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Ferrari veteran Jean Todt to visit Sri Lanka

The Automobile Association of Ceylon (AA) together with Klevenberg, marketeers of Lucas batteries, announced the visit of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) President Jean Todt to Sri Lanka later this month.

Todt, a veteran F1 driver with close ties to the Ferrari Race car team and special advisor to the Ferrari Board Chairman will be making his first visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of the AA.

Browns Group of Companies Group Managing Director and CEO Murali Prakash handed over the official cheque for the sponsorship to AA Ceylon President Dhammika Attygale.

Attygalle said, “It is a great honour to have Jean Todt visit Sri Lanka. This partnership with Klevenberg has made it possible for us to facilitate Todt’s visit and ensure his involvement in future events relating to the promising motor rally scenario in the country.”

Todt has been involved in motor sports since 1966 when he was a rally co-driver. In 1993, Todt entered his career with Ferrari becoming General Manager of its racing division.

Subsequently, Todt worked as special advisor to the Ferrari Board Chairman before retiring from the company in 2009 and becoming president of the FIA which is the world’s largest governing body for world motor sport and the federation of the world’s leading motor organizations. It administers the rules and regulations for all international four-wheel motor sport including the FIA Formula One world Championship, FIA World Rally Championship and the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

The AA of Ceylon was formed in 1904 and since then has become the premier motoring organization which is a fully affiliated member of the FIA.

Currently, AA Ceylon has around 6,000 members to whom it offers a variety of product related services and other facilities.

Klevenberg General Manager Majula Wijemanne said, “Jean Todt is by far one of the most respected and famed names in the FIA circuit and his visit is definitely an honour for this country. As one of the leading brands in motor vehicle batteries, it is our pleasure to power this visit together with AA.”

Ford to invest 600 mln dollars in US plant

Ford Motor Company said it would invest 600 million dollars to upgrade a Kentucky plant into the US automaker’s highest-volume plant in the world.

Ford said it would transform its plant in Louisville into a state-of-the-art facility that will start building the next-generation Escape sport utility vehicle (SUV) late next year.

“The plant is the third North American body-on-frame truck plant that Ford is re-tooling to enable production of fuel-efficient products from its global vehicle platforms,” the company said in a statement.

The Escape is one of the nation’s best-selling small SUVs, according to auto industry research firm Edmunds.

Ford said its Louisville Assembly Plant, which has been building the Ford Explorer SUV since 1989, will close during the upgrade and its production shifted to Chicago.

When the plant reopens in late 2011, it will operate on two production shifts, instead of the current one, building the Escape.

The accelerated production will require an additional 1,800 jobs from the plant’s current staffing levels, the firm said, adding that the extra jobs will be filled through a combination of existing Ford workers and new hires.

Ford shares closed 0.42 percent higher at 16.76 dollars in New York.

NEW YORK, AFP