Why Loeb and Sarrazin swap cars for a day

World rally champion Sebastien Loeb and former Le Mans Series champion Stephane Sarrazin swapped cars in France yesterday with Loeb taking the wheel of a Peugeot 908 HDi at Paul Ricard and Sarrazin sampling a Citroen C4 WRC on a nearby gravel stage.

Loeb, who contested the 2005 and 2006 Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP1 Pescarolo, drove five laps of the circuit in a specially-converted two-seater 908, before taking 15 laps on his own - lapping just over a second off a time set by Sarrazin.

"It was great fun and I'm delighted that Stephane and I were given this opportunity to test our respective cars," said Loeb. "What is always impressive about sports prototypes and single-seaters is their speed and the amount of downforce they generate, but I have to say that I was struck by the amount of torque delivered by the Peugeot's diesel engine.

"I was a little surprised by the restricted visibility you get from the closed cockpit, but I soon felt confident enough to start pushing a little harder and I savoured every minute of the experience. The time passed so quickly and I didn't want to give the car back afterwards."

Then Sarrazin, who competed in the WRC for Subaru in 2005 and 2006, was given a passenger ride around the 3km stage in Domaine de Riboux by Loeb before taking over behind the wheel for 12 runs through the course - setting similar times to Loeb.

"It's been a tremendous thrill to drive the C4 today," said Sarrazin. "Maybe we could swap places for an event? Sebastien could take my place on an endurance race and I could drive his car on a rally!

"Compared with the rally cars I have driven in the past, I was impressed by its overall balance and more especially by how easy it was to set up into the corners.

"It really is a very efficient machine, and very predictable - you immediately feel confident enough to start pushing hard. It was great and I would love to have carried on a little longer."

Both Loeb and Sarrazin will contest the final round of the French Rally Championship - Rallye du Var - this weekend. Loeb will be co-driven by his wife in a Citroen C2 Super 1600, while Sarrazin will be joined by Jacques-Julien Renucci in a Peugeot 207 RC Rallye.

What happened to Kimi Raikkonen?

Kimi Raikkonen had a poor season by his own standards, and ended up playing second fiddle to Felipe Massa. But occasional flashes showed that his speed is still in there somewhere, so what went wrong? Edd Straw explains

Giancarlo Fisichella: No doubts about 2009 seat

Giancarlo Fisichella insists there are no doubts about his continued presence at the Force India team in 2009, despite the deal with McLaren-Mercedes.

"The line-up has been announced in China in October by Vijay, and I trust people who trust me," Fisichella told the official F1 website.

"I originally signed a two-year contract which was reviewed in September to incorporate the McLaren deal. In a few words, the team offered me a better car and a different package.

"I accepted their proposal and both sides signed the new document between Singapore and China. This is why Dr Mallya made the announcement in Shanghai," added the Italian.

Although team boss Vijay Mallya said both Fisichella and Adrian Sutil would stay on next season, speculation about their future was rife after McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa tested for the team for two days earlier this month.

Force India signed a technical deal with McLaren and Mercedes and the Silverstone-based squad will use the German engines in 2009.

Fisichella said he was not surprised by de la Rosa's test.

"The only thing I know is that in September we were told that Pedro could test and we could not say before it was made official so I was not at all surprised," he added.

"As for the rest - I am not really interested in F1 gossip!"

The Roman admitted he is looking forward to next season, as he has been promised he will have a strong car.

"A competitive package, that's all I want and what I have been promised. And that is a very good reason to drive for the team in 2009."

Salom wins penultimate CEV Buckler round

Spaniard wins in Valencia to keep championship challenge alive.

Runner-up in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2008, Luis Salom tasted victory in another championship this past weekend, winning the penultimate round of the CEV Buckler Spanish Championship. The Spaniard overcame some familiar faces to World Championship fans in Sunday´s 125GP event, held at Valencia.

