McLaren - and Ron Dennis - have received an apology from Radovan Novak, head of the Czech Automobile Association over suggestions that they could have been involved in the revelations surrounding Max Mosley.

“McLaren is pleased to be able to confirm that it has been contacted by Mr Radovan Novak to explain the background that led to certain remarks related to McLaren and Mr Ron Dennis being made in an interview that he gave to Radio Impuls in the Czech Republic,” the team said in a statement.

“Mr Novak has asked us to make it clear that he does not believe that either McLaren or Mr Dennis were involved in the events referred to and that the remarks are not representative of his views.

“Mr Novak has apologised for the misunderstanding and McLaren and Mr Dennis have thanked him for this gracious and swift reaction.”

This follows confusion over what was said earlier this month.

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Formula Master driver Marcello Puglisi will substitute for the injured Davide Valsecchi in the next round of the GP2 series at Monaco. Valsecchi suffered a back injury in Turkey.

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Giorgio Pantano took pole for tomorrow’s GP2 feature race in Istanbul, ahead of Andi Zuber and series veteran Adam Carroll, who qualified third on the grid despite only having been called up by FMS at the last minute to replace Adrian Valles. Romain Grosjean starts alongside Carroll.

The session was cut short by Durango’s Davide Valsecchi’s huge 175 mph accident. Although the Italian driver suffered no broken bones he will not race this weekend.

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Super Aguri have withdrawn from the 2008 F1 world championship with immediate effect.

“In order to realise my dream to become an owner of a Formula One team, I applied for a grid position in the FIA Formula One World Championship in November 2005,” said team principal Aguri Suzuki in a statement issued by the team. “Since then, I have participated in the championship for two years and four months as the Super Aguri F1 Team, but regretfully I must inform you that the team will cease their racing activities as of today.”

Super Aguri’s withdrawal leaves just 10 teams on the F1 grid.

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Former DPR driver Andy Soucek will replace the injured Christian Bakkerud for the second round of the 2008 GP2 championship at Istanbul this weekend. Soucek had signed for FMS but the team cancelled his contract shortly before the start of the season.

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Super Aguri’s trucks and motorhome have been denied access to the Istanbul paddock, after Honda Racing’s Nick Fry reportedly informed organisers that Super Aguri would not be competing in next weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix. Super Aguri are currently in discussion with the Weigl Group over a rescue package, subject to a Honda board meeting early this week.

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Narain Karthikeyan took Team India’s second A1GP race win at Brands Hatch yesterday, with an emphatic victory in the feature race after snatching the lead from Team GBR’s Robbie Kerr during the second mandatory pitstop. Newly-crowned champion Neel Jani finished third, while Ireland’s Adam Carroll set the fastest lap.

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Team Switzerland won the 2007/08 A1GP championship at Brands Hatch today, with Neel Jani’s fourth-placed sprint race finish enough to secure the title. The race was won by Team GBR’s Robbie Kerr, from USA’s Jonathan Summerton and Ireland’s Adam Carroll.

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Mika Mäki won the F3 Euroseries race at Mugello today from Yann Clairay and Edoardo Mortara. It was the rookie driver’s second win in four races, and he now shares the championship lead with Mortara.The next race weekend is at Pau at the end of May.

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Nico Hülkenberg took his first F3 Euroseries victory of the 2008 season at Mugello today, ahead of Kodai Tsukakoshi and Jules Bianchi.

“It was a big relief after the bad start to the season,” said Hulkenberg, who picked up only two points at Hockenheim last month. “It’s not easy this weekend because it has been so close.

“We had a strong race but Kodai was always very close behind and he never gave me the chance to relax. It’s a good way to start my championship after what happened at Hockenheim.”

Hülkenberg is now third in the championship, behind Edoardo Mortara and Mika Mäki.

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Robbie Kerr took pole position for Team GBR for tomorrow’s A1GP sprint race at Brands Hatch but was unable to take the double. Team India’s Narain Karthikeyan will start on pole for the feature race, ahead of Kerr and Switzerland’s Neel Jani. Team Ireland’s Adam Carroll starts from fourth on the grid in both races.

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Nico Hülkenberg took pole position for tomorrow’s F3 Euroseries race at Mugello, just as he did at the first race weekend of the 2008 season though he will no doubt be hoping for a better result than the double retirement he suffered at Hockenheim. Kodai Tsukakoshi qualified alongside Hülkenberg on the front of the grid, with Christian Vietoris and Renger van der Zande on the second row.

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Heikki Kovalainen is unworried by his huge crash in Barcelona last weekend, and is in training to ensure he passes a medical before the next race of the F1 season in Turkey.

“I am feeling good, the stiffness in my neck has pretty much gone and I have been back training,” Kovalainen said on Friday having just returned home for the first time.

When asked if he had any doubts about getting back in the cockpit, Kovalainen said: “None whatsoever, I want to get back racing as soon as possible, since the accident at Barcelona it has been my only focus.

McLaren apparently have a contingency plan in case Kovalainen is not passed as fit to race.

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The 2008 GP2 Series kicked off in Barcelona this weekend, with Alvaro Parente taking his first GP2 victory in the feature race from Bruno Senna and Andi Zuber. Kamui Kobayashi took the sprint race win, after dominant leader Romain Grosjean threw away an almost-certain victory with an ill-considered defensive move on Kobayashi that led to a drive-through penalty.

Christian Bakkerud, who suffered problems with his back last year, failed to start the sprint race after retiring from the feature race in severe pain following a clash with Ben Hanley.

Within 30 seconds of the commentary team for ITV4’s Gp2 coverage kicking in, I was nostalgic for Martin Haven and Gareth Rees at Eurosport. 19 laps in, I’m composing an email to ITV.

ITV4’s coverage doesn’t feel like much of an improvement over Eurosport. With the extra build-up time I was hoping for some features and/or insight, rather than highlights of FBMW Pacific. The only improvement is the loss of Eurosport’s irritating ads for … Eurosport.

Renger van der Zande took a lights-to-flag victory in the second F3 Euroseries race of 2008 at Hockenheim today, ahead of Christian Vietoris and Edoardo Mortara. The race had to be restarted after Jens Klingmann collided with the stalled car of Charlie Kimball on the grid, while race one winner Mika Mäki went out after colliding with Jean-Karl Vernay. Pre-season favourite Nico Hülkenberg continued his dismal weekend with another mechanical retirement after fighting his way up to 16th from the back of the grid.

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Jonathan Summerton took Team USA’s first A1GP victory in Shanghai today, with a determined win in the feature race over Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque and Ireland’s Adam Carroll. Neel Jani took the sprint race victory for Team Switzerland but gearbox woes in the feature race ensured that the championship fight goes on to the final race at Brands Hatch at the end of the month.

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