Flavio Briatore legal challenge to FIA ban

Flavio Briatore is launching legal action to get his lifetime ban overturned Flavio Briatore will start legal proceedings in the Paris Tribunal de Grande tomorrow in an attempt to overturn the lifetime ban he received from the FIA for his part in the ‘Singapore-Gate’ race fixing episode, which saw Nelson Piquet Jnr intentionally crashing his car to allow team mate Fernando Alonso to take victory in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Briatore is claiming the life time ban from involvement in any FIA sanctioned Motor Sport – including driver management – is a legal absurdity. And he probably has a point.

Ford Motor Company Fund expands driver-education program for teens

Driving Skills for Life (DSFL), a free program sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund to teach teen drivers safe driving skills, will be coming to 31 more cities this year as part of the DSFL national high-school tour and community program. New sites for the clinic include Albany, N.Y.; Louisville, Ky.; Atlanta; Phoenix, and Boston. “There is nothing more important than the safety of our young people on the road,” said Jim Graham, manager of DSFL.

Hoon Small! Fiat 500 Abarth to start at $22,000

Fiat's U.S. arm is hoping that the Abarth-tuned antisocial edition of its diminutive 500 will inject some heat into the model's disappointing sales figures. Pricing it starting at $22,000, not including destination charges, should make the heated, tiny Italian more compelling to hot-hatch enthusiasts.