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Lewis Hamilton blasts to pole position for British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England - Lewis Hamilton took pole position for his home British Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with a sensational lap that left him one step away from Michael Schumacher's Formula One record. Hamilton's championship-leading Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel, who has a 20-point advantage after nine of 20 races, qualified third. The Mercedes driver was half a second quicker than Ferrari's second placed Kimi Raikkonen and his time of one minute 26.600 seconds was so outrageously quick there were gasps before the crowd erupted. "I always try to leave the best to last," the Briton told retired champion Jenson Button in post-qualifying interviews on the grid. "I had to make sure I got that lap in. I couldn't do it last weekend (in Austria) so I made sure I could here." Hamilton still faced a nervous wait after race stewards announced they were investigating an incident involving French driver Romain Grosjean, who complained he had been blocked earlier in the session. They swiftly decided to take no further action. The Briton's mastery of a damp but drying track lit up an overcast afternoon and the pole was the 67th of his career, sixth of the season, and gave him every chance of equalling Schumacher's record 68 before the August break. The triple world champion has won the last three British Grands Prix and can equal the late Jim Clark's feat of four home wins in a row, and five in total, on Sunday. Saturday ensured he has already matched Clark's 50-year-old record of five British Grand Prix pole positions. "I feel amazing in front of a great crowd like this. I hope you liked the lap," Hamilton told the grandstands full of cheering fans. "I generally like it to be dry, but I like it when the conditions are tricky." Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, winner in Austria, was fourth fastest but has a five-place penalty following a gearbox change. That promoted Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who has suffered five retirements in the last seven races, to the second row. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and his former Force India team mate Sergio Perez filled the third row. There was good news for beleaguered McLaren, who raised a cheer when Fernando Alonso made the most of improving conditions to set the fastest time in the first phase of qualifying, with Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne qualifying ninth.

More German automakers may be afoul of US emission standards

Volkswagen has plenty of smoke to share, and that may mean fire for other German automakers that make diesel vehicles, says Automotive News. Earlier this month, European Federation for Transport and Environment said that BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and General Motor's Opel division are among other automakers that may have equipped their vehicles' diesel engines with similar software as VW's. That software was found to reduce emissions while a car is being tested for emissions and shuts down emissions-control systems during normal use. The European environmental group used data from the International Council on Clean Transportation. Automotive News notes that the European environmental group put out its own report earlier this month, before the VW scandal broke loose, but the report was pretty much overlooked. Now, VW is under fire after it was discovered that 2.0-liter diesel engines in the VW Jetta and Golf, and Audi A3, may be programmed to game the emissions system. VW sold almost a half-million diesel vehicles in the US during the past six years. Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz told Automotive News that the issue that befell VW doesn't apply to their diesel vehicles. Earlier this week, Volkswagen admitted its car ran the sneaky software, while the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started a probe on the company. VW is setting aside more than $7 billion to pay for the alleged violations. Meanwhile, US taxpayers may have spent as much as $51 million a year to pay for subsidies related to VW's diesel vehicle sales in 2009 alone, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Brabus shows S65 Rocket 900 Desert Gold Edition in Dubai

If it packs 900 horsepower and it's painted gold, you're probably looking at the Brabus Rocket 900 Desert Gold Edition, an extreme S-Class that debuted at the Dubai motor show. The "normal" S65 sports a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 pumping out 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, and that would have been enough for most. But Brabus is there to satisfy those for whom too much is never enough, and so it revealed the Rocket 900 at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, raising the S65's output to 887 hp and 1,106 lb-ft of torque. Throw in upgraded aero, suspension, rolling stock, exhaust, and a fully refitted interior, and the Rocket 900 amounts to a complete transformation. Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel drive system couldn't handle all the twist from the stock S65, so power is transmitted to the rear wheels alone. What sets the Desert Gold Edition apart from the existing Rocket 900 is its gold color scheme. The exterior is swathed in the deep gold paint, the black wheels have a gold rim on them, and even the interior gets gold updates. If you happen to be at the Dubai Motor Show, go check it out. World premiere at the DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW 2015 An homage to the Orient BRABUS ROCKET 900 "DESERT GOLD" Edition V12 with 662 kW / 900 HP, 1,500 Nm and 350 km/h plus BRABUS ROCKET 900 – that is the new reference for high performance in the luxury segment. BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone +49 / (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax +49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, Internet www.brabus.com) builds this supercar based on the Mercedes S 65. BRABUS developed the especially exclusive BRABUS ROCKET 900 "DESERT GOLD" Edition, which celebrates its world debut at the DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW 2015, as an homage to the Orient, where BRABUS maintains a company branch and a prestigious BRABUS Flagship Store in Dubai. The exclusive high-performance luxury liner is immediately recognizable not only due to its extraordinary "DESERT GOLD" special paintwork. The appearance of this special model is also characterized by BRABUS carbon aerodynamic-enhancement components and shiny black BRABUS Monoblock F "PLATINUM EDITION" 21-inch wheels with gold pin striping. The BRABUS fine leather interior is finished in a combination of gold and black leather. Gold-colored seams in a quilting pattern created specifically for this special model furthermore distinguish the classy interior appointments.