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2012 European Grand Prix Qualifying: Vettel takes pole with Hamilton alongside

The 2012 European Grand Prix on the street circuit in Valencia sees Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on pole position with Lewis Hamilton’s  McLaren alongside. Slowly, but not yet completely, Red Bull and McLaren seem to be getting a handle on the topsy-turvy 2012 Grand Prix Circus. Despite serious challenges in final qualifying, it was Sebastian Vettel who set a blistering time to take pole, his third pole of the 2012 season, 33rd of his career and third at Valencia.

Kia Soul EV revealed at the Chicago Motor Show

The new Kia Soul EV (pictured) has been revealed in Chicago The Kia Soul EV is Kia’s first effort at a proper mass production EV, and if you’re looking for an electric car it does look promising. Due to go on sale later in 2014 in the US – initially in California, New York and Oregan because of their charging infrastructure – and, Kia promised, the UK and Europe later in 2014 or early 2015, the Soul EV offers a real world driving range of 80-100 miles from a recharge taking half an hour for 80 per cent on a rapid 50kW charger or up to 5 hours for a full recharge from a UK 240 volt supply. The range is helped by Kia’s third-generation regenerative braking system which manages to capture 12 per cent of the car’s kinetic energy, feeding it back in to the battery as electricity during braking and coasting, with four different regeneration modes.

Free tyre safety checks during October

A NOT-FOR-PROFIT tyre safety organisation has produced a website that allows drivers to locate a free tyre ‘health check’ during October. The website, from safety campaigners TyreSafe, will let users enter their home postcode to find the nearest garage to them that is offering to check for any issues like too little tread depth, incorrect pressures and foreign objects like nails or glass. October is set to be Tyre Safety Month, and with the weather turning cold and the nights drawing in – especially when the hour goes back – it’s crucial that drivers make sure their rubber isn’t putting their safety in jeopardy.