CONTENTS

November 24 2011 – vol 206 no 8

“I am not a man of records, but my motivation, as you can imagine, is to win a fourth time” TRIPLE WORLD TOURING CAR CHAMPION YVAN MULLER HAS ONE EYE ON ECLIPSING ANDY PRIAULX

FEATURES

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COVER IMAGES: FERRARO/LAT INSETS: COATES/LAT

COVER STORY

2403 The number of points scored by Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards after 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup rounds. On countback rules, Stewart secured his third title thanks to more wins during the 10-round Chase

COMPETITION Win a superb trip to the 2012 Daytona 24 Hours P82

NEWS

32 Senna in the spotlight On the eve of his home grand prix, Bruno Senna needs to prove he’s worthy of an F1 slot 38 Grosjean: ready for F1 The Frenchman explains he’s done everything he can to make a return to the top flight 40 DAMS not in distress How veteran team finally cracked GP2 success 43 My season Virgin racer Jerome d’Ambrosio looks back on his maiden year

Has Bruno Senna earned his F1 seat?

44 Tom Kimber-Smith The British sportscar racer has made a comeback impression 60 Burns/Subaru: the truth Ten years on from Burns’s world rally title success, we unravel the Subaru-return mystery

REPORTS

46 World of Sport NASCAR season finale from Homestead; V8 Supercars

52 Macau F3/WTCC Full reports from the F3 GP and the World Touring Car finale

,STA L E Y/ L AT

,G I BS O N

:F E R R A R O

P IC S

8 Exhaust caused Vettel flat Red Bull exhaust heat led to Abu Dhabi lap-one puncture 10 More Red Bull for Vergne Increased role for Frenchman 12 2012 exhausts on trial Merc/Williams try new layout 15 David Coulthard column 16 Brazilian GP preview 22 Tomczyk severs Audi ties DTM champ signs for BMW 24 Power: Lotus will struggle

Abu Dhabi youngdriver test wrap, p11

Late start will affect new engine 26 Abu Dhabi to scale back F1 and V8s only, says Arab track 30 Hirvonen to test Citroen Ex-Ford man eyes early DS3 move

Brundle family confirms Le Mans assault, p27

REGULARS

5 From the editor 6 Snapshot 21 Mark Hughes column 80 Subscribe for a free gift 88 Final drive Letters and Latest Gear

90 On track/on screen The best action in the next week 93 From the archive Desire Wilson, Brands Hatch F1 ’80 94 Race of my life Andy Wallace, Grand-Am 2004

SPORTS EXTRA

77 Aston Vantage for Brit GT V8 supercar to make series bow 78 BEC Champs for Europe Scott/Wilkins to campaign Dodge Viper in Blancpain series in 2012 83 National reports Britcar/MSVR Brands Hatch 84 Sportscar focus We race in Silverstone 24 Hours; British Endurance season review

Beachdean Aston V8 Vantage heads to British GT

November 24 2011 autosport.com 3