And Finally... Bulletin 107 (Nov 09)

The battle for FIA supremacy is over, history is remade at Bonneville, F1 holds a great finale, Loeb is rally champion, Rossi takes the MotoGP (again) and some interesting 'behind the scenes' articles.

After an increasingly bitter battle with rival Ari Vatanen, former Ferrari F1 boss Jean Todt was finally elected as FIA President, replacing Max Moseley who had held the post for 16 years.  Todt won the vote by 135 to 49, with 12 abstentions, having controversially received the backing of both Moseley and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, as well as seven-times F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher.  Despite a reputation for being a divisive figure during his time in motorsport, Todt stated he wants "consensus not conflict".

There was an exciting finish to the 2009 F1 Championship.  The penultimate race saw Britain's Jensen Button clinch his first World Drivers title and a debut Manufacturer's Championship for Ross Brawn's Brawn F1 team.  Following early wins for the new team, Button held on to take the title after finishing fifth in Brazil.  The final race was held at the spectacular new Yas Marina circuit for the first ever Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.  The race, driven from dusk into the night was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel.

The World Rally Championship proved even closer than its F1 counterpart, with the title being decided on the final day of the last event - the Rally of Great Britain.  Citroen's seemingly unbeatable Sebastian Loeb took his sixth Championship title by just one point from his Ford rival Mikko Hirvonen after winning the rally.  Hirvonen looked like clinging on to his slender Championship lead, staying ahead of Loeb until the penultimate stage where he damaged the bonnet of his car, blocking his view and costing him too much time to recover.

Motorcycling superstar, Valentino Rossi went one one better than Loeb when he clinched his Seventh World MotoGP Championship after riding his Fiat-sponsored Yamaha to third place in a wet race at Malaysia's Sepang circuit.  The result gave the unstoppable Italian the ninth Championship crown of his career - seven at the highest level of the sport in a season which has seen some dramatic and hard-fought races.

One of the world's most famous motorcycles returned to the place that gave it its name.  Two Triumph Bonnevilles, prepared by California's South Bay Triumph, returned to Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats to celebrate the motorcyle's 50th Anniversary.  Two bikes were ridden on the famous Flats by UK journalist Alan Cathcart who set four FIM world land speed records.

From the oldest to the very newest, with the announcement that Ducati will launch their much anticipated Multistrada 1200.  The brand new sports bike will be revealed at this year's EICM International Motorcycle Show in Milan.

And finally, some unusual perspectives on the lubricants industry.  Firstly an insight into the legal side of the business trhough an interview with Lubrizol's General Counsel, Joseph Bauer. Next, a profile of the US Air Force's 379th Expeditionary Logistics and Readiness Squadron and their work in checking the quality and safety of aircraft fuel during overseas activities.  And finally, a contender for the title of "the world's tidiest lubes room" must come from the Shikoku Electric Power Company's Ikata nuclear power plant, where the lube room's four members of staff have taken cleanliness to a new level.