MAHINDRA ON THE FRONT ROW FOR GERMAN GP

Sachsenring, Germany, July 13, 2013: Miguel Oliveira will start tomorrow’s German Grand Prix from the front row of the grid – the fourth time in the Mahindra MGP3O’s debut season that he has claimed a top-three qualifying position.

The Portuguese teenager placed third, two short of his maiden pole position two weeks ago at Assen, but his third front-row start in succession.

Team-mate Efrén Vázquez qualified seventh, heading the third row, but frustrated that another rider had baulked his last-lap effort to claim his first front-row of the year. The Spaniard finished yesterday’s first day of free practice third overall, proving his potential as he regains strength after earlier injury.

Mahindra is the only Indian factory team in international motorcycle racing. The MGP3O was designed and built in only six months, and has proved not only reliable from the start, but as importantly highly competitive, even in first prototype form.

Tomorrow’s race is the eighth of 17 rounds in the Moto3™ World Championship. Oliveira currently lies a close sixth overall, with Vázquez 13th, after missing two rounds through injury.

MIGUEL OLIVEIRA – Third Place
“We changed some settings overnight, mainly at the rear, and the modifications are working well. I am not completely happy with my rhythm, but I could do a good lap. The race tomorrow will be difficult as always, especially the last laps. There are a lot of left-hand corners here and tyre life will be an issue. It’s also a very tiring track, so it is easy to make a mistake. The start here is not so important because it is not so far to the first corner, but it will be important not to let anybody get away up front, while also looking after the tyres.”

EFRÉN VÁZQUEZ – Seventh Place
“I’m not happy. I think I could have made the front row but on the last lap I was caught up with the mistake of another rider. On the fast corner he closed the door on me and I lost a little time. He did not ride in the correct way. But I think we can still do a good race. The bike is okay – with a used tyre I was only a tenth of a second slower, and I am feeling strong.”

MUFADDAL CHOONIA – CEO, Mahindra Racing
“Another good qualifying for Mahindra. It is always exciting, although perhaps by now we should be getting more used to it. Miguel is riding as well as ever, but I am sorry for Efrén, because he had been having his best weekend so far. Tomorrow we get another chance to add to the success of the MGP3O. Once again, we will have our fingers crossed and hope for a first podium finish.”

About Mahindra Racing
Mahindra Racing became the first Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP™ World Motorcycle Racing Championship in 2011 and the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV) in 2012.
Racing in the Moto3™ class in MotoGP, Mahindra Racing entered the 2013 season with its own new 4-stroke, single-cylinder, 250cc motorcycle: the Mahindra MGP3O, developed with experienced Swiss firm Suter Racing Technology AG. Experienced Spanish rider Efrén Vázquez (26, from Bilbao) is teamed with exciting Portuguese teenager Miguel Oliveira (18, from Pragal near Lisbon). At the opening round in Qatar, the duo finished with a best-ever double Top 10 result for the only Indian team in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. In Round 2 in Austin, Oliveira finished a superlative fifth. Celebrating a third successive top ten finish in Round 3 at Jerez, Vázquez claimed eighth place. At Round 4 in Le Mans, Oliveira secured a front row start by qualifying second, and then in Mugello finished the race fourth. In Catalunya, Vázquez crossed the line in fifth and Oliveira was sixth.
In the 2012 CIV season, Mahindra Racing competed in the 125 GP Class and became the first team from India to win an international motorsport event, eventually recording six victories from eight races and securing the Constructors’ Championship. In the 2013 CIV season, the team has entered the Moto3 (250cc – 4 stroke) class with talented riders Andrea Locatelli (16, from Alzano Lombardo) and Michael Rinaldi (17, Rimini, Emilia-Romagna). Locatelli ended Rounds 1 and 2 with a fantastic twin podium finish. While winning the first, he finished the second in third position. Rinaldi finished eighth in the first encounter and a respectable sixth in the second.
Mahindra’s bold decision to take on the world’s best at the highest level of motorcycle racing won the team prestigious awards such as the 'ZigWheels Motorsport Award of the Year, 2012’, and the NDTV Car and Bike Awards 'Mobil 1 Motorsport Award of the Year, 2012’. For further information please visit: www.mahindraracing.com.

About Mahindra
The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency.
A USD 16.2 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 155,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries.
In 2012, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a listing of the biggest and most powerful listed companies in the world. In 2013, the Mahindra Group received the Financial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the ‘Emerging Markets’ category.

