Win SpongeBob instruments

To celebrate its new SpongeBob range, John Hornby Skewes is offering the chance to win a full set of instruments.

The musical instrument distributor has put up the prize including seven ready to pay outfits for beginners and players.

The range includes a 3/4 size electric guitar outfit (pictured), a 7/8 size electric guitar outfit, a junior acoustic guitar outfit, a junior three-piece drum kit, a flying V ukulele outfit, a pineapple ukulele outfit and a ukulele outfit.

For your chance to win, simply answer the following question:
Where does SpongeBob SquarePants live?

a)    Rock bottom
b)    Bikini bottom
c)    Big bottom

If you know where SpongeBob lives, send your answer, name, company name and address to toynewscompetition@intentmedia.co.uk by Friday February 27th 2009.

Toys R Us boosts online business

Toys R Us announced yesterday it has bought websites eToys.com, BabyUniverse.com and ePregnancy.com.

The retailer bought the sites from media firm, The Parent Company, which filed for bankruptcy protection late last year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Parent Company filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008, after which it sought strategic alternatives including the sale of some or all of its businesses.

FIA president pushes for leaner sport

With the global economy in a tailspin, Max Mosley may finally have the leverage needed to realize his vision of a leaner, more cost-conscious Formula One.

The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) president warned last week that F1's teams must reduce spending or the sport faces a bleak future with few manufacturers.

"The scope for getting the costs down is huge, and we can get the cost down further and no one except for a real [nerd] in the pit lane would know the difference," Mosley told a group of reporters last week.

"No one can go out today with a private team and get the money, so it's impossible and we must change that."

Mosley's latest cost-cutting initiatives call for the teams to reduce their annual spending to $64-million (U.S.) by the 2010 season. The key to Mosley's plan is the teams using standardized electronics, suspension parts and gearboxes, while still being free to develop other technology that might give them an advantage.

Rule changes that the teams have already passed to help trim costs include banning in-season testing, extending the engine life to three consecutive races from two in 2008, and eliminating several add-on aerodynamic elements.

These changes for 2009 are supposed to increase passing, while also making things more affordable. Unfortunately, many in the paddock feel that the down-force was not reduced enough and overtaking will continue to be difficult at best.

In addition, the 2009 car's more boxy design isn't exactly stunning.

"I think the cars look very ugly," said 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

The endgame for Mosley is a new F1 where the teams return to profitability and privateers find the sport attractive again.

His renewed push comes just as a U.S.-based group hopes to line up on the F1 grid in 2010, something that would help increase interest in the sport in that critical market at a time when many experts feel the economy will begin to pull out of recession.

But getting budgets under control will take plenty of work, especially since the top teams on the F1 grid now spend more than $300-million to field two cars for the 17-race season

Initially, it would also mean massive layoffs in the sport, with the big teams being forced to shed at least half of their 1,000-strong work forces.

And considering that several top F1 drivers' salaries would easily take up much of the proposed budget cap, the perception of a watered-down sport in the name of cost savings might be hard to sell to fans.

It's not like the F1 paddock is a place where reality reigns when it comes to money matters. The millionaire drivers' claim that the cost of an F1 super-licence is causing them hardship shows how little the sport's inner circle understands the everyday world. The 2009 licence fee is $13,500, plus an additional $2,700 per championship point scored.

Using the new charges, McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton would have paid about $270,000 to race to the championship in 2008. Including endorsements, Hamilton will take home about $180-million under a five-year deal he signed last year.

That lack of understanding of the real world may be the reason Mosley made it clear that he believes the global financial situation is a "force majeure" situation, which allows the FIA act unilaterally in the best interest of the sport.

And he may get his reforms through, but watch for the teams to push back with a quick escalation of F1 costs once the economy gets back on its feet.

It's a simple equation: The manufacturers use F1 as a platform to boost sales, and winners sell more cars than losers. So, when the economy improves, the car makers will rekindle their technology war and costs will begin to soar again.

It's a scenario that most race fans understand, even those who follow stock cars. NASCAR may seem like a technology wasteland from the outside, but the manufacturers spend tens of millions of dollars annually to help their teams gain tiny advantages.

NASCAR garages are filled with as many high-tech gizmos and simulation software as their F1 cousins and teams routinely spend $100,000 a day for testing.

The difference in NASCAR seems to be that the drivers actually appear to be worried about their sport and its fans.

"I think with the economy the way it is, with the amount of layoffs, it's almost depressing right now to turn the news on," said Ford driver Jamie McMurray. "I get up at 6 a.m., turn the news on, and every morning it seems like the headline is how many people were laid off from major corporations. I think it will be a tough year for us."

JJB Sports receives fitness club bids