VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 7
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21st JUNE 2011
D N E P O T E H T IN S E IR F L O CASTR
S LEIGH- BAUDT PAOM SITIVE
INJURED PLUS
Hirvonen gets podium Stars of Karting in Melbourne CASTROL EDGE WINTERNATIONALS – “REHEATED” July 15-17
CASTROL TEAMS HIT BACK IN The weekend’s V8 Supercar events in Darwin provided a much-needed positive for all Castrol-backed teams, with Ford Performance Racing taking two pole positions and a podium and Rick Kelly taking victory for Kelly Racing in Saturday’s race. After a few lean events, Castrol teams were represented strongly. Pleasingly, Mark Winterbottom’s speed aboard the #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon would appear to show that the gremlins which have been part and parcel of the factory Ford outfit’s season are on their way to being exorcised. Frosty can feel aggrieved to have not won Saturday’s race, a late race safety car saw the top four barrel into the first turn together, the net result being not one of them remained on track and Rick Kelly ploughed through for a Bradbury-esque win! Winterbottom made up for this on Sunday, finishing third after starting on pole. His team-mate, Will Davison showed some outstanding form as well. After a small hiccough in qualifying Saturday saw him start 20th, Davison charged through to fifth. Sunday, the team gambled on soft tyre strategy, bringing him in later than anyone, however traffic caused by a safety car in the dying stages meant he couldn’t use the fresher rubber to best effect. Aside from Kelly’s win on Saturday, other notable performances came from the Paul Morris Motorsport stable – where both Russell Ingall and Steve Owen performed with distinction. Russell had his best finish of the year in fifth on Sunday, whilst Owen made significant gains – potting the VIP Petfoods Commodore in the top 10 Saturday and charging from pitlane to 14th on Sunday. Recent Ford and Castrol convert, Tony d’Alberto enjoyed a career best finish on Saturday and a career best qualifying on Sunday. He has clearly benefited from Mark Winterbottom testing his FPR-built Wilson Security Falcon in recent weeks. Paul Dumbrell had a troubled weekend – spearing across the scenery on the opening lap on Saturday and then Sunday finished outside the top 10, whilst Todd Kelly ripped his pitboom down during his pitstop and saw the nut shear from his front left wheel in an eventful day. Dave Reynolds was another in the thick of it. He was lucky to escape what could have been a huge accident after a wheel-to-wheel contact with Jason Bright on Saturday. For a more comprehensive wrap of each day’s action in Darwin, visit the Castrol Racing website at www.castrolracing.com.au
N DARWIN
V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
Jamie Whincup 1 Craig Lowndes 2 3 Shane Van Gisbergen Garth Tander 4 Steve Johnson 5 Will Davison 6 9 Mark Winterbottom Greg Murpy 15 Paul Dumbrell 19 Steve Owen 20 David Reynolds 22 Russell Ingall 23 Todd Kelly 25 Tony D’Alberto 27
1395 1239 1134 1082 1030 1020 961 635 616 576 564 539 517 493
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HIRVONEN NETS THIRD IN GREECE Castrol EDGE-backed Ford Abu Dhabi driver Mikko Hirvonen has taken third place in the Acropolis Rally in Greece after a final leg battle with reigning champion Sebastien Loeb. Hirvonen and his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen finished three seconds behind Citroen’s power duo Loeb and round winner, Sebastian Ogier. The World Rally Championship driver was fastest overall in the final day with his Abu Dhabi teammate Jari-Matti Latvala close behind. Latvala suffered transmission problems and turbo failure on days one and two, however he managed to make an impressive run on day three. The pair won four out of the five special stages on the final day of the seventh round, but Hirvonen is aiming for a round win. “It was a great fight and I took big risks today to try to close the gaps, driving over every bank and rock,” he said. “I knew it was going to be close and if there was one more 20km stage then I believe I could have taken second. I’m consistently scoring good points in the championship, but I need a win. The next round is my home event in Finland and nothing less than victory will be enough there,” he added. Latvala finished the seventh round of the World Rally Championship in ninth place and is focusing on the manufacturers’ series for the remainder of the season. “It was a hard weekend, but despite my technical troubles, I finished in the points and I’m relieved to be here,” he explained. “I had a good pace and targeted the bonus points in the Power Stage, but it just wasn’t our rally. The Greek Gods were not looking after me at all here.” “I’m looking forward to the summer break and then preparing for the next round on home ground in Finland. My chances of winning the drivers’ championship have all but disappeared, so my priority in the second half of the season will be to concentrate on scoring points for Ford in the manufacturers’ series,” he added. The next WRC round will be in Finland, July 28 – 30 after a hiatus, Australian fans can see the action live September 9 – 11 in Coffs Harbour.
HIGHT THUNDERS TO VICTORY Robert Hight has taken Castrol-backed John Force Racing’s sixth win from nine events in the NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car Series, setting a new national speed record of 316.45mph during one of his runs. It was JFR’s third win in succession and Hight’s fourth of the year – equalling his best ever season results. He laughed that racetracks in cities that begin with B haven’t been kind to him – but that all changed today at Bristol. “We were joking around that all the races that start with ‘b’s’ we have trouble at like Brainerd and Bristol. We turned this one around and what better way to do it than with Ford as the title sponsor at Thunder Valley,” said Hight. He had to knock current points leader and team-mate – Castrol GTX sponsored Mike Neff out in the process. Team boss – John Force – went out in the first round. The 62-year-old freely admitting he is still coming to grips with the new team that surrounds him – after the departure of Austin Coil at the completion of the 2010 Championship year. Neff continues to lead the Full Throttle Funny Car Standings by 60 points, whilst Hight has moved himself into third.
