THE CHAMP IS HERE

SCHUMACHER BACK FOR MERCEDES GP

The most successful partnership in Formula One history is set to be reunited with the news that seven time World F1 Champion Michael Schumacher will drive for Mercedes in the 2010 World Drivers Championship. Schumacher will again team with Ross Brawn, the man who helped the German to his incredible success throughout the late 90's and into the new century. According to the German newspaper "The Bild", Mercedes GP will soon make the official announcement that Schumacher has signed with the team for one year with a further one year option. The paper says that Schumacher will effectively be warming the seat for another fast young German star in Sebastian Vettel, who still has two years to serve on his Red Bull contract.

SORA SOARS TO ASIAN LE MANS WIN. SIMMONSEN WINS GT2

It would have to be one of the shortest race series in the world. One weekend, two races, but with a guaranteed start in the Le Mans 24 hour classic as one of the prizes, it was little wonder that Sora racing were delighted to win the first Asian Le mans series at Okayama. The Sora Racing Pescarolo of Christophe Tinseau and Shinji Nakano won Saturday's first race with the Gulf Aston Martin of Stefan Mücke and Harold Primat winning the second race. A second place to Tinseau and Nakano in race two was enough to give the team the overall victory. In LMP2 the team of Mathieu Lathaye, Jacques Nicolet and Richard Hein in the Pescarolo-Mazda came out on top, while Lamborghini won in GT1 thanks to the all Japanese team of Atsuhi Yogo and Hyroyuki Iiri. Australian based Danish driver Alan Simonsen had a great weekend as he helped co-driver Dominick Farnbacher to a win in GT2. Driving their Ferrari 430 GT, Simmonsen and Farnbacher turned the tables on race one winners, the BMW M3 of Dirk Muller and Tom Milner to take the overall win and an invite to the 78th running of the World's greatest motorsport spectacle the 24 hours of Le Mans on the 12th and 13th of June.

NO SPLIT IN F1, MOSLEY GONE! IT’S GOOD NEWS WEEK!

The great Formula One breakaway crisis is apparently over with FIA President Max (hurts so good) Mosley finally falling on his sword and doing what he should have done this time last year. Mosley announced to the World Motorsport Council meeting in Paris today that he would not be standing for re-election. Mosley told reporters after the meeting that there will be no split. "We have agreed to a reduction of costs," he said. "There will be one F1 championship in 2010 but the objective is still to get back to the spending levels of the early nineties within two years." It is believed that Mosley's position became untenable after meeting with long time supporter Bernie Ecclestone and [FOTA] chairman Luca di Montezemolo. It is believed that Ecclestone warned Mosley that if he did not stand aside then Ecclestone would join with FOTA in staging an alternative World Championship. The new agreement means that the teams must call off the breakaway series and sign up to a new Concorde Agreement until 2012. A unified Formula One, and we get rid of Mosley. all in all a job well done. I think Champagne is called for.

IMG LINK RAISES THE STAKES IN F1 BREAKAWAY

Website Grand Prix.com is suggesting that global sports management juggernaut IMG could be the people behind the promotion of an "alternative F1" series. IMG is one of the World's largest sports promotion and management companies and if anybody can rival Bernie Ecclestone for professionalism and global reach then it's IMG. IMG has a global portfolio that includes many of the worlds biggest sporting events and the company has plenty of motorsport experience including running a number of major street races including the Surfers Paradise Indy race and several Champcar rounds in the USA. It also has run Bathurst and the Sandown enduros here in Australia. Currently they are responsible for the media and marketing rights to events including the LeMans Series, NASCAR, NHRA Drag Racing and The World Speedway Grand Prix. Interestingly IMG is also a media partner of the Williams F1 racing team, one of only two current F1 teams to commit themselves to the traditional FIA series next year. FOTA is scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss the planning for their series, certainly, if as rumoured IMG is involved, then the chances of it happening and operating successfully just got a whole lot better.

FOTA’S RUMOURED CALENDAR. EMERALD CITY GP MISSES OUT, WIZARD SAID TO BE FURIOUS

Several media outlets including "The Guardian" in England are reporting an alleged calendar for FOTA's break away Formula One series. Of most interest to Australian fans is the inclusion of Adelaide as the series finale in November. Adelaide's end of year bash was always a highlight of the International F1 year and many GP regulars would be thrilled to see it's return. However the listing of Surfers Paradise as an alternative clearly shows the true nature of this calendar. There is about as much chance of Surfers ever hosting any kind of serious F1 standard race as there is of me hosting the Oscars. The track is seriously narrow, there is no run off area and the area seriously lacks much of the major infrastructure need to host a GP type event. The track already struggles to cater for the previous Champcar/IndyCar event so how they would cope with something five times as big is anybody's guess.... More

