SPECIAL EVENT (GERMANY) - Motorsports; Breeding Ground for Automotive 'Race-Bred'

As the NASCAR(R) season moves into the final 'chase' for the championship, motorsports continues to be the breeding ground for testing and refining automotive technology.

Failure of a vehicle component during a race is never an option. This is why Robert Bosch LLC, has historically used the rigors of the race tracks in the U.S. and abroad to test how its products will hold up against the demands of everyday driving.

Bosch is the world's largest supplier of automotive parts and systems to vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket and a pioneer in the development and advancement of automotive technologies such as spark plugs, oxygen sensors and electronic fuel injection. (www.boschautoparts.com)

"Many Bosch components that are developed for racing are later installed as original equipment in the cars we drive every day," said Wolfgang Hustedt, Motorsports Manager for Bosch in North America.

Bosch supplies various combinations of spark plugs, alternators, oxygen sensors, fuel injection components, fuel filters, high performance wiper blades and Motronic engine management systems to racing teams in the United States and in Europe to help win races and test product durability and performance.

For over a century, Bosch has been using motorsports to develop its premium spark plugs and other components. In 1903, the company's founder Robert Bosch, installed his newly invented high-voltage spark plug and magneto in a Mercedes-Benz Type 60 stock car and won the first international auto race, the 1903 Gordon Bennett race in Ireland.

Bosch spark plugs have fired 19 straight Indy 500 winners and many NASCAR wins. Some NASCAR teams use Bosch oxygen sensors - normally used for emission controls on regular cars - for engine development and testing before the race. NASCAR teams cannot use oxygen sensors during races.

Bosch oxygen sensors are used extensively at Le Mans, ALMS/Grand Am, Formula 3 and other racing in conjunction with Bosch Motronic engine management systems.

"The Bosch Motronics system is so precise in a V-8 engine, it makes 40,000 calculations a minute at 10,000 rpm," Hustedt said. "Our oxygen sensors help road racers keep their vehicle at peak efficiency and power under the most competitive of conditions."