The Honda Racing F1 Team today completed the first of two final pre-season tests which are being held at the Bahrain International Circuit.Testing outside of Europe for the first time this year, race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello took part in all three days of running, maximising their track time in the new RA107 car before the Formula One season begins with the Australian Grand Prix on 18 March. Jenson gave the latest new chassis its first outing on Thursday. After initial set-up work, he ran through an aero programme alongside new tyre runs, covering 84 laps. Rubens concentrated on finding a good set-up before completing long tyre runs over a race distance for a total of 102 laps.Jenson spent the second day of the test working through an aero evaluation, followed by a race simulation, completing 117 laps.

Becker served up F1 treat.

Former Wimbledon champion and world tennis number one Boris Becker completed his Kingdom of Bahrain tour with a visit to the Bahrain International Circuit and the third day of Formula One testing at the venue.

As the new ambassador of Bahrain's Riffa Views, Becker was taken on a tour of the Sakhir Tower where he witnessed the day's activities before being invited by McLaren-Mercedes for a private tour around the team.

An avid F1 – and McLaren - fan, Becker was thrilled to be given a closer insight into the workings of the team.

"I love Formula One and McLaren is my favourite team," the seven-time Grand Slam winner said. "I've got to know the members well over the last few years so it is great to see them again and to be able to wish them well for the season."

Paris Rétromobile 2007

For 10 days or so in February every year, 27,000 sq mts of exhibition space in south west Paris is transformed into a Mecca for classic motoring enthusiasts. Returning after a two-year break, I thought it was one of the best yet, and on an opening day when pretty one anyone who was anyone in the collectors� car industry was present, it soon became apparent that Paris R�tromobile cannot afford to be missed.

As ever, the exhibition had several �themes�, some set by the inevitable French motor industry presence, and some by the organisers who�d made a special central display showcasing the cars - and drum kit - of well-known collector and racer Nick Mason. On the stand were one of his pre-War �LM� Aston Martin Ulsters, a 1970 Ferrari 512S, the immortal Ferrari 250 GTO, a Le Mans Porsche 962, a McLaren F1 GTR (that I last saw outside Alfred Dunhill�s flagship store in London) and other cars, too many to mention, that make up the Ten Tenths fleet.

Mercedes-Benz releases glut of info on SLR McLaren 722 Edition

Ace F1 driver Fernando Alonso already counts one as his company car, but we mere mortals will most likely never own one of the new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Editions that are earmarked for production. Though we've known about the special edition model for some time, Mercedes decided to release a ton of info and pics of the car over the weekend. It chose the prosperous Middle Eastern mecca of Dubai to "premier" the car, which is fitting since many of them will likely end up in a shiek's garage on a man-made island. Hopefully that shiek will take his 722 out on the smooth asphalt of Dubai's public roadways and open her up, as Mercedes and McLaren have improved the car over the "base" SLR in over 300 ways. The most significant upgrade is in horsepower, which jumps from 617 to 650 in the SLR 722.

Mercedes and McLaren to finally build open-top SLR

Mercedes Benz originally showed off the Vision SLR coupe at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show, followed by the roadster version of the same car in September of that year in Frankfurt. In 2004 a production version of the SLR coupe finally arrived courtesy of Mercedes' F1 partner, McLaren. Yesterday, The Car Connection reported that Mercedes has now confirmed that they will finally introduce a open-top version of the SLR beginning this summer. No further details are available yet, although something might be announced at the Geneva Auto Show next month. [Source: The Car Connection] .