2010 Rally GB could leave Wales

Sebastian Loeb in the Wels

The British leg of the 2009 World Rally Championship will again be held in Cardiff but ongoing money problems mean it may then leave Wales' capital.

The decision by the Welsh Assembly Government to withdraw £2.2m funding per year now seems set to be resolved with Rally Great Britain in the courts.

The Motor Sports Association stepped in to underwrite this year's costs.

The assembly government said it was still willing to discuss the future of the event with its organisers.

Cardiff has been the headquarters for Rally GB since 2000.

But the chief executive of its organisers - International Motor Sports (IMS) Ltd - Andrew Coe says that despite its many assets the financial stand-off cannot be allowed to threaten the event's world standing.

"It would be disastrous to lose the UK's round of the World Championship," Coe said.

"Wales has some of the world's best stages and forests here... and it would be a great shame to lose this event.

"So it's incumbent upon us to find a solution. It's possible it could still be in Wales but we need to keep our options open clearly.

"Unfortunately it is in the hands of lawyers and I can't really comment any more about where the situation will go."

The assembly government had an agreement to provide the rally with £2.2m annually for three years from 2008/9 as the principle backer.

But in April it withdrew the funding saying the rally had been downgraded as it was not on a provisional World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar for 2010

However, Federation Internationale de l'Automobile - the world motor sports' governing body - has since confirmed that next year's UK leg will continue as part of the WRC calendar.

Despite that news, Rally GB and the assembly government have not been able to amicably restore their previous arrangement.

"Unfortunately we haven't been able to resolve the issues... but we're proceeding with the event anyway, the event will happen," Coe said.

"We're funding the event in effect through the governing body of UK motor sport, the Motor Sports Association, and we hope that at some point in the future the issues with the Welsh Assembly Government will be resolved.

"It's a very important event. Apart from Formula One, the World Rally Championship is the senior motor sport championship in the world.

"It would have been a very retrograde step for the UK and for Wales to have lost this event because of a commercial problem between ourselves and the Welsh Assembly Government."

The Welsh Assembly Government responded with the statement: "The legal position is that the former sponsorship agreement was terminated earlier this year by the assembly government and proceedings have been launched by IMS Ltd.

"The case will be vigorously contested by the assembly government.

"We can confirm that there have been without prejudice discussions between rally organisers, IMS, and the assembly government and that it was expected that the parties would be able to make a joint announcement of a new arrangement.

"Unfortunately, and somewhat to the assembly government's surprise, no such announcement can now be made since IMS has apparently decided that it no longer wishes the without prejudice discussions to continue.

"The Welsh Assembly Government from the outset has stressed that the door is always open for without prejudice discussions with IMS, and this remains the case."

The 2009 rally will start in Cardiff on 22 October and run until 25 October, taking in stages that encompass the forests of south and mid Wales.

Schumacher to make comeback to replace Massa

FILE - In this May 10, 2009 file photo, former German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher watches the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix from the pits at the Circuit de Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain. In a statement released Wednesday, July 29, 2009, Ferrari said seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher will return to the race track to replace the Italian team's injured driver Felipe Massa.

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is making a comeback for Ferrari to replace injured driver Felipe Massa.

Ferrari said Wednesday in a statement that the German had agreed to get back in the cockpit until Massa is fit to return. The next race is the European Grand Prix on Aug. 21-23 in Valencia, Spain.

"Though it is true that the Formula One chapter has long been closed for me, it is also true that for team loyalty reasons I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation," the 40-year-old Schumacher said. "But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge."

The 28-year-old Massa was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier at 120 mph during qualifying Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Brazilian received multiple skull fractures in the accident and doctors say he will not race again this season.

Massa took his first steps since the crash on Wednesday and was later scheduled to leave the intensive care unit of the AEK hospital in Budapest. He also received a visit from Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.

Ferrari said Schumacher will undergo a special training program in the coming days to determine whether he will be able to drive in Valencia. There are six races left in the season after the European GP.

