Pit stop: Dixon aims to close gap

Hot from a win last time out at Edmonton, Kiwi IndyCar driver Scott Dixon is looking to further close the 71-point gap to series leader Will Power. Dixon, sitting in third behind teammate Dario Franchitti, won last time out at the Mid-Ohio track and another win could push him ahead of Franchitti.

Gisborne stages rally

Rally Gisborne starts from the Gisborne Cosmopolitan Club at 9.30am today. Competitors tackle six special stages using three roads west of the city, with morning and afternoon runs through each stage, before finishing at the Cosmopolitan Club at 5pm. Competitors will cover 137.6km of closed road special stages and fans watch free of charge.

Supercars opens doors

The governing body of the V8 Supercars has amended the rules to allow high profile overseas drivers to compete in selected races. The driver must be able to prove they'll be competitive and the team must put up a $63,000 bond in case of a no-show. The wild cards are in addition to the 29 already eligible drivers so no one loses a seat.

Formula Ford Expo

Due to the interest in Formula Ford during the winter off-season, Motorsport Solutions plans a Formula Ford Expo Day at their premises adjacent to Ruapuna Park during September. The Expo will include advice on everything necessary to race in Formula Ford this coming season.

Ducati cools Rossi rumours

Ducati has been at pains this week to quash rumours six-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi is to join Nicky Hayden at the team. Ducati CEO Gabriele Del Torchio had appeared to confirm Rossi's move from Yamaha but this has been denied. Rossi has hinted he'll enlighten the world as to his decision after the Czech Grand Prix in Brno.

Under the hood

Watching the last Formula One race with all the cars painted in various sponsors' colours it occurred to me that all the tyres were black. Why not paint them in a colour? Well, rubber isn't black, it's the addition of carbon - around 30 per cent - that makes it so. Rubber polymers degrade due to ozone and the sun's ultraviolet rays. The added carbon absorbs the UV.