Gates Corporation Emh123 on 2040-parts.com

Ecclestone wants to bring the noise

FORMULA ONE supremo Bernie Ecclestone has vowed to address growing concerns surrounding the sport's lack of an appealing noise. Following Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Ron Walker, chairman of the organising company that stages the race, complained to close friend Ecclestone about the lack of sound. The piercing scream of the old V8 engine has gone, and in its place we now have a huskier tone, complete with whistles and whirrs from the 1.6-litre V6 turbo as F1 tries to become greener.

SoCal stuff you just have to see

If you live in Southern California or might visit anytime soon, here are a few things to do: Legends Of Riverside III Riverside International Raceway may have been closed for 22 years, but it has never left the memories of those who drove on it and the fans who sat in the brown dirt and scrub brush around the outside. For the last three years, the Riverside International Automotive Museum has honored those memories with a big reunion of great drivers, race cars and movies. In 2009, the featured hero was Southern California's own Dan Gurney.

PRE-WAR CARS MAY GET MOT TEST EXEMPTION

PRE-WAR vehicles may have their requirement for an annual MoT test removed, it has been suggested. A meeting between Transport Minister Mike Penning and members of the All Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicles Group, led by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, has resolved to address the issue. The extremely low accident rate for such vehicles, the vast majority of which are kept in pristine condition by avid collectors, means there is little need for a MoT test, the group argued.