A lucky boot boy at Birmingham City football club received an end of season treat when Olivier Kapo handed him the keys to a Mercedes-Benz.

James McPike has polished the boots of the first-team player all season and will now be polishing a new Mercedes-Benz after the generous gesture from his team mate.

Tthe Frenchman had already taken his boots home and instead gave him the keys to his Mercedes-Benz as a reward for a hard season’s work.

According to the Sun, the youngster "perked up" when Kapo handed over the keys and the log book and offered to pay for the first year of insurance.

"It was a magnificent gesture and one that’s entirely in keeping with Kapo’s character," said Birmingham’s manager Alex McLeish.

Youngsters clean the boots of first-team players throughout the season and are there to learn their trade from the professionals.

Daimler AG is helping to support the victims of the earthquake in China and those suffering from the effects of the cyclone in Myanmar.

Employees working in China have raised GBP12,700 to help locally active aid organisations such as the Chinese Red Cross.

Daimler North East Asia (DNEA) has also provided trucks for use in the disaster areas as China attempts to clean up after the natural disaster.

The help comes on top of the GBP31,700 given by Daimler the day after the quake and Ulrich Walker, chairman and chief executive officer of the DNEA said the disaster is far worse than originally thought.

"We have therefore decided to significantly increase our support," he explained.

Daimler is helping aid authorities to coordinate search and rescue efforts and supporting the care of homeless people and the reconstruction of the buildings.

As well as assisting the situation in China, Daimler has also provided GBP158,800 to the crisis in Myanmar.

The money will be used when aid organisation are able to reach the area and carry out their tasks to the benefit of the victims.

Heikki Kovalainen was the second fastest round the circuit at the Paul Ricard HTTT track yesterday (Thursday) as the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team continued their testing process.

The Finnish driver completed 89 laps in the MP4-23 on the way to recording a fastest lap time of 1m05.471.

Faced with rainy conditions in the morning followed by a sunny afternoon, Kovalainen took over the car from team-mate Lewis Hamilton who tested on Wednesday.

As the team continues to prepare for the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, Kovalainen continued to test out the car’s specifications.

Also on the agenda were the Bridgestone Potenza tyres and set-up work.

The team complete a three day period of testing at the French venue today when Pedro de la Rosa, the designated test driver, gets behind the wheel to enjoy some lap time in the Formula One car.

Check your team in preparation for Monaco. Super Aguri withdrawn from 2008 championship make sure you your team before the next GP.

Mercedes-Benz’ association with some of the world’s premier sporting events is continuing this week as it backs the Hamburg Masters.

The automobile brand has been associated with the ATP Tennis Masters tournaments for the last 13 years and tennis fans will see the three-pointed star at the Hamburg event.

Mercedes-Benz’ logo can be seen on the nets surrounding the court as the greatest players in the world compete on the clay surface at Hamburg.

With over GBP1.8 million of prize money in the offing, all the world’s top stars have turned out to compete including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Britain’s Andy Murray.

Nadal and Murray are set to clash today in the third round of the competition that is seen as a warm up to the French Open at Roland Garros.

The Spaniard, an expert on clay, could well walk away as the tournament champion in what is sure to be a thrilling finish.

Today (Thursday) is the beginning of the 2008 Mille Miglia Storica, a competition long associated with Mercedes-Benz.

While the event started off as a road race, it has since evolved into an endurance rally and over the years Mercedes-Benz has entered many vehicles including one driven by Sir Stirling Moss.

This year, Mercedes-Benz is a main sponsor of the Mille Miglia bringing 120 years of the brand’s experience to the event.

While Stirling Moss won the event in 1955 by setting a record time, Mercedes-Benz also had a victorious driver in 1931 when Rudolf Caracciola won the event.

Since then there have been numerous second places and class victories in the historic event.

Racing and rally drivers competing in the event need certain qualities in the performance of their cars as well as the comfort necessary for an endurance race.

Mercedes-Benz has constantly lived up to the performance, safety, comfort and value retention qualities expected of good cars.

Sir Stirling Moss will be present at the Double Twelve event at Mercedes-Benz World.

