BMW Motorsport and Castrol EDGE unveiled Augusto Farfus as the driver of Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM

BMW Motorsport and Castrol EDGE have unveiled Augusto Farfus as the driver of the Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM for the manufacturer’s first season in the championships for twenty years. The 28 year old Brazilian will be competing in the number 16 Castrol EDGE branded BMW M3 DTM for the eleven race events.

As Premier Technical Partner, Castrol has been a member of the BMW Motorsport family for many years. As well as working together on the commercial brands within the BMW group, both have a history of working together having teamed up across a number of motorsport properties including F1, the World Touring Car Championship, 24 hour racing, and motorcycle racing events.

Augusto Farfus, BMW DTM Driver, said: “Ever since my debut as a BMW driver in 2007, I have always enjoyed working with Castrol. A strong oil is very important in racing and you need to be confident that you can push your engine to the absolute maximum at any point during the race.”

“The DTM is a very competitive series and for this reason you’re never going to win anything unless you have great technical partners on board, so to have Castrol’s technical expertise is a real boost for the team.”

“Pre-season testing has gone really well and all the team are confident that we have the strength to compete at the top this season. Now I’m just looking forward to finally getting out there for my DTM debut and showing everyone what I can do.”

Donald Smith, Castrol Sponsorship Manager, said: “Everyone at Castrol is really happy to have Augusto behind the wheel of the new Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM for the 2012 season. We’ve worked closely with him before so we know how hard he works and most importantly what a strong driver he is.”

“The DTM really is one of the most spectacular racing series in Europe and pushes the drivers, teams and cars to the very limit. Our newly developed Castrol EDGE FST™ engine oil will help Augusto deliver maximum engine performance and will give the whole team the strength to perform at the highest level.”

 “Together with our long-term partner, BMW Motorsport, we are looking forward to the challenges ahead and will do everything in our power to ensure that BMW is able to triumph in the DTM as they have done in the past.”

Audi Q 3

he Audi Q3 (internally designated Typ 8U), is a five-door compact coupe crossover by Audi that debuted commercially in 2011. The car uses the Volkswagen Group A5 (PQ35) platform of the Volkswagen Golf Mk5, the same as the Volkswagen Tiguan/SEAT Tribu small SUVs. The Q3 slots above the proposed Audi Q1 mini crossover. Compared to the mid-luxury compact Q5 and full-size Q7 which are positioned more for family practicality and off-road performance, the Q3 is aimed as more of a lifestyle/sports automobile. It was launched in the same model year as the BMW X1, a similar competitor.

Mini Coupe 2012

With so many similarities to the hatchback, why stop now. Under the hood are three engine options, all of which are identical to the rest of the MINI lineup. A bit disappointing perhaps, but if Volkswagen can use its 2.0T motor in everything, then who’s to fault MINI for making full use of its 1.6?

In the base Copper model look for 121-hp and 114 lb-ft of torque delivering a 0-60 time of 8.5 seconds. Turbocharged Cooper S models make 181-hp and 177 lb-ft (192 with an overboost function) to deliver a 6.5 second time. And finally, the top-dog John Cooper Works model ups the power further to 208-hp and 192 lb-ft (207 in overboost), making it the fastest accelerating MINI ever with a 6.1 second 0-60 time. When compared to the hatch, these times are roughly a tenth or two quicker, adding a smidge more performance to back up the xy-chromosome styling.

MINI cleverly kept us away from the base Cooper model with what is sure to be underwhelming performance, although MINIs do have a tendency to feel faster than they are and even a base hard top model can deliver its share of thrills. Instead we tested both the Cooper S and JCW models – the latter looking particularly impressive with its custom 17-inch wheels and aero kit.

Maruthi Suzuki compact SUV XA Alpha

Maruti Suzuki intends to make this on the same platform as the Gypsy, as a newer version with modern designs and features. The Gypsy has been a favorite for many Indians over the past two decades for hard core off road fun. Lets hope the Alpha does equally well on that front. The Alpha seems to be a decently capable on and off roader, built to absorb bad patches of road with ease. The muscular stance of the Alpha such as the beefy protruding wheel arches and the neatly chiseled bonnet lines are said to be derived from the Indian wrestling tradition, typically with big muscles, strong men and tricky body locking to win the battle of brawn.

