VOLUME 4 - ISSUE 22
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27th NOVEMBER 2014
CASTROL V8 CREWS AIMING TO FINISH ON A HIGH AT SYDNEY 500
Castrol EDGE backed V8 Supercars crews have plenty to play for ahead of the final round at the NRMA Sydney 500. Although the championship has been claimed by Triple Eight’s Jamie Whincup, Castrol supported Ford Performance Racing remain in the hunt to secure valuable positions in the top five. Mark Winterbottom holds the runners up spot heading into the final round at Sydney’s Olympic Park with a 95 point advantage over Whincup’s team-mate Craig Lowndes. The 2013 Bathurst 1000 winner will arrive at the meeting in form having
recorded two podiums at the Plus Fitness The 22-year-old is seventh in the Phillip Island 400 last time out. championship standings but is just a slender 22 points away from “It’s was a good result for the guys fifth spot. because it’s been tough no doubt and we’ll try and fight for second but at the “We are still in a good position to claim end of the day you want to win and fifth but Homebush is really hard to after that goes you get disappointed predict so we will have to just put our but we can probably annoy Triple 8 if heads together and see what we can we can get in the middle of them,” said come up with,” said Mostert. Winterbottom. Castrol backed Nissan Motorsport Winterbottom’s team-mate Chaz also head into Sydney with hopes their Mostert is in contention to secure drivers can snare a place inside the top his target of a top five result in the 10 in the championship standings. championship despite a difficult run at Phillip Island that saw him record just Michael Caruso remains the favourite to one top 10 finish. achieve the goal in front of his home crowd
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following a strong run at Phillip Island. Three top 10 finishes including an impressive fifth place finish on the first of three races at the Victorian circuit two weeks ago has seen Caruso claim 10th spot heading into the final round. Jack Daniel’s Nissan driver Rick Kelly is just 175 points behind Caruso while Norton Hornets racer James Moffat is 266 points adrift of the top top 10. Meanwhile, Castrol EDGE oiled Supercheap Auto Racing will be hoping to end the season on a high with Tim Slade targeting a top 15 overall championship finish.
2014 V8 Supercars Championship Championship Points 1
Jamie Whincup
3094
2
Mark Winterbottom
2642
3
Craig Lowndes
2547
4
Shane van Gisbergen
2508
5
Scott McLaughlin
2295
6
Fabian Coulthard
2280
7
Chaz Mostert
2273
8
James Courtney
2265
9
Garth Tander
2064
10
Michael Caruso
1875
11
Will Davison
1793
12
Nick Percat
1785
13
Jason Bright
1734
14
Rick Kelly
1730
15
Scott Pye
1626
16
David Reynolds
1622
17
James Moffat
1609
18
Tim Slade
1422
19
Russel Ingall
1415
20
Lee Holdsworth
1292
21
David Wall
1252
22
Todd Kelly
1236
23
Jack Perkins
1188
24
Dale Wood
1078
25
Robert Dahlgren
859
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OGIER UNDERLINES DOMINANCE WITH RALLY GB VICTORY
The Castrol backed Volkswagen of Sebastien Ogier underlined his dominance of the 2014 World Rally Championship with his eighth win of the season with victory at Wales Rally GB. On the 13th round of the title chase, he mastered the muddy forest tracks to lead the three-day event from start-to-finish in a Volkswagen Polo R, measuring his pace through the final two legs to win by 37.6sec. Castrol oiled M-Sport driver Mikko Hirvonen claimed an emotional second place in his final rally before retirement after holding off Kris Meeke in a titanic battle. The pair fought tooth-and-nail until Meeke damaged two tyres after skidding into a ditch this morning and plunged to sixth. It allowed Mads Ă˜stberg to take third in a Citroen DS3, the Norwegian finishing
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26.0sec behind Hirvonen’s Fiesta RS. Ogier fought with team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala through Friday’s opening leg.
“We started flat-out on Friday and made an incredible day – there was a big difference to everyone else.
“My rally changed when Jari-Matti made But when Latvala slid into a ditch and a mistake and I had control and could dropped three minute, Ogier was handed ease my pace. a 70sec lead and throttled back in the “It wasn’t the most fun way to drive, but treacherous conditions. in the slippery conditions I had to do it. “It’s the best way to finish the season It was the best way to get the win,” he and it was my target,” said Ogier. added.