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest round the track as the Formula One drivers began a three day testing session.

He was back in action for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team at the Paul Richard HTTT development track in Le Castelett and was the quickest driver on the circuit.

Clear and sunny conditions allowed the Brit to complete 84 laps and register a fastest lap time of 1m05.600.

The team is focussing on preparing for the up and coming Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, with tyre testing at the forefront of the programme.

While the Bridgestone Potenza tyres will be tested by the team, engineers will also be looking at the aero package on the car and ensuring it is right for the race.

Heikki Kovalainen will get his turn to put the MP4-23 through its paces and gain some valuable track time when he drives today.

The Finnish driver will then make way for Pedro de la Rosa who will complete the schedule on Friday.

How would your team fair if you ran things? Try out as a Team Manager in our Fantasy F1 competition.

As drivers are being increasingly warned of rising fuel prices in the next few months, the clever idea might be to opt for a smart fortwo.

The Office for National Statistics has said that the price of petrol products coming out of refineries has risen by 2.3 per cent in the last month meaning motorists will be looking to drive economically.

Economical driving is at the forefront of the smart fortwo’s technology as the little car can drive long distances on a small amount of petrol.

As buyers will see in the new smart fortwo adverts, the car can travel from London to Edinburgh (433 miles) on just a single litre of petrol - a huge advantage considering today’s petrol prices.

Running on three-cylinder engines and a capacity of under one litre, the compact engines are light and offer low fuel consumption and low emissions.

Customers can choose between two petrol engines offering 61bhp or 71bhp or they can opt for a turbo petrol engine offering 84bhp.

Visit thesmart.co.uk for more information on the range.

This year’s French Grand Prix looks set to be the last to be held at Magny-Cours after Bernie Ecclestone called for an end to the circuit’s participation.

The Formula One boss believes the Circuit de Nevers is not easily accessible and told L’Equipe that 2008 would be the last time the race took place there.

"I would really love a French Grand Prix in the streets of Paris," Ecclestone said.

He also revealed that he was in talks with the French government over a possible race through the streets of Paris.

Ecclestone said that Francois Fillon, the French prime minister, had agreed to look into the possibility of having a Grand Prix in Paris "or just outside" with a race in 2010 the earliest chance.

A delay could see the race dropped from the calendar although it has been home to the French leg of the tour since 1991.

Last year’s race saw Lewis Hamilton finish third and the Brit will be hoping to improve on that placing when Vodafone McLaren Mercedes races on June 22nd.

In the meantime, the team will concentrate on the Monaco Grand Prix which takes place on May 25th in Monte Carlo.

Find out more about Mercedes-Benz motorsport.

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating the 100th anniversary since the opening of the Mannheim plant.

The official opening of the plant took place on October 12th 1908 and since then the plant has been producing generations of Mercedes-Benz cars.

Located on the slopes of the Luzenburg in the suburbs on Mannheim-Waldhof, the plant took two years to build after the land was purchased by Benz and Cie.

Albert Speer was the architect behind the 35,000 square metre plant that produced the first ever Benz passenger cars and the later Mercedes-Benz models.

Mannheim has historically been the home of many Mercedes-Benz innovations and the town goes back even further than the building of the iconic plant.

In 1879 Mannheim was where Carl Benz developed his two-stroke gas engine.

This important piece of engineering was to provide the inspirations to the development of the modern automobile in 1886.

The smart car is proving its intelligence by patrolling the roads around a school near Harrow.

Teachers have received complaints that traffic could cause safety issues for pupils near Longfield School in North Harrow and the council have responded.

A smart car - complete with a 15 foot extendable CCTV mast - has been employed to watch the roads around the school for any dangerous drivers.

It is hoped that it will stop parents parking near school gates and stopping on yellow lines with their engines on.

Susan Hall, a councillor, said that the smart is "looking after the majority".

According to reports from the BBC, the extra intelligent version of the smart fortwo may also be able to tackle other issues within the community such as fly tipping and graffiti.

The initiative follows two smart cars that were deployed in Westminster last year that monitored the flow of traffic in central London.

Visit thesmart.co.uk for more information on the range