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Wannabe racers invited to test their mettle

THE AMAZING scenes at the Bahrain Grand Prix have left an unfamiliar warm glow surrounding the pinnacle of motorsport, but at grass roots level would-be racers are being invited to show their potential. The Lets Race 2 Reality scheme, open for entries until the end of the month, will reward the best new racing driver in the country with an incredible Formula 3 race experience. The winner will receive a day’s testing in a Carlin Formula 3 car, complete with a dedicated team of mechanics, data engineer and race engineer.

BMW M3 coupe gets stripped down to go club racing

BMW's M division is back in the business of building specialty street-legal race cars with a new lightweight version of the M3 called the GTS. The lightweight coupe, set to go on sale in early 2010 at a yet-undisclosed price, was conceived as a limited-edition model primarily for club-based racing in much the same way that Porsche builds the 911 GT3 Clubsport. But in a clear effort to link its track-based activities with the production-car side of its business, BMW's M division is offering the new car with a homologation package that will allow customers to register the M3 GTS for street use.

Cycle-rail journeys 'almost triple'

MASSIVE increases to public transport network spending have led to the near-tripling of the number of ‘cycle-rail’ journeys taken since 2009, according to government statistics. An update on the coalition’s ‘door to door action plan’, published close to the New Year, details how huge increases in funding for secure cycle parking facilities and public transport integration have led to increased usage. The government is using the data to encourage more people to take up ‘greener’ ways of getting to work.