"Thanks God, all news concerning Felipe is positive. I wish him all the best again," Schumacher wrote on his Web site.

Schumacher, who had 91 wins in 250 F1 races starts, still acts as a consultant for Ferrari. Since retiring in October 2006, Schumacher has raced occasionally in a motorcycling series but was injured in a crash in February.

Schumacher won his first two F1 titles with the Benetton team. He joined Ferrari in 1996 and won five straight from 2000-04.

Jaguar XKR: Goodwood Special

The 2010 Jaguar XKR special edition won’t pass by unnoticed because of its cool lime Green body with Orange decals, housing a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 for a total of 530 horsepower and 515 lb-ft of torque. Upgrades were applied by Goodwood Special making a lowered suspension, retuned exhaust, 21-inch alloys and satin graphite trim replacing the chrome. For an awesome impression, the Jaguar XKR in retina-burning shade of lime Green makes the difference.

Jordana Brewster: Furiously Fast

She’ll usually laugh silently when she sees a very young guy driving a Maserati or heaven forbid, a Bentley. Jordana thinks that he’s compensating for something. The returning female star of the new Fast & the Furious movie also believe that girls can outdrink men most of the time, and that girls have more grace when they’re drunk. And if you should ask, yes part of her judges a man by the kind of car he drives but it’s not her only benchmark.

Chrome Audi R8

This car surely is not to suit everybody’s tastes, but we can imagine that there is more than enough people out there who will really dig this concept. This Audi R8 is chromed out all over, which you should probably be really careful of getting scratched, not only will it make it ugly, but will be very expensive to fix. What do you guys think, would you ride around in this?

Rolls Royce Ghost

Rolls Royce has introduced its Ghost model at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show which made the media wow for the car’s evoking images of adventure and technical innovation. Aside from the impressive exterior and interior parts, the Ghost sports a turbocharged V12 engine which displaces 6.6-liter and cranks out 563 horsepower with a torque of 575 lb-ft. According to Rolls Royce Motor Cars CEO, the Ghost car “will be the first in a new generation of models to carry this evocative name…”. Once consumer units are produced, you will then see the full details of this amazing big car.

Ferrari 458 Italia

Ferrari’s newest car didn’t take the name of the city in or around their home base – it bears the name of the whole country itself. The Ferrari 458 Italia is the embodiment of what the country is like and how passionate its people is. A new, 4.8 liter V8 gives life to this completely new design. Dual-clutch, 7-speed gearbox, lets you change gears smoothly and effortlessly even at full throttle. Zero to 60 is achieved in under 3.4 seconds onwards to a top speed of 325 kmh. Braking distance is also reduced while the steering and handling have been completely revamped to accommodate the added power. The Italia looks a lot simpler than its predecessor but it’s worlds apart in comparison. More powerful, better handling, and more eco-friendly than the 430, the Italia is a fitting tribute to the country of its origin.

Arnold Sporting His Challenger SRT8 at The Country Mart

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger can probably be driven in any car that he wants but instead he chooses to man up behind the wheel of a Charger SRT8 on his own.

Ghost Busters Car For Sale on eBay

I'm expecting a little flack for this post but in my eyes the Ghost Busters car is a celebrity car by itself.

Here is all I know about it:

For sale: 1959 Cadillac with 100,000 miles.
Previous owners: Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Raymond Stantz, Dr. Egon Spengler. Features include new tires, room for three unlicensed nuclear accelerators, customized logo on the side ... oh, and room to store up to a dozen ectoplasmic entities.

Celebirty Taxi: Pam Being Taxied In An Audi

This is a new style post for us here at Celebrity Cars Blog. When we know that the said celebrity has nothing to do with the car he/she/it is climbing into, flashing us from, or getting out of then it's a Celebrity Taxi Report.

So here it goes with Pamela Anderson Hoping out of an Audi. Not your regular Taxi but we'll give it to her.