MOTO GP

Valentino Rossi indicates that he will continue in MotoGP in 2021

Valentino Rossi lives a defining moment about the direction of his MotoGP career. At the end of January, Frenchman Fabio Quartararo was hired by Yamaha to fill the vacancy that belongs to the Italian from 2021, forming a pair with Spaniard Maverick Viñales next year.
With the loss of his spot on the three-pitch mark's main team, Rossi said he needed a few races to see if he was still competitive, a key factor in determining whether he would continue racing in MotoGP or move into the world of retired riders. However, the coronavirus pandemic came and the races did not happen, and Valentino remains without officially confirming whether he runs or not next year.
However, in a chat with Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP social networks, Rossi hinted that he will continue in MotoGP in 2021. He said he is motivated to keep running, despite having doubts about it because of the bad times experienced in some last season. "In the second part of the year I was often slow, and I had to fight outside the top five," he comments.
Rossi said his final decision will be made before the start of this season, if it really happens, as there is a possibility that there will be no 2020 MotoGP season. For Valentino, retiring without a last season is not the ideal scenario. "It is fairer to do another championship and stop at the end of next year, so I hope to continue in 2021".

It is worth remembering that after confirming the hiring of Quartararo for 2021, Yamaha left Rossi an original factory bike so that he can race for the current team of the French rider, the SIC Racing Team. We are rooting for this novel to end with a happy ending, and for Valentino Rossi to make a farewell championship at the height of his career.

Willian Teixeira-Brazil

AUTONEWS

Brand asking students to design new Ram pick-up truck

Looking to land yourself a career in designing automobiles?
Have you always wanted to pen your own automotive design? Well, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is looking to build an all-new Ram pick-up truck, and they are currently looking for young and upcoming designers to help them with it.
If you think you have what it takes to present FCA with your very own design for a Ram pick-up truck, you might be interested in joining FCA's Drive for Design. The contest is an chance for high school students to win prizes, while also learning about exciting career opportunities in automotive design.
With a theme 'Built To Serve', FCA is looking for designers that can design their upcoming Ram pick-up truck to serve a specific purpose. Whether it's hauling around heavy machinery, carrying construction equipment, working at a farm, or delivering packages, Ram wants to see your vision of a future Ram truck that is built to serve.
To join, one must be a legal resident of the U.S. and has to be currently enrolled in grades 10 – 12 attending high school. As for the submission of the design, those interested must submit an 11x17 inch (or 5100 x 3300 pixels) final design of their choosing in either PDF or JPG format. The final design must show either show the exterior or interior of a final design. The deadline for submission is on Friday, May 1, 2020, at 12:00 AM EST.
All of the submissions will be judged by a panel from the FCA US Product Design Office. Each judge will evaluate each finalist's entry based on craftsmanship (25%), design quality (25%), illustration (25%), and originality (25%).
The contestant that wins 1st place will get to win a high-tech Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 mobile pen computer. Meanwhile, 2nd and 3rd place winners will get an Apple iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. Beyond those, the winners will also get a chance to have design demonstration opportunities with FCA designers in the future.
The winners of the Drive for Design will be announced on May 8, 2020. Those that are interested in joining can click on this link https://fcadrivefordesign.com/#/, as well as go over some of the details regarding the contest.

Marcus De Guzman

SUZUKI

Make your Jimny more retro with Suzuki's new sticker packs

We all know just how good-looking the Suzuki Jimny is. With its retro-inspired exterior and boxy shape, it is perhaps one of the most eye-catching vehicles on the road today. There are even kits for the tiny 4x4 that make it look like a mini Mercedes-Benz G-Class or a Land Rover Defender.
But what if you wanted your Jimny to look like a Suzuki Samurai or first-gen Vitara from yesteryear? Well, Suzuki may just have what you need to further make the retro-looking Jimny look even more retro.
Recently, the automaker released several sets of decals that give the 4x4 a cool yet old-school vibe. Available in four distinct trims, the decals give the Jimny a striking finish, not to mention a throwback-like nod to Jimnys of old.



The first set is called Off-road Style, and it comes with a three-tone black/gray/red stripe combination that is applied on the hood, rocker panels, and underneath the rear window. Meanwhile, a 'Real Offroad' decal on the lower part of the door further gives the Jimny a more rugged appearance.
Next is Heritage Style which appears to be a direct nod to the second-generation Jimny. It gets red and gray body stripes that complement the all-white (or all-black) exterior finish. It also has a neat set of red mudflaps, classic-style 16-inch alloy wheels, and a matching decal finish for the rear spare tire carrier.For those that prefer their Jimny with a bit more "ruggedness" there's the Survival Style trim. It features a camo-like decal painted in black which gives the Jimny a safari-like look. Paired with a beige exterior, and this 4x4 looks like it's ready to take on African plains.
But perhaps serving as the most retro of all the decals is the Revival Style. Fans of the Suzuki Samurai will immediately notice that it has the familiar design reminiscent of the one seen in the original 4x4 from before. It's placed prominently on the doors, as well as on the spare tire carrier for everyone to see.





Thinking of getting one for your Jimny? Sadly, the decal sets are only available in Japan and it looks like Suzuki has no plans of offering outside the country. Should you happen to be in Japan soon and are thinking of dressing up your Jimny, perhaps it's best to buy one before heading home. Personally, I'd choose the Heritage Style pack.

Marcus De Guzman

AUTONEWS

China promises subsidies to boost falling electric car sales

China is promising more subsidies to shore up plunging electric car sales amid the coronavirus pandemic but set limits that exclude Tesla's made-in-China model.
Subsidies and tax breaks that were due to end this year will be extended by two years in response to "an accumulation of unfavorable factors" including the virus, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
Beijing has spent billions of dollars subsidizing electrics in hopes of cleaning up China's smog-choked cities and taking an early lead in a promising global industry.
That helped to turn China into the biggest market for electrics, accounting for about half of global sales. But demand sank in mid-2019 after regulators started shifting the burden to automakers by cutting subsidies and imposing minimum sales quotas.
First-quarter sales plunged more than 50% from a year earlier after China shut down most of its economy to fight the virus.
Subsidies will be limited to vehicles with a sticker price below 300,000 yuan ($42,500), the Finance Ministry said. That excludes Tesla's Model 3 made at its factory in Shanghai, which starts at 324,000 yuan ($45,800).
Tesla is the first wholly foreign-owned automaker venture in China after Beijing repealed rules that required global brands to work through Chinese partners.
Top-end models from some Chinese competitors are priced above 300,000 yuan but most cost less than that.
The decision had been widely expected after some cities renewed subsidies this year to support flagging sales.
The ministry gave no details of amounts to be paid per vehicle.
The Finance Ministry also said vehicles with "battery switching" technology will be exempt from the price cap. That appears to extend to NIO, a higher-priced brand backed by Chinese investors. 

© 2020 The Associated Press

FÓRMULA-1

Heroes: Hakkinen recalls accident with Schumacher in Macau

In this excerpt from the documentary Heroes, Hakkinen recalls his accident with the seven-time champion in Macau, before the two entered F1
In the documentary Heroes, available on Motorsport.tv, four sports legends share stories about their successes, failures, difficulties and accidents that marked their careers. Today you can see an excerpt from the film where Mika Hakkinen talks about the accident he had with Michael Schumacher at the 1990 Macau GP.
Macau is the most important event on the Formula 3 calendar, and Hakkinen arrived at the event as the British champion. His team, West Surrey Racing, would compete against Schumacher's WTS Racing Reward, champion of the German championship. Hakkinen had already won the first heat, and only needed to get three seconds ahead of Schumacher to win the event in the competition.
Hakkinen was clearly faster than Schumacher in the final laps, and was being hindered by Schumacher, who was ahead of him.