After a furious final lap, Salom edged out fellow countrymen Efren Vazquez and Adrian Martin as the podium places were decided, with former 125cc World Championship rider Pere Tutusaus just missing out on the rostrum.

Salom´s victory reduces the championship advantage held by Vazquez to just nine points, with Alberto Moncayo´s fifth place in Valencia ruling him out of the title running.

The final round of the CEV Buckler takes place on November 16th in Jerez, where the 2008 series winner will be decided.

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Final 2009 Rookies selection event takes place at Estoril

The sun was out on Saturday in Estoril for a beautiful second day at the final selection event for the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

Riders came from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia and across Europe from Sweden to the Czech Republic, putting their talent on the line at the Portuguese Grand Prix circuit of Estoril over the weekend, for the last selection event of the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

Hiroshi Aoyama, a Grand Prix winner who finished second in Estoril in 2006, was on hand to give the young riders the benefit of his experience and commented, `It is very nice to see so many young riders here enjoying themselves. I have never seen anything like it. We certainly did not have it in Japan when I started riding. There is so much talent here and they are so young, they have so much possibility for improvement it is very difficult to pick the right riders to go forward to the Rookies Cup.´

The riders come from very different backgrounds, some with a good amount of experience on 125cc Grand Prix style machinery, others had to learn new skills in a short time. One example is Arthur Sissis, the 13 year-old Australian, more accustomed to racing speedway who thrilled everyone with some sideways moves on the 125cc. `It´s great to be here, a fantastic experience,´ he enthused. `I´m having great fun on the track. I think the most difficult part was the tight twisty section, that´s a real test of skill.´

For others the travelling itself was something new as it was for Syafiq Omar, the 16 year-old Malaysian. `This is the experience of a lifetime for me, to come to such a great track and get the international experience. It is all very new to me and not easy of course but I am learning the bike and the track. It is a lot of fun and I am trying very hard to get into the Rookies Cup. That would be fantastic.´

On the other hand some of the youngest participants already have lot of racing under their belt including 12 year-old Briton Fraser Rogers. He has been racing since he was six but said that the Estoril Circuit was the best he has seen, `I like Anglesea and Donington but this is more fun I think. It is also more technical and it´s warmer here. I like this track´s tight twisty corners but it is also flowing.´

`At home I race an RS125 Aprilia but the Metrakit is smaller, faster and nicer really. I like it. I really want to get into the Rookies Cup, it´s wicked, I want to race on the same tracks as the MotoGP guys and be in the same paddock. I´ve learnt a bit of Spanish and French, enough to order food and say if the bike is good or not,´ said Rogers, obviously well prepared for the life of an international superstar.

The two days of testing resulted in a list of nine riders who will be invited to take part in the 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup joining those from 2008 who have been invited to return.

Invited riders from Final Selection Event:
Robin Barbosa (FRA)
Brad Binder (RSA)
Xavier Figueiras (ESP)
Taylor Mackenzie (GBR)
Alexander Kristiansson (SWE)
Manuel Pardo (ITA)
Alex Rins (ESP)
Fraser Rogers (GBR)
Arthur Sissis (AUS)

Provisional 2009 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Entry List
Robin Barbosa (FRA)
Brad Binder (RSA)
Deane Brown (GBR)
Kevin Calia (ITA)
Alessio Cappella (ITA/NGR)
Xavier Figueiras (ESP)
Hayden Gillim (USA)
Daijiro Hiura (JPN)
Taylor Mackenzie (GBR)
Nelson Major (FRA)
Florian Marino (FRA)
Dylan Mavin (AUS)
Leandro Mercado (ARG)*
Jakub Kornfeil (CZE)
Alexander Kristiansson (SWE)
Manuel Pardo (ITA)
Alex Rins (ESP)
Fraser Rogers (GBR)
Daniel Ruiz (ESP)
Mathew Scholtz (RSA)
Arthur Sissis (AUS)
Benny Solis (USA)
Harry Stafford (GBR)
Nico Thöni (AUT)
* TBC

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