Banker Gerhard Gribkowsky may have taken a $50 million kickback for engineering the sale of Formula One, the world’s most-watched motor sport, German prosecutors say. Who paid that suspected bribe, they aren’t saying.
That mystery has thrown a spotlight on the partnership between 80-year-old Formula One Management Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Bernie Ecclestone, a fixture of London’s tabloids, and the company’s buyer, CVC Capital Partners Ltd., one of Europe’s largest and most-private buyout firms. The case is also reviving the anger of media mogul Leo Kirch, who says the racing company he once owned was sold on the cheap. Meanwhile, Gribkowsky sits in a German prison that held Adolf Hitler  … Details
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Electric cars may portray themselves as ‘zero emissions’ but the overall pollution they generate can be almost as great as a frugal conventional diesel car, consumer watchdogs said today.
Electric cars are a lot more expensive to buy – though they are generally cheaper to run as they plug in for their power from the domestic mains, say experts at Which?
The amount of carbon dioxide – the so-called ‘greenhouse gas’ blamed by scientists for global warming - created to generate the electricity powering an electric car, can be just as great as that created by the internal combustion engine, they say  … Details
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Drag racing icon Shirley Muldowney, a 3-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion and Grand Marshal of the 2011 March Meet at Auto Club Famoso, Mar. 18-20, looks back and lets loose
BAKERSFIELD, Mar. 1, 2011: In a world of changes, Shirley Muldowney remains Shirley Muldowney. Still feisty, candid and brutally honest, the legendary three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion drag racer always “tells it the way it is.†In this interview, Muldowney, who will be greeting fans as the Grand Marshal of the 2011 March Meet (Mar. 18-20 at Auto Club Famoso Raceway), discusses – as only she can – her career, “beating the boys at their own game,†today’s racers, winning the March Meet and how she really feels about the nickname “Cha-Cha.â€Â  … More
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SONOMA, Calif. — Drag racing
fans have the opportunity to battle on the Infineon Raceway kart track with racers from the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at the 9th annual NHRA Tour de Charity.
Infineon Raceway will host the charitable event on Saturday, March 26, with all proceeds benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities. The event has raised more than $84,000 for needy youth groups in Sonoma County since its inception in 2003  … Details
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