As popular as the win was for Ogier, there was also a special moment for Hirvonen by fighting all the way to second place. “I couldn’t have planned a better way to end my career,” said Hirvonen. “It was a fantastic fight all weekend, one of the most enjoyable of my career. It was an amazing weekend and I’m looking forward to keeping all my memories from the last 13 years and taking them home with me.”
2014 FIA DRIVERS´ STANDINGS Pos
Driver
Total
1.
Sebastien Ogier
267
2.
Jari-Matti Latvala
218
3.
Andreas Mikkelsen
150
4.
Mikko Hirvonen
126
5.
Mads Ostberg
108
6.
Thierry Neuville
105
7.
Kris Meeke
92
8.
Elfyn Evans
81
9.
Martin Prokop
44
10.
Dani Sordo
40
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PODIUM FOR CASTROL HONDA IN MACAU
Castrol Honda endured a bittersweet end to the World Touring Car Championship campaign at the world famous Guia street circuit in Macau. Both drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro made strong starts from sixth and seventh on the grid respectively to challenge the front runners in the opening race. Tarquini quickly moved into fourth with Monteiro following close behind. The pair pushed hard throughout the race taking the chequered flag in third and fourth respectively. Citroen’s Jose Maria Lopez claimed the race win. However, Tarquini, who had been feeling ill during the race, was unable to claim
his trophy on the podium. The Italian subsequently missed the second race. “I felt really ill after having a high temperature and it was very hard in Race 1, especially at the end,” said Tarquini.
Monteiro came home in 16th spot while Yvan Muller and Hugo Valente filled the podium places. “I’m disappointed of course,” said Monteiro.
“I was happy that I finished the last lap. I prepared myself for the Race 2 and did the formation lap but then decided to not take the start.” Monteiro seemed likely to secure victory in the second race having led up until the final lap when a power steering failure cruelly robbed him of victory.
“After this magnificent start and leading the race for 8 laps, the victory was so close. The fight between Huff and Muller behind me was a help to keep the gap for first. “After the Safety Car with just one more lap to run, my car had overheating issues causing power steering problems and I just could not keep the pace and my position.”
Lada’s Rob Huff came through to take the victory which was his seventh in Macau.
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WTCC Championship Standings Pos
Driver
Points
1
Jose Maria Lopez
462
2
Yvan Muller
336
3
Sebastien Loeb
295
4
Norbert Michelisz
201
5
Tiago Monteiro
186
6
Gabriele Tarquini
182
7
Tom Coronel
159
8
Tom Chilton
150
9
Gianni Morbidelli
109
10
Robert Huff
93
11
Mehdi Bennani
85
12
Hugo Valente
85
13
Ma Qing Hua
69
14
Dusan Borkovic
41
15
James Thompson
22
16
Mikhail Kozlovskiy
11
17
Franz Engstler
8
18
John Filippi
4
19
Rene Munnich
3
20
Pasquale Di Sabatino
2
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CASTROL OILED AUDI PREPARES FOR SAO PAULO WEC FINALE Castrol oiled Audi heads to Brazil in contention to secure the FIA World Endurance Championship manufacturers crown this weekend. The Ingolstadt squad arraives at the final round of the season in Sao Paulo just 40 points behind Toyota with 44 points up for grabs for the six hour endurance race at the famous Interlagos circuit.
last race of the season in 2013 and, amazingly, after just four of eight rounds in 2012. The round will also serve as the final round for Audi star and King of Le Mans Tom Kristensen who announced his retirement earlier this month. Kristensen has won the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour classic a record nine-times during his illustrious career.
Although the brand has been the only manufacturer to fail to score from one of the previous seven rounds, having retired from the opener at Silverstone, the team has managed to take the title fight to the finale.
Together with his team-mate Lucas di Grassi (BR), the 47-year-old endurance racing specialist will be battling for a top spot in the World Championship until the end.
