Motorsport eNews Issue 202 - April 27-May 2, 2011 by V8 Sleuth

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Issue No. 202 Apr 27 - May 02 2011

WHO’S GOING TO MAKE THEIR BATHURST DEBUT IN 2011? WE REVEAL THE TEAM AND DRIVERS THAT WILL TAKE ON THE ENDUROS

PLUS: THE LATEST INS AND OUTS FOR THE GOLD COAST

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Editorial Editor: Andrew van Leeuwen Executive Editor: Phil Branagan National Editor: Mitchell Adam Publisher: Chris Lambden

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Bathurst, Easter, Jamie Augustine’s Daytona coupe leading Neale Muston’s Porsche ... Who need Easter Eggs?

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Issue No. 202 | Apr 27 – May 2 2011

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I would race ... 621.37 Miles New team wants V8 wildcard 6 Sprinting ahead Giz wants more Sprint tyres 9 Tonight we’re gonna party MN’s Monaco GP bash 13 Everything has its price Is F1 for sale or not?

chat 24 Five Minutes With ... Shane van Gisbergen Chief Executive Officer, David Gardiner Commercial Director, Bruce Duncan Motorsport eNews is published by nextmedia Pty Ltd ACN: 128 805 970, Level 5, 55 Chandos St, St Leonards NSW 2065 © 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this e-magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher.. The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in the publication. All material submitted is at the owner’s risk and, while every care will be taken nextmedia does not accept liability for loss or damage. Privacy Policy We value the integrity of your personal information. If you provide personal information through your participation in any competitions, surveys or offers featured in this issue of Motorsport eNews, this will be used to provide the products or services that you have requested and to improve the content of our magazines. Your details may be provided to third parties who assist us in this purpose. In the event of organisations providing prizes or offers to our readers, we may pass your details on to them. From time to time, we may use the information you provide us to inform you of other products, services and events our company has to offer. We may also give your information to other organisations which may use it to inform you about their products, services and events, unless you tell us not to do so. You are welcome to access the information that we hold about you by getting in touch with our privacy officer, who can be contacted at nextmedia, Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards, NSW 1590.

comment 26 van Leeuwen on Hamilton 27 Lambden: TV opportunities

race 28 Bathurst Motor Festival 34 Karting Nationals 38 Easter Trail 42 Aussies OS plus Sprintcars

trade 44 Classifieds

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Wayne wants a W V8 SUPERCARS MILES Racing wants to give Chaz Mostert and Ash Walsh their Main Game V8 Supercar debuts in this year’s endurance races, but there’s a problem. They can’t find a car to use ... The Fujitsu Series squad is putting together a program to run their two Formula Ford graduates as a wildcard at Phillip Island and Bathurst, but while most of the key elements are in place, their search for a car to use has been fruitless thus far. Previous wildcard entrants have been able to use Ford’s BF Falcon – of which Miles Racing has two for the Fujitsu Series – but the BF is no longer eligible in the Main Game. They’ll

continue their search to find an FG Falcon, but with a shortage of FG options, team owner Wayne Miles has asked V8 Supercars Australia for dispensation to run one of their Triple Eight-built BFs. Leasing a VE Commodore is another option, albeit less than ideal. “We’re just trying to find a car,” Miles told eNews. “I’ve asked Ross [Stone] to see if there was anything around – there wasn’t, and he was going to go to Roland Dane to see if he could find a car. There weren’t that many FGs made, and they’re all being utilised now until the Car of the Future comes in. “So at this stage, there’s nothing available, unless we get a Holden. I’ve asked Ross if we could get a dispensation to use

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one of the cars we’ve got, but he’s yet to get back to me.” According to Miles, the rest of the program, including funding, is in place. Mostert raced a Supercar at Mount Panorama last year in his Fujitsu Series debut, finishing fourth for the weekend, while Mostert and Walsh got some Bathurst miles together in February, when they raced a Holden Astra in the Bathurst 12 Hour. “We’ve got a good combination, and the boys have been around Bathurst before,” Miles said. “They’ve been working on getting the funding into place and they’ve done very well. The sponsors are happy to be on board as well, so we’re budgeted based on current costs.

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Dirk Klynsmith

Wildcard

“We just need to get a car and we’ll be all over it.” Mostert is currently seventh in the Fujitsu Series leading into this weekend’s second round at Barbagallo Raceway, while Walsh is 22nd after a pair of troubled races in his debut at the Clipsal 500 last month. Fellow Fujitsu Series squads Greg Murphy Racing, MW Motorsport and Sonic Motor Racing have also flagged their interest in running as wildcards at the L&H Phillip Island 500 and Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. Six wildcard slots are up for grabs, but only two were used last year, with GMR and MW each running one car. – MITCHELL ADAM

GIZ MORE SPRINTS V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

V8 SUPERCARS’ latest new race winner Shane van Gisbergen has called for Dunlop’s softer compound tyre to be used at all races in the future. The young Kiwi praised how well the ‘Sprint’ tyre performed on the streets of Hamilton last weekend, and says that the stark contrast between the 2010 event on the hard tyre, and the 2011 event on the soft tyre, shows what directon the category should be taking. “With some more grip available, you can do a lot more passing under braking – and that’s what we saw in Hamilton,” said van Gisbergen. “In general, with more grip, you have more confidence. “I watched last year’s Hamilton race before I went over there, and there was nowhere near as much passing, so the soft tyre really spiced it up. “Personally, I think we should use the soft tyre at every race – with a few mixed events where the hard tyre comes into it. I think the soft tyre just makes awesome racing.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Hand set to join JBR for Gold Coast V8 SUPERCARS

IndyCar Media

JOEY Hand is locked in for the Gold Coast 600. The American, who won this year’s Daytona 24 Hour race, is expected to join Jim Beam Racing for the event. eNews does not know whether the team plans to pair him with Steven Johnson or James Moffat, but as a first-time V8 Supercar driver, it appears logical that Hand would line up in Moffat’s #18 DJR Falcon. Hand, 32, was relatively unknown in this part of the world prior to his Daytona win. In spite of this, the Californian has an accomplished CV, particularly in Sportscar racing. As a factory BMW driver, he competes in both the ALMS (with Rahal Letterman Racing) and the Continental Tire GrandAm Series, with Turner Motorsport. A month after his Daytona win, he took out GT honours at the Sebring 12 Hour race. Last weekend, he qualified for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hour race, in which he will share a BMW M3 with Dirk Muller and Andy Priaulx. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

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Fisichella? No, Fizzy Cola V8 SUPERCARS GREG Murphy’s Pepsi Max Crew racer will sport a new look at Barbagallo Raceway this weekend – and it won’t be the last time a fresh lick of paint is thrown as the Commodore this season. eNews understands that there will be at least one more livery change for Murph’s car before Bathurst in October, with Townsville a likely candidate for the debut of the third graffitiinspired paint scheme. As for the Bathurst 1000, a fourth (or fifth) livery