2007 Ferrari F430 Spyder F1 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

FIA president and former Ferrari boss Jean Todt named UN special envoy

Jean Todt, the 69-year-old former Scuderia Ferrari boss, Ferrari CEO and current FIA president has been named the United Nation's special envoy for road safety. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment Wednesday in Paris. Citing the 1.3 million people killed and the 50 million people injured each year on the world's roads, the UN is appointing Todt to mobilize "sustained political commitment towards road safety." Beyond that, the Frenchman will work towards raising awareness of the UN's "road safety legal instruments." "The road safety challenge is too often ignored, but road injuries are the number one killer of young people aged 15 to 29. That being the case, it deserves much more attention on the global political agenda," Todt said in the attached statement. "This appointment will bring greater visibility to efforts to tackle this health and development crisis, as well as new leadership and renewed momentum." Meanwhile, the FIA also confirmed Todt and 44 other delegates in Nepal to attend the organization's Asia-Pacific Sport Regional Congress in Kathmandu were safe after the country was struck by a devastating earthquake last week. Scroll on down for the official press release from the FIA. FIA President Jean Todt appointed as UN Special Envoy for Road Safety UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed FIA President Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety at a meeting held today in Paris. In this capacity, he will assist the UN Secretary General in mobilizing sustained political commitment towards road safety. Mr. Todt will also advocate and raise awareness about the United Nations road safety legal instruments, and share established road safety good practices, through his participations in global and regional conferences on road safety. In addition, the Special Envoy for Road Safety will generate funding for advocacy efforts through strategic partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors. FIA President Jean Todt said: "The road safety challenge is too often ignored, but road injuries are the number one killer of young people aged 15-29. That being the case, it deserves much more attention on the global political agenda." adding "This appointment will bring greater visibility to efforts to tackle this health and development crisis, as well as new leadership and renewed momentum". "In my position as FIA President, with the backing of our members, road safety has become a key priority.

249 reasons you want to go to Goodwood Revival

At its most basic, Goodwood Revival is a long weekend worth of car races featuring cars made before 1970. There are lots of those, though, including some pretty great ones all over the world. But nothing is like Goodwood Revival because it's so much more than "just" vintage car racing.  First, you have to look the part. Attendees are strongly encouraged to dress in period clothing from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, with a strict dress code enforced should you want to enter the paddock. The goal is to create a more authentic atmosphere to match the cars and the meticulously restored and recreated paddocks, grandstands and other facilities of the reborn Goodwood circuit. Now, the dress code was relaxed this year since the Saturday was literally the hottest Sept. 9 on record in that part of England, and the organizers didn't want people dropping dead because they needed to wear an ascot. Some people definitely took the "relaxed" bit too far, but there was still plenty of atmosphere maintained. It really does make a big difference, as those "relaxed" individuals were often akin to seeing a Starbucks cup in a scene from "Game of Thrones."  You can see what I came up with below along with former Autoblog editor Reese Counts and various other Goodwood attendees. Second, there's the parking lot. But I'll let this entire separate post detail that. Third, there's the enormous carnival-like area featuring vintage-looking rides and various boutiques. Both of those are on the outside portion of the track, and honestly, you could easily just spend your entire day in the parking lot and carnival/shopping area without even crossing over into the circuit area. There you'll find more shops, food and drink opportunities, plus obviously, race car paddocks and the track itself.  Fourth, there are airplanes! I heard there are fewer than in the past, but they're there and they're cool. The Goodwood circuit started out life as the perimeter road around the World War II airfield RAF Westhampnett.  Fifth, with all of the above, Goodwood Revival really is fun for the whole family. It isn't just a bunch of old guys sitting around in lawn chairs. There are plenty of women and adorably dressed children, including babies in vintage prams. It's also not an event that's exclusively for the uber rich, even if they are certainly in full force given who has the sort of money needed to go vintage racing.

Ferrari considering return to Le Mans racing in 2015

Rumors are swirling that Ferrari may be contemplating a return to Le Mans racing as soon as 2015. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports the Italian automaker may apply the development of a new 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 engine for Formula One to an LMP1 car for Le Mans, and have it ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in two years. This follows hints made by Scuderia Ferrari CEO Stefano Domenicali last month that the newly developed F1 engine could be used for "some interesting projects."
Ferrari has a history of success in Le Mans racing, though it hasn't won the big endurance outright since 1965. The image above captures the exact moment when the No. 21 car of Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt crossed the finish line that year to win the race. That win was the last of six consecutive outright victories before the infamous arrival of the Ford GT40 in 1966. Despite never reaching the top of the podium again, Ferrari's nine wins still stand as the third most overall by a manufacturer behind Porsche (16) and Audi (11).
If Ferrari does return to Le Mans in 2015, the LMP1 class will suddenly be teaming with worthy competitors for Audi, which has dominated the race since 2000. After Peugeot's exit from the sport in early 2012, Toyota entered the race in 2012 and has continued to develop its TS030 Hybrid LMP1 car. Porsche, meanwhile, is well into developing a new LMP1 car that will first compete in next year's race.