Visit us at www.mahindra.com.




For further enquiries
Ms. Roma Balwani
Chief Group Communications Officer
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Phone: +91 22 2490 1441
balwani.roma@mahindra.com

Mr. Rupert Williamson
Mahindra MotoGP™ consultant
HPS Jardine
Phone: +44 1628 894 836
Mobile: +44 7774 295 147
rupert.williamson@hpsjardine.com

Ms. Elisa Tamburro
PR and Marketing Manager
Mahindra Racing
Mobile: +39 348 0085351
tamburro.elisa@mahindra.com

PRESS RELEASE Monday, July 15, 2013 Contact: Supriya Kumar, skumar@worldwatch.org, (+1) 202-745-8092, ext. 510 For more information: http://www.worldwatch.org/peak-production-planet-distress-%3Fcan-we-keep-it          Peak Production From a Planet in Distress: Can We Keep It Up? Worldwatch Institute's Vital Signs: Volume 20 showcases the planet's growing demand for food and energy, its shrinking resources, and the implications of these trends  Washington, D.C.---In 2012, global oil consumption reached an all-time high, the number of workers in vulnerable employment exceeded 1.5 billion people, and physical water scarcity affected some 1.2 billion people.The Worldwatch Institute captures the impacts of these alarming trends and the increasingly risky state of humanity in Vital Signs: Volume 20, the latest compilation from the Institute's respected Vital Signs project (www.worldwatch.org). Vital Signs: Volume 20 provides up-to-date figures on many of the most critical global concerns. Drawing on a wide range of sources, the report provides authoritative data and analysis on significant global trends such as fossil fuel subsidies, agricultural commodities, and rapid urbanization in the developing world. "Our economic systems and theories are programmed to squeeze ever more resources from a planet in distress," said Michael Renner, Worldwatch senior researcher and director of the Vital Signs project. "A mixture of population growth, consumerism, greed, and short-term thinking by policymakers and business people seems to be inexorably driving human civilization toward a showdown with the planet's limits." Some of the trends highlighted in Vital Signs: Volume 20 are positive. Globally, sanitation and water access for 227 million people was improved between 2000 and 2010 to the point where these individuals are no longer considered slum dwellers. Within the agriculture sector, efficient irrigation methods have increased more than sixfold over the last two decades, and organically certified agricultural land has more than tripled since 1999. Meanwhile, socially sustainable ways of doing business continue to emerge: about 1 billion people in 96 countries belong to a co-operative, whether as a worker, consumer, producer, or purchaser. Similarly, the emergence of so-called "benefit" corporations offers a more socially and environmentally responsible model for private firms. "There is no shortage of alternatives to change the destructive trajectory that humanity finds itself on," said Renner. "Renewables and efficient irrigation are two practical options among many others. But we need to get serious about these tasks instead of consigning them largely to the margins." Vital Signs: Volume 20 analyzes the above-mentioned trends and many more, using straightforward language and easy-to-read charts and graphs to explain global trends to governments, businesses, and consumers, helping them to make more informed decisions for our future. Further highlights from the report: Coal: Global coal production increased by 6,941 million tons in 2011, making coal the fastest growing fossil fuel. Spurred mainly by rising demand in China and India, coal's share in the global primary energy mix reached 28 percent in 2011----its highest point since record-keeping began in 1971. Wind power: Global wind power capacity grew by 21 percent in 2011----lower than the 2010 rate of 24 percent and markedly lower than the 2009 rate of 31 percent. Automobile production: Passenger car production rose from 60.1 million vehicles in 2010 to 62.6 million vehicles in 2011----and 2012 brought a new all-time record of 66.1 million vehicles. Meat production and consumption: Global meat production surpassed 300 million tons for the first time in 2012; annual meat consumption increased just 0.4 percent to 42.5 kilograms per person. Women farmers: Women farmers produce more than half of all food worldwide and currently account for 43 percent of the global agricultural workforce, yet women own just 2 percent of global farmland. Natural disasters: During 2011, a total of 820 natural catastrophes were documented, causing an estimated 27,000 deaths and costing a record $380 billion in economic losses. Wage growth: Among the global workforce, wage growth has slowed from an average of 3 percent in 2007 to 2.1 percent in 2010 and 1.2 percent in 2011. Water scarcity: Some 1.2 billion people----almost one fifth of the world----lives in areas of physical water scarcity, which occurs when annual supplies per person fall below 1,000 cubic meters.