FIA RESPONDS TO FOTA THREAT: SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO…

  The FIA have released a terse press release in response to the announcement that FOTA teams including Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, BMW Sauber and Brawn GP would stage a rival Formula One series in 2010. The simple 110 word statement reads: The FIA has noted the latest press statement from FOTA. The FIA is disappointed but not surprised by FOTA’s inability to reach a compromise in the best interests of the sport. It is clear that elements within FOTA have sought this outcome throughout the prolonged period of negotiation and have not engaged in the discussions in good faith. The FIA cannot permit a financial arms race in the Championship nor can the FIA allow FOTA to dictate the rules of Formula One.  The deadline for unconditional entries to the 2010 FIA Formula World Championship will expire this evening.  The 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship entry list will be announced tomorrow. Meanwhile here in beautiful GirtbySea, Victorian tourism and special events apologist Tim Holding has announced to an eager and bewildered mainstream media that the Albert Park GP will go ahead as planned no matter what happens in Europe. Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said the contract with Mr Ecclestone ensures a Formula 1 Grand Prix takes place every year up until 2015.  "This is part of the pushing and shoving that Formula 1 is well known for,'' Mr Holding said.  Speaking to the Murdoch media owned Herald Sun Holding said "We know these negotiations will continue and we also know that we will get a good outcome. Let's give the negotiations that are currently underway an opportunity to run their course.''  Mr Holding left the media conference on his magical flying carpet to return to Asgard.  

FORMULA ONE SPLIT: CRISIS, SHOCK, HORROR, SCANDAL ! Pictures page 3

Formula One teams led by Ferrari and other major manufacturers have called the bluff of FIA President Max (hurts so good) Mosley and announced that they will run a breakaway series beginning next year. At a meeting held at the Renault F1 factory in Oxfordshire the teams refused to back down on their demands for changes for next years regulations. Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso have therefore declined to enter the FIA Formula One Championship for 2010. The announcement, on the eve of what looks set to be the final British GP at Silverstone, seriously ups the ante in the multi-billion dollar stare-down between the teams and the FIA. In a statement issued by FOTA, the teams said that there was no room for further compromise. "It has become clear that the stables cannot continue to make compromises on the fundamental values of the sport," they said. "The teams have no other alternative but to begin to prepare for a new championship which reflects the values of the competitors and their sponsors. According to the statemant the new series will have a transparent governing body, one single set of rules, encourage new entrants, and would better listen to the fans' wishes. Just what role, if any, Bernie Ecclestone may play in this is not yet clear. Despite the posturing of both the teams and the FIA, the real power broker is still Bernie. It is he who controls the sports commercial rights and the valuable TV deals that provide so much of the sport's income. Publicly at least, Ecclestone has shown qualified solidarity with his old mate Max, but Bernie is Bernie and friendship will count for nothing if there's a quid involved. And with literally millions of quids involved expect Bernie to jump wherever it's best for Bernie.

THE SPEED TV LE MANS WRAP

PEUGEOT WINS LE MANS: BRABHAM BREAKS THROUGH

French manufacturer Peugeot has broken through to take it's first Le Mans 24 hour race since 1993 and for the second time the name Brabham has gone into the record books. The team of Marc Gene, Alex Wurz and Australia's David Brabham led from early in the race holding on to win from the popular local team of Sebastian Bourdais, Stephane Sarrazin and Frank Montagny Audi who had dominated the race for the last decade had a tough weekend despite a finishing third. Alan McNish, Dindo Cappello, and Tom Kristenson survived a number of mechanical problems to make it to the finish six laps down on the leader. A number of incidents studded the race, the biggest being early in the morning involving Pescarollo Peugeot driver Benoit Treluyer. Treluyer crashed after taking over the car from Simon Pagenaud who pitted  with smoke coming out of the car. The Peugeot returned to the race after repair but Trulyer made it only as far as just after the Dunlop Bridge when his Peugeot left the road and struck the barrier at high-speed. The car was totally destroyed in the accident. The driver was taken to hospital, shaken but without major injury. Japanese driver Seiji Ara was also lucky to escape injury after his LMP2 Porsche Spyder had a big crash late in the rate heading into the playstation chicane on the fast Mulsanne straight. LMP2 was won by the Team Essex Porsche Spyder of Casper Elgaard, Emmanuele Collard and Kristian Poulsen. The small GT1 field was dominated by the Corvette team in their final ever GT1 appearence, Johnny O'Conell, Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia taking the win from the privately entered Luc Alphand Adventures Corvette of Xavier Maassen, Julien Jousse & Yann Clairay. O'Connell's team-mate Sacha Massen led late in the race but mechanical failure cost him any chance. GT2 was a Ferrari benefit with the Risi Competizioni car of Jamie Melo, Mika Salo and Pierre Kaffer taking the win.