In XAα, the 'Alpha' represents trendiness and newness that the youth connect to. The 'A' signifies that this compact, 4 metre long concept, is designed for customers wishing to enter the utility vehicle segment. The 'X' denotes Cross-over category.

UAE to ban resale, reuse of old tyres

Dubai: Come September, resale and reuse of old tyres will be banned, as the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology's (Esma) new tyre quality management scheme comes into effect across the UAE.

The new ‘birth to death' scheme, provides quality control specifications right from the stage of manufacturing to disposal of tyres.

Among the highlights of the new system is the requirement of additional certification for manufacturers, complete ban on sale of used tyres as well as restriction in re-treading and repair of tyres. Proper storage and disposal of tyres is also a priority.

"It is a central scheme in which we have tried to control the quality of tyres at every level, right from the manufacturing and storing to repair and disposal.
"At Esma we are trying to control the quality of products on priority basis and quality of tyres is currently one of the top priorities for us as so many lives depend on a good and well maintained tyre," said Engineer Mohammad Saleh Badri, Acting Director General of Esma, announcing the new scheme in Dubai
He added that a large number of accidents are due to faulty tyres or tyres that don't meet the standards required for the weather in the region. With the new scheme this issue will be addressed.

"A tyre once used for a car cannot be used for another car, no matter how good its condition is. Even if its used for only one day or one month, it is not allowed to be resold," said Badri. Currently, imported tyres comply with GCC specifications which require manufacturers and distributors to have a Gulf Standardisation Organisation (GSO) conformity certification.

However, Badri said GSO requirements are inadequate for the safety of vehicles on roads as it only looks into manufacturing aspects.

"Our idea is to have a complete makeover in the way tyres are managed and maintained. Companies as usual will need to acquire the GSO certification, but an additional UAE Standard ISO 9001 certification will be required before importing the tyres," Badri said.

Giving details of the specifications, Abdullah Abdul Qader Al Muaini, Director of Conformity Affairs at Esma, said that companies will have to conform to additional specifications and regulations when it comes to manufacturing and have to obtain conformity certifications from accredited laboratories before importing each batch of tyres.

Some of the new specifications are that tyres should have the quality to sustain temperatures in excess of 50 degrees Celsius, in accordance with UAE weather.

"Normally, tyres are manufactured for temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius, which is the reason why there are so many cases of tyre bursts during summer," Al Muaini added.

Another important regulation is that the total lifespan of each tyre is restricted to five years from the date of manufacture. Any tyre that is five years old, whether used or unused would be disposed of.

Importance of storage

Apart from manufacturing, the new law gives equal importance to storage.

"Storage is something which is very important to maintain the quality of a tyre and this is where we have been lacking. No matter how good a tyre is, if it is not stored properly then it is bound to be damaged, that is the reason why so many new tyres burst," said Badri.

Badri warned that trade licences would not be renewed for companies that do not comply with the new specification.

The authority has imposed a blanket ban on the import of retreated and used tyres, but these can be exported.

Esma has approved 25 companies to retreat used tyres, provided they adhere to its strict specifications. One of the chief requirements is that only those tyres with no damage to the main structure would be allowed to be retreated. Retreated tyres will have a life span of two years from the date of manufacture. These tyres will have a yellow patch. The law covers all tyres, except those for industrial vehicles.

Esma insists that all manufacturers as well as WTO have been informed of the new specifications well in advance of the effective date.

Monitoring

All stores will have to withdraw tyres that do not comply with the new specifications, come September.

The authority has devised a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the scheme right from the first stage to disposal and recycling of tyres.

"We are in talks with international consultants and we will soon hire the best in the industry to assist us monitor the implementation of our quality control scheme," said Badri.