DECEMBER 2, 2015

(Sky Sports)
Nico Rosberg (No. 6 AMG Mercedes Petronas) started from the pole and won the Abu Dhabi GP last weekend, the last race of the F1 season. It was Rosberg's third straight win. 2015 World Champion Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 AMG Mercedes Petronas) finished second and Kimi Raikkonen (No. 7 Scuderia Ferrari) third. The race was a dull processional, with nothing of note to talk about. McLaren-Honda driver and former World Champion Fernando Alonso blasted F1 afterward saying that the WEC and MotoGP were "more fun" as the sport continues to reel from its time-honored intransigence and boring races.

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)
Sweden’s Robin Larsson (No. 4 Audi S1 RX Quattro, above) won his first FIA World Rallycross Championship event at last weekend's TOTAL Rallycross of Argentina, the final round of this year’s World RX Championship presented by Monster Energy. Mattias Ekstrom (No. 10 EKSRX Audi S1 RX Quattro) finished second, while Norway’s Petter Solberg (No. 1 SDRX Citroën DS3, below) was crowned the 2015 World RX Champion with his third-place finish. Both Solberg and Timmy Hansen (No. 21 Peugeot Hansen Peugeot 208 WRX) could have taken the 2015 World RX drivers’ title, but with a 26 point-lead going into the event, Solberg gained enough points to be crowned the 2015 World Champion. In the 2015 teams’ championship, Team Peugeot-Hansen had already accrued enough points at the previous round in Italy to win the coveted title. Ford Olsbergs MSE finished second in the teams’ standings, while SDRX claimed third.

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)

(Audi Sport images)
Audi will campaign two new Audi R18 LMP1 racing machines under the Audi Sport Team Joest banner in the 2016 motorsport season, which will consist of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) races and of course, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Calling it "fundamentally re-designed" Audi says that the new R18 boasts "innovative aerodynamics, represents the next stage in lightweight design and has a modified hybrid system with lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, plus an efficiency-optimized TDI engine." The most interesting news? Due to the VW crisis Audi and Porsche will compete with just two cars each (instead of three) in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, "in the interest of maximum cost efficiency."

(BMW)
BMW will present its new gallery space - the Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery presented by BMW of North America - when the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles opens its doors to the public after undergoing massive renovations. The gallery will exhibit three BMW Art Cars throughout 2016. BMW will also be the official transportation provider for the museum.

Editor's Note: Watch the latest episode of AutoextremistTV on YouTube here. -WG