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BRAY STRIKING FORM Ben Bray has been back in form aboard the Castrol EDGE-backed Sidchrome Tools Top Doorslammer after a very lean season. The son of a gun and one of the crowd favourites was in outstanding form heading into the Castrol EDGE Winternationals – chiming in with a time of 5.88 at the Winternationals Warm-Up and proving he was going to be competitive come the main event. Sadly, as with all racers, he didn’t get the chance to stand on it due to rain wiping out the second half of qualifying and racing at the Castrol EDGE Winternationals – however he currently sits in fourth placing – having established a 6.16s run at 231.04mph (371.82kph) in the only qualifying session that counted for the Doorslammers. His father, Victor, currently sits outside the field in 17th position and will need a big qualifying effort to charge into the eliminations field of eight. The good news for Bray and racers in every category is that the Castrol EDGE Winternationals will resume in all its glory across the weekend of July 15-17 at Willowbank Raceway.
Check Out Showtime FMX’s show from the Castrol EDGE Winternationals at www.showtimefmx.com
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N I W R E H T O N A S L I CHAMP NA
The CIK Stars of Karting Series, presented by Castrol EDGE at Todd Road in Melbourne saw defending champion, Cian Fothergill take a big win in the Pro Light category, whilst unheralded South Aussie, Scott Taylor moved into the lead of Pro Gearbox. Fothergill did it the hard way though in the day’s second final, having dropped to 18th on the opening lap. He fought his way through the pack, before getting past fellow Queenslander, James Macken in the dying stages of the race. “We had a bit of a hiccough at the start, came back on the track and was sitting 18th on lap one, however, I never doubted that I could make it back towards the front,” said Fothergill. “The next two rounds are at venues where I was very strong at last year, so I’m full of confidence heading into the final part of the series and hopefully I can bridge that gap to the championship leader.” The brilliant David Sera took the honours in the Pro-Gearbox category. Whilst not having the outright speed of young Queenslander, Chris Hays, Sera was able to take the win when Hays’ machine expired during the second final. He moves into fourth in the Championship after missing the opening round due to commitments in America. Meantime, defending Pro Junior Champion, Pierce Lehane extended his Championship lead with a double victory. Sydney-sider, Lehane did his best to break free of the chasing pack, but had arch-rival Joseph Mawson and another Sydney-sider in Joseph Burton-Harris keeping him honest for much of the distance. The next round of the CIK Stars of Karting Series, presented by Castrol EDGE will take place in Sydney across the weekend of July 30-31. Russell Ingall is looking for a good run – hopefully starting in Darwin
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XAUS’ SHOCKER FOR CASTROL HONDA Castrol Honda World Superbike rider Ruben Xaus failed to record any points for the Castrol Honda Team at round seven in Spain. Xaus finished three laps behind the field in race one and recorded a DNF for race two. The poor result was attributed to a range of problems, which lead to a horror round for the Castrol Honda Team. Team manager Ronald Ten Kate says a poor set up for the round hampered Xaus’s efforts. “Ruben has had a number of set-up problems here at Aragon, which were not helped by our winter test here yielding no useful data whatsoever, because it was so cold,” he said. Xaus was the only Castrol team rider to contest the Aragon round as team mate Jonathon Rea is recovering after breaking his arm in a crash last weekend. The inaugural Aragon race was the Spaniard’s home race, and his performance left him disappointed. “It’s been incredibly difficult this weekend, which is, of course, very disappointing for the team and especially for me as I wanted to put on a good performance for all my family, friends and fans who have come to support me here this weekend,” he said.
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ADAMS INJURED – BUT POSITIVE Castrol’s former Australian Speedway superstar, Leigh Adams was seriously injured two weeks ago in a practice crash for the Finke Desert Race.
Now retired from international speedway competition, the four times Speedway Grand Prix event winner was due to compete in the Finke Desert Race with his brother, Andrew for fun and to keep his competitive edge. After crashing at over 130kph, he was airlifted to Adelaide, where he underwent a six hour operation to ascertain the severity of his injuries. It will be some time until doctors can confirm the degree of Adams’ injuries. He has a positive outlook and has received unanimous support from the Australian motorsporting community. Adams has always been considered the ultimate professional and always incredibly gracious with his time, whether that be dealing with sponsors, media or fans. In Leszno – the city of his long time Polish club Unia Leszno – Leigh retains a God-like status, with a statue erected in his honour and a street named after him. The irony of Adams’ accident is that he was always considered to be a safe speedway rider – who had an uncanny ability to avoid incident and injury during his 22-year international career. The entire team at Castrol sends their best wishes to Leigh, wife Kylie and children, Declyn and Casey.
GREAT PERFORMANCE
DEMANDS STRENGTH. No matter the challenge in-front of you, it takes strength to perform at your best. That’s why we seek out the toughest environments to test Castrol EDGE, so you know you can drive the way you want whenever you want. Castrol EDGE. Strength to perform. Freedom to drive.