Belgian Grand Prix 2009

After finishing second at Spa to score Force India's first points in F1, Giancarlo Fisichella says he was faster than Kimi Raikkonen but couldn't overtake the Kers-powered Ferrari.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel finishing third, says he was happy with his race pace but starting eighth on the grid hampered his chance of winning, while team-mate Mark Webber feels picking up a drive-through penalty for an 'unsafe release' from his pit stop "wrecked his race".

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Young Motorists Unaware

One in ten young drivers aren’t aware that car insurance is a legal requirement, while one in five are taking to the roads without insurance.

A quarter of a million 17-20 year olds are getting behind the wheel without insurance cover, according to new figures from the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB).

Drivers in this age group are four times more likely to be involved in uninsured accidents, said the MIB, which pays compensation to people whose cars are hit by uninsured drivers.

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14 million Expected on the Roads

Motorists setting off on breaks over the bank holiday weekend have suffered congestion and delays following a series of incidents on major roads.

The M5 near Bristol had 20-mile tailbacks, while the M25 in Surrey and the M58 in Lancashire were also hit.

The AA predicted congestion would be up by a third compared with a normal weekend, with 14m drivers expected on the roads.

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Vehicle Registrations at 212,000

According to the BVRLA website, the latest government statistics on vehicle licensing and registration covering the period from January 2001 to June 2009, show a significant recovery on recent months.

Figures for June indicate total vehicle registrations of more than 212,000 – up from about 166,000 in May. Light goods vehicles made up 17,500 of these (up from 13,200 in May) and more than 173,000 cars were also registered in the June period (up from 132,900 in May).

To download the full DFT statistics click here...

European Grand Prix 2009

Brawn's Rubens Barrichello beat McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to win the European Grand Prix after the world champion suffered a pit-lane mix-up.

Red Bull's Mark Webber slipped to third in the championship 20.5 points behind Button, after finishing only ninth. His team-mate Sebastian Vettel, lying fourth, failed to finish following an engine failure.

“A bitterly disappointing day. A fuel rig failure on Sebastian’s car, followed by an engine failure, which is the second of the weekend, was costly. Unfortunately with Mark, we just weren’t quick enough today.

He held Jenson behind him for a long time, but Jenson was too quick and jumped us with a very quick out-lap,unfortunately Mark was not quick enough to hold him behind.” said Christian Horner, Team Principal.

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Empty on the Motorway?

The Highways Agency is calling on drivers to check their fuel levels before setting off on journeys after more than 15,000 drivers broke down on England’s motorways over a 12-month period after running out of fuel. Breaking down on the motorway causes disruption to journeys and road users can put themselves as well as other drivers at risk.

To reduce the inconvenience and also the hazards involved, the Agency, supported by the Driving Standards Agency, is calling on drivers to check their fuel levels before setting off on journeys.

The Driving Standards Agency’s Director for Safer Driving, Trevor Wedge, said: “Running out of fuel on a motorway can be a risky business. Stopping on the hard shoulder will place you and your passengers in a vulnerable situation that could be avoided.

Make sure you have plenty of fuel for your journey before driving on to a motorway and don't let the fuel in your tank run too low. Fill up well before the gauge reaches empty and before the warning light comes on."

View the full Highways Agency press release here...

Free Job Adverts for Members

Did you know that the BVRLA still offers free advertising for members’ job vacancies on it's website.

Visit the BVRLA website...

Your Brand as a Domain Name

A complete overhaul of the way in which people navigate the internet has been given the go-ahead in Paris.

The net's regulator, Icann, voted unanimously to relax the strict rules on so-called "top-level" domain names, such as .com or .uk.

The decision means that companies could turn brands into web addresses, while individuals could use their names.

A second proposal, to introduce domain names written in Asian, Arabic or other scripts, was also approved.

Read the full story on the BBC website...

155,000 New Cars Ordered

Almost 155,000 new cars have been ordered through the government's scrappage scheme since it was launched in May, official figures show.

This means that more than half of the money set aside to fund the scheme has been spent. Almost one-fifth of the orders were made in the South East of England.

Analysts say the scheme contributed to the rise in UK car sales in July, which was the first increase in monthly sales since April last year.

Announcing the news, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the scheme was "a great deal for manufacturers and dealers, not to mention customers" and added "it had contributed to a 13.5% jump in car manufacturing."

UK car sales rose 2.4%, to 157,149, in July compared with the same month last year, the latest industry figures showed last week, but sales so far this year are still down 22.8% on the same period last year.

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First Interview Since Crash

Felipe Massa hopes to recover quickly from the serious injuries he suffered in a qualifying crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix so he can return to racing. "We'll see how long this will take - but I hope it will be very quick."

While the Ferrari driver was expressing his determination and desire to get back to racing following the serious accident, he has also stressed that he will not return too soon.

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Age Rules Exemption Sought

The BVRLA has responded to the European Commission's proposals for an Eu-widw ban on unjustifiable age discriminination for the provision of goods and services.

Given that the UK is also looking at a similar law , the BVRLA believes it is imperative that the EU law does not prevent the UK from exempting the vehicle rental sector.

An exemption would protect rental firms from being forced to rent to young drivers, and allow them to apply risk-based, age-adjusted pricing - reflecting the variations in incidence and severity of road accidents for different age groups.