The past two years saw Audi taking the title in the manufacturers’ world championship early – in the third from
The Dane and the Brazilian, with a score of 102 points, still have a mathematical chance of clinching the runner-up
position, while their team-mates Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F), with 117 points, are currently ranked in second place of the standings. “The track at Interlagos is on the calendar for the last time until further notice,” said Kristensen. “The circuit is relatively short but a great driver track. There are many interesting turns there, we’re driving counterclockwise and the vertical differences can be clearly felt. “The enjoyment of driving an LMP sports car there is unique. I’m hoping for a great finale that’ll no doubt be very emotional, as I’m ending my career as a professional race driver there.”
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Kristensen’s Brazilian team-mate di Grassi is hoping he can perform in front of his home crowd. “I love this track and remember my first race there with Audi Sport very well,” said di Grassi. “Now, for the first time, my home round is also the finale at which my family, my friends and many fans will be visiting me. “The Brazilians support motorsport with great enthusiasm. The track with the new tarmac will obviously have more grip. That’s positive.”
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CASTROL EDGE CIK STARS OF KARTING ACE TO LEAD TEAM AUSTRALIA AT 2015 WINTER CUP Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting ace David Sera will lead Team Australia at the 2015 Winter Cup in Italy next February. The Team Australia drivers will be competing aboard a Ricciardo Kart, a project involving Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo, while supported by Karting Australia. For Sera, the honour to lead the team, which will also include fellow Australian Champions Troy Loeskow, Liam McLellan and Matthew Waters, a dream come true. “As a kid you always dream of representing your country, and this opportunity is another dream of mine that has come true,” said Sera, who will compete in the elite KZ2 gearbox class at the event.
“I’ve raced in Europe in other classes of karting but never in KZ2, I’m excited about taking on the best drivers in the world in a kart bearing the name of Australia’s Formula 1 star.” At the recent Castrol backed Race of Stars event on the Gold Coast, Sera diced with World Champions Davide Forè and Jonathan Thonon – something he is looking forward to again while flying the Australian flag in Italy. “Over the years when Australians have gone to compete at the highest level of karting in Europe they’ve done it in unfamiliar surroundings with foreign teams. To be able to have a group of top Australian drivers competing in the same team where we can all work together to achieve a top result is going
to be great,” said Sera. While Sera is excited about having the opportunity to represent his country, Ricciardo is thrilled to be able to provide the opportunity for the Australian Champions to compete aboard a Ricciardo Kart in Italy. “Kart racing is something that I am very passionate about. It taught me a lot during my younger years and I’m looking forward to seeing the Australian Champions in a Ricciardo Kart in February,” remarked Ricciardo. “It’s a very exciting prospect to have such high quality Australian talent coming to Europe to compete in the same team. David (Sera) and I raced against each other in our younger days and he was a great competitor.”
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CASTROL POWERED KEN BLOCK VIDEO TAKES INTERNET BY STORM Internet sensation and stunt driver Ken Block has starred in another viral video smash with his latest creation Gymkhana 7: Wild in the Streets of Los Angeles. Gymkhana 7 is the latest instalment of the popular video series which sees the American drive an 845 horsepower 1965 Ford Mustang. The video has already swept the internet achieving almost 15 million views on video sharing website You Tube. With over 300 million views in total, Gymkhana is a viral video franchise owned by and starring Ken Block. The #1 viral video franchise of all time in the automotive category, Gymkhana has been recognised by companies like Ad Age as one of the top viral advertisements of the year every year since 2007. Block featured in Footkhana and the first Castrol EDGE Titanium Trial Blackout earlier this year, building both equity and association between him and the Castrol EDGE brand. To view the video please visit https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=5qanlirrRWs.
GUINTOLI COMPLETES DEBUT FOR CASTROL BACKED PATA HONDA New World Superbike champion Sylvain Guintoli enjoyed his first run on the Castrol oiled Pata Honda in winter testing at Spain’s Jerez circuit this week.
Pata Honda machine as the former Supersport rider finished the opening day of testing in third spot behind Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes.
The Frenchman, who joined the Dutch squad from Aprilia, completed his maiden run on the Honda CBR1000RR in eighth spot having been restricted to only a handful of laps due to inclement weather conditions.
Guintoli and van der Mark improved upon their times in the second day of on track action with the pair finishing in sixth and seventh position respectively.
Team-mate Michael van der Mark showed encouraging pace on the
Van der Mark managed to rack up 81 untroubled laps as he builds his confidence on the new machine.
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