titles. Botturi has been concentrating on international rallies for a year now, getting excellent results in the FIM Cross Country Rally, finishing in second overall place in the rally of Sardinia. “I feel really honoured to be a part of such a highly rated team like the Husqvarna Rallye Team By Speedbrain at the Dakar right now,” stated Alessandro Botturi. “The TE449RR has proved itself to an extremely competitive bike especially in the most recent races. It has won the Pharaons and was one of the main protagonists of the Morocco Rally. As always I’ll be doing my best to help bring the team success in such an important event. “ “Alessandro Botturi’s inclusion in the Husqvarna Rallye Team By Speedbrain settles the line-up for the next Dakar,” points out team manager Wolfgang Fischer. “With Barreda, Goncalves, Fish and Botturi we’ve got an extremely competitive team that blends well together, who we can rely on to be right up there with the competition. I like to take this opportunity to wish Cody Quinn all the best after his thigh-bone injury at last week’s Baja 1000, who won’t be able to form part of the team, but will be on the Husqvarna TE449RR by Speedbrain as soon as he will be fully recovered.”  

Nissan’s all-new Altima V8 Supercar will hit the streets this weekend at the Sydney Telstra 500 in Sydney, New South Wales. The Altima V8 Supercar will also be on display for fans to get a closer look. The first public display of the spectacular, all-new V8 Supercar will be capped by laps of the 3.42-kilometre Sydney Olympic Park street circuit with Rick Kelly behind the wheel. The demonstration laps at Sydney will be the first time that Kelly, the 2006 V8 Supercars Champion and two-time Bathurst winner, will drive the first Nissan V8 Supercar constructed by Kelly Racing as the team transitions to Nissan Motorsport for 2013. “The interest in the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar has been overwhelming all year, especially now that we have unveiled the first car,” said Rick Kelly. “So we are pleased to show fans our first Nissan Altima V8 Supercar, the car that will dawn the new era of V8 Supercars from 2013, at the final event of this season at the Sydney Telstra 500 this weekend. “While I’m sure that the fans will be excited to see the Altima in the flesh for the first time, there’s no doubt that the most excited person to hear this news confirmed is actually me. “I’ve been busting to get my first drive of the new Nissan all year long as we’ve been watching the car take shape in the various departments of our team workshop. So to get the chance to drive the Altima V8 Supercar in front of a crowd at the Sydney Olympic Park street circuit is going to be a fantastic buzz.” The Nissan Altima V8 Supercar will be on display in the V8 Supercar Pit Pavilion at the Sydney Telstra 500 from Friday, with its on track appearance with Rick Kelly behind the wheel scheduled for 11:10am on Sunday.  

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has claimed his third consecutive world title – making him the youngest-ever triple world champion – after a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix, while McLaren’s Jenson Button took his third win of the season. Vettel stopped four times en route to a sixth place finish, having lost time with a spin and sustained damage following contact with another competitor on the opening lap. The P Zero Silver hard tyres and P Zero White medium were nominated for the race, while the Cinturato Green intermediates and Cinturato Blue full wets were also used. All the drivers started on the medium tyre apart from Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Romain Grosjean (Lotus), who began on the hard tyre. The race started in ambient temperatures of 19 degrees with light drizzle, but the rain intensified during the first 10 laps. Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was the first to pit for Cinturato Green intermediates, on lap five, followed progressively by many other drivers all the way down the field. Button, who claimed an early lead from second on the grid, stayed out on the medium tyres while the rain fell. The different strategies shook up the established order: the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen running as high as sixth overall, ahead of the Marussia of Timo Glock in seventh – who also both remained on the slicks until laps 15 and 14 respectively. When the safety car came out for 10 laps, Button pitted on lap 23 for hard tyres while the track still remained damp as the rain eased off. In the closing stages of the race, the rain returned with a vengeance, meaning that it was no longer possible to stay out on the slicks. On lap 50 Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg went onto the intermediates, while Vettel stopped for medium tyres on lap 52 and then two laps later for intermediates as the rain fell harder. On lap 57 Button made his second and final stop onto intermediate tyres without losing the lead. Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Kovalainen ended the race on the Cinturato Blue full wet tyre. Vettel’s tyre strategy consisted of starting on the medium tyre, switching to the intermediate, then to the hard, then to the medium, and finally to the intermediate again. His title rival Fernando Alonso, who needed to finish at least third with Vettel 10th or lower to claim the championship, made one less stop: starting on the medium, then to the intermediate, then to the medium, then to the intermediate again. The regulations state that drivers have to use both slick compounds during the race unless they have used either the intermediate or wet tyre. Button was the only finisher to stop just twice: all the others made at least one more stop. Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery concluded: “On this day 11 years ago we won the World Rally Championship with Richard Burns, so it is quite fitting that today we have seen another truly dramatic title-decider, here in Interlagos.” “The weather played a huge part in proceedings, forcing the teams to alter their strategy and react to the changing conditions. The teams faced a particularly hard task because conditions in free practice and qualifying were a lot warmer and much drier, so the race was a step into the unknown. “With the weather so unpredictable, some teams used strategy by putting one driver on slicks and the other on intermediates, in order to have real-time data about the relative performance of the tyres. “Congratulations to Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, who adapted their strategy calls brilliantly to changing circumstances, as well as to Fernando Alonso and Ferrari, who pushed them every inch of the way. We’d also like to congratulate Jenson Button, who got the very best out of both the slick and the intermediate tyres, and take this opportunity to pay tribute to Michael Schumacher: a great champion and fantastic ambassador for the sport, who ended his final grand prix in the points.”