Mikka Hakkinen-1999

"What can I do? I need to overtake him," said Hakkinen in the film. "But he was so slow, and I was very close to him, getting the dirt."
"I did the maneuver to overtake him, and I could see his eyes in the mirror ... [Hakkinen starts to move an imaginary steering wheel to the right] - Boom!"
After the race, Schumacher said in an interview: "I knew he was there, I saw him in the mirror. And I saw him in the mirror all the time, he was close to me. And he took his foot off the accelerator and stayed behind of me".
"This time he got closer and closer, and I could see, so I went to the right. At that moment, he tried to overtake me. And he was so fast that he couldn't brake."
Hakkinen lamented: "I missed the race - a terrible time".
Schumacher ended up winning, even without the rear wing. But Hakkinen's mistake did not affect his career and the following year he joined Lotus in F1, months before Schumacher did the same, but with Jordan initially, and then with Benetton. 

Charles Bradley

FERRARI

Brand remains on track to introduce two models in 2020 

Ferrari has manufactured more thermoplastic valves than high-horsepower supercars in recent weeks in order to fight the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but the unexpected shift hasn't disrupted its plans to expand its range. The company confirmed the two models it planned to introduce later in 2020 remain on schedule.
"We're always planning to do something more, and we intend to make some news. We will launch two models by the end of the year," affirmed Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's commercial chief, in an interview with Autocar.
He added the brand — which has been independent since 2016 — is always looking at entering new segments of the market. "Potentially every segment is of interest to us, with the caveat that Ferrari is in the luxury sports car business," he explained. 



That means it won't put its name on something along the lines of a Mazda Miata, but it opens the door to shapes and body styles that defy the conventional definition of what a car with the Prancing Horse emblem on its nose should look like. One is an SUV, though it's not due out until 2022 at the earliest.
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Galliera did not shed light on the two cars Ferrari will introduce in 2020. Recent spy shots tell us an updated version of the Portofino is around the corner, though we're hoping what looks like a mild face-lift of an existing car isn't one of the two new additions announced. We've also caught the firm testing an electrified powertrain it's hiding under a lightly modified 488 GTB body (pictured), but it's difficult to accurately tell what we're looking at. Earlier rumors point to a hybrid powertrain built around Ferrari's first road-going V6 engine since it phased out the curvaceous Dino 246 in 1974. The plug-in powertrain will deliver 720 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque.



Additional information about Ferrari's upcoming new models will emerge in the coming months. We might learn more at the 2020 edition of the New York Auto Show, which was postponed from April to August.

Source: Autoblog

MOTO GP

MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 will have virtual races this Sunday

The third MotoGP e-race was confirmed for this Sunday, when riders in the premier class of the MotoGP World Championship will race on the virtual circuit of Jerez, the same date that the real race should take place.
And one of the main novelties of this edition is that the Moto2 and Moto3 riders will also have their own virtual races. Participants will be defined based on the results of the Qatar stage, played in March, the only one this year. The top 10 in each category will have priority to participate in their class e-races.
As in the MotoGP virtual races, there are 10 riders participating in the event. Each team will send a representative, with the exception of the Honda Repsol Team, which will have its two competitors at the event.



The first virtual MotoGP races were won by Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia. The Moto2 and Moto3 stages in Qatar were won by Tetsuta Nagashima and Albert Arenas, respectively.
These events have been a good alternative for them to continue competing during the pandemic of the new coronavirus, which made the beginning of the 2020 season unfeasible.
And another race was postponed, the Dutch GP. The test in Assen will not take place on the scheduled date (June 28) because of the decision of the local government to extend the period of social isolation and suspend until September the holding of major events.
According to the CEO of Dorna, Carmelo Ezpeleta, the ‘ideal scenario’ indicates that the MotoGP World Championship should start in August in the Czech Republic.

Willian Teixeira-Brazil