Fernando Alonso made his seasonal track debut at the Catalunya Circuit, on the outskirts of Barcelona, last Tuesday driving the F138 for the first time. 

Foilacar Manila, the company that reinvented exterior paint protection in the country, recently announced its expansion by dipping its fingers into the realm of motorsports. 

Infiniti Red Bull Racing set the defense of its Formula One Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship titles in motion with the launch of its 2013 car, the RB9, in Milton Keynes UK last Sunday.

Pirelli will officially equip the Toyota Motorsport Group (TMG) GT86 Cup with tires in 2013, the first season for the new championship featuring the GT86 CS-V3 race car.

The technical partnership between Shell and Ducati in MotoGP has been extended with the inclusion of the Pramac Racing Team.

The 2013 World Rally Championship kicks off this week at the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo in a season that promises many significant changes.

Formula 1 test driver Jules Bianchi won the “Desafio das Estrelas,” the international karting event organized by Felipe Massa in his hometown of Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

Toyota Motorsport Group’s aerodynamic department has been awarded the prestigious Aerodynamicists of the Year award at the Race Tech World Motorsport Symposium.

After a turbulent end to the first Dakar week, the Mini X-Raid Team made a promising start as the Dakar entered its decisive stage.

The Toyota Racing Series (TRS) has inked a partnership with Motul to become its official lubricant for the 2013 season.

The 34th edition of the Dakar Rally got underway in Lima, Peru last Saturday with 459 drivers and teams contesting the punishing 8,500-kilometer endurance race.

The FIA, the governing body of the Formula One races, has introduced a series of small but crucial changes to the F1 rules and regulations.

The majority of Formula 1 teams have announced the scheduled the launch date of their respective challengers for the 2013 Formula 1 World Championship.

The Philippines recently played host to the 9th Yamaha ASEAN Cup Race which saw riders from all over the region battle it out for the top spot of the well-known one-make race.

Rain could not stop the culminating activity of the 2012 National Drag Racing Championship (NRDC). The drag racing finals featured the podium finishers in the Underbone 115, Scooter 130, and Raider 150 categories.

The Lotus F1 Team announced last week that they have retained the services of Romain Grosjean to partner Kimi Raikkonen for the 2013 Formula One season.

The last unit of Lexus’ supercar, the LFA, rolled off the production line in Japan last week at its Motomachi plant in Japan.

The Honda group of companies composed of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda Philippines Inc. (HPI), Honda Parts and Manufacturing Corporation (HPMC) and Honda Trading Philippines (HTP) under its corporate social responsibility arm, the Honda Foundation Inc. has conducted its third year of reforestation program in partnership with Haribon Foundation to support Road to 2020 project. 

Force India announced last week that their Formula One challenger will be unveiled at Silverstone on Feb. 1, 2013.

Team Germany’s Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel added to their incredible run of success by winning their sixth consecutive ROC Nations Cup title in Bangkok.

French Formula 1 star Romain Grosjean put in a stunning performance to eclipse 15 fellow superstars of motorsport and win the Race Of Champions on an evening of thrills at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium last Sunday.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH recently announced a new motorsport competition for 2013 based on the TMG GT86 CS-V3 race car.

The delivery of Porsche vehicles around the world in the first 11 months of the year has reached a total of 128,978 units, surpassing its 2011 sales by 10,110 units. In November alone, the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer sold a total of 12,928 vehicles, achieving an increase of 38.7 percent over the same month last year.

Ford paid tribute to Norway’s Petter Solberg after he announced last Dec. 4 that he will not compete in the FIA World Rally Championship in 2013.

Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan and Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC), the official importer and distributor of BMW cars in the Philippines recently held the inauguration ceremony of the Jose Ch. Alvarez (JCA) Technology Complex. 

The stage is set for a thrilling Race Of Champions following the draw for the opening group stages of the event this weekend at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium. 

The last round of the Asian drift championship took place in Indonesia on a very damp track due to heavy rainfall.

Former Formula 3 driver Jamie Green has joined the Audi team to contest the DTM series beginning 2013. 

Australian teenage racing sensation Matt Davies will race for PTR in the 2013 World Supersport Championship. 

Dec. 12 (12.12.12) will mark the start of the Year-End Merry Midnight Madness of Ford Global City at The Fort and Ford Manila in Otis.

The Philippines will play host to the Euro-Racecar NASCAR Series beginning next year after the Philippine Formula Autosports Foundation Inc. (PFAFI) successfully lured the race organizers to make the Philippines their first-ever international stop in Asia.

Arthur Pic will lead AV Formula’s maiden assault on the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2013 after signing a deal to race for the Spanish squad in the ultra-competitive single-seater championship. 

Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) presented its range of high-performance vehicles at the ongoing Essen Motor Show in Germany. 

Newly-crowned triple Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will provide a thrill for fans in Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium as one of his victorious Red Bull Racing F1 cars headlines the array of shows at Race Of Champions (ROC) 2012 on Dec. 14-16. 

The Shell-Ducati Team’s scheduled three-day off-season test at the Spanish Jerez circuit proved to be a troublesome event, but the team took them in stride and heads into MotoGP’s winter test ban with information that will be helpful as engineers do their development work on the 2013 Desmosedici.

Porsche AG will field two new GT race cars based on the newest generation of the Porsche 911 at the Le Mans 24 hour race and in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the 2013 season.

hile the MotoGP team prepared for Sunday’s MotoGP race, Shell Advance guests from around the world were competing to win a new Ducati Monster

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher has vowed that December’s Race Of Champions will not be his final ROC outing despite his imminent retirement from F1.

Just two days after the last race of the 2012 MotoGP season, seven-time World Champion Valentino Rossi got back on his motorbike again in Valencia, Spain for the first official testing of the 2013 season.

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa scored a masterful victory at the Valencia grand finale last Sunday, winning an incident-packed race that started on partially damp and very unforgiving track.

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo wrapped up a season of domination last Sunday with second on the podium in the Grand Prix of Australia to claim his second MotoGP World Championship title, becoming Spain’s first ever double premier-class Grand Prix Champion. 

The 2011 Manila Auto Salon Race Queen Cathy Chan poses with a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser owned by Dr. G’s Car Clinic which bagged the ‘Best of Show’ award in the 2011 Manila Auto Salon (MAS) event held in November last year. 

In its first World Touring Cup Championship (WTCC) event, Honda has already scored points, which is a first in the history of this championship.

Toyota Racing claimed its second consecutive win with a lights-to-flag victory in the Six Hours of Shanghai last Sunday which is the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Japanese Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga will step in to replace injured Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies for the final round of the 2012 MotoGP Championship, the Grand Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana in two weeks time. 

Toyota Racing won a thrilling Six Hours of Fuji from pole position to delight its home fans in Japan and secure a second victory in its debut FIA World Endurance Championship season last Sunday.

Filipino-Swiss driver Marlon Stockinger is setting his sights on becoming the very first Filipino to become a Formula One driver following a flourishing career in the GP3 series.

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa scored a brilliant victory at Motorland Aragon last Sunday after overpowering title rival Jorge Lorenzo in the early stages.

Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is set to leave Mercedes Benz GP at the end of the 2012 following the decision of the team not to extend his contract.

BMW driver Augusto Farfus had his name written in the DTM history books by becoming the first Brazilian to win a DTM race. Driving his BMW M3 DTM, Farfus finished ahead of Audi drivers Adrien Tambay and Mattias Ekstrom who ended up second and third.

Toyota Racing’s challenge in the Six Hours of Bahrain ended with an accident after an earlier technical issue had already denied the team a chance of victory in the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Ecurie Ecosse came within 10 minutes of sealing this year’s British GT title at Donington Park last Sunday only for a late penalty to dash their hopes of glory.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso led from start to finish at the German Grand Prix to record his third win of the season last Sunday.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso’s took brilliant victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix last Sunday. Incredibly, after all the talk of crisis within the Prancing Horse camp, the Spaniard now leads the Drivers’ World Championship after two rounds, while Scuderia Ferrari is in third place behind leaders McLaren and Red Bull.

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo wrapped up the final pre-season test of 2012 last week in Jerez with an impressive 84 laps covered.

Honda rider Dani Pedrosa rode brilliantly in the Japanese Grand Prix at their home course in Twin Ring Motegi to win his third race of the year in the most action-packed race of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship. 

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel has to wait at least one more race to get his back-to-back Driver’s Championship.

Top businessmen and political leaders have signed up for this year’s Tuason Racing School Ford Fiesta Cup (FFC) which is scheduled to flag off at the Clark International Speedway this October. 

Chevrolet bagged its second consecutive title of the Manufacturers’ Championship in the World Touring Car Championship last Sunday. 

Chequered Flag

The MotoGP paddock heads to North America this weekend for the second of the two US rounds of the 2011 MotoGP Championship.

A dominant performance helped Gary Thompson become the first Irish driver to ever win a round of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship last weekend following his National Class victory at Motegi.

Jenson Button proved wrong the McLaren detractors who are insinuating that their win in the recent German Grand Prix was just a fluke when he convincingly won the Hungarian GP last Sunday.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton hit back emphatically at his critics with a beautifully judged drive to victory at a mostly dry Nurburgring on Sunday afternoon, in a race which he described to his crew as ‘easy’ during his slowing down lap. 

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner stormed to one of the greatest wins of his career with a tactically brilliant race on a warm, sunny day in the U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last Sunday.

Just two weeks after returning from injury, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was back on the top step of the podium at the Sachsenring after a thrilling race-long battle with Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and current points leader and teammate Casey Stoner.

Just as the name "Le Mans" is inextricably linked to sports cars and endurance racing, so to is the Motul brand known for the formulation, development and production of world-class endurance lubricants.

It took nine races and a 259-day wait before a Ferrari driver was able to step up on the top podium after a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took a hard-fought victory in Mugello, Italy last Sunday after battling it out with the dominant Hondas of Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso.

Reigning World Champion Yvan Muller took his second victory of the season aboard a Chevrolet Cruze in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at Brno last Sunday.

It’s Independence Day in the Philippines, yet as the rest of the country is celebrating, the members of Team Suzuki Pilipinas are already hard at work on their motorcycles early in the day. One can’t help but feel patriotic as Philippine flags fly high in the paddock.

Honda’s Casey Stoner dominated the Spanish MotoGP in Catalunya last Sunday enabling him to close the gap in championship points currently held by Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo down to just seven points.

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel continued with his winning ways in the 2011 Formula season after he emerged victorious at the Monaco Grand Prix last Sunday.

The Chevrolet Cruzes swept the floor in Monza a fortnight ago, taking a double 1-2 win at the Italian circuit. Rob Huff won both races, becoming the third driver to achieve winning both races at one event in the WTCC's history. 

The country’s motorsport scene suffered a big blow this week with the sudden demise of the country’s fastest motorcycle rider, Maico Greg Buncio.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won his first victory of the year in Estoril last Sunday after shadowing Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo for much of the race before moving ahead in the final stages.

A year after scoring their first victory in the FIA World Rally Championship in Portugal, Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia racked up win number two in the same event. The Citroen Total World Rally Team crew came first in the Algarve after driving a perfect race. 

Red Bull Racing proved that they are a team to reckon with after Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber swept the British Grand Prix in Silverstone last Sunday. Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello drove an assured race at Silverstone to bring his Brawn-Mercedes car home in third.

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button once again showed dominance in the race track after winning the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park Circuit last Sunday.  Button crossed the finish line seven seconds ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team claimed a dominant one-two finish in Rally d'Italia Sardegna a fortnight ago aboard the Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.  The pair of Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila led from start to finish claiming their second career win in the FIA World Rally Championship. 

Ducati finally conquered its home race at Mugello last Sunday thanks to a stunning performance from Casey Stoner in one of the most difficult and eventful races of his career. The Australian rider took the chequered flag in Italy followed by Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

Ducati Marlboro team rider Casey Stoner dominated the MotoGP season opener in Qatar last Monday evening after beating everyone to the chequered flag with a lead of almost eight seconds.

Precision driver Russ Swift is in the country once again to awe Filipinos with his exhilarating car maneuvers.

Consumer giant LG Electronics has recently signed a multi-year agreement to become a Global and Technology Partner of Formula One.

The newly-formed Brawn GP Team, formerly Honda F1 Racing, stunned the field both in Barcelona and in Jerez last week after Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button swapped posting the best times during the final pre-season tests in Spain before the Formula One season opener in Melbourne on March 29.

After months of uncertainty, the Honda Racing F1 Team’s future in Formula One racing has been secured after a deal was struck between Honda Motor Company and Ross Brawn last March 6 to take full ownership of the squad.  With immediate effect, Honda passes the ownership of their F1 team to Brawn GP Formula One Team.

The Isuzu D-Max has added the Dakar Rally to its impressive resumé, finishing 11th overall among 177 participating cars, which included such brands as Volkswagen, Hummer, BMW and Opel.

Mazda Philippines recently unveiled its Mazda BT-50 drift truck to compete in various drift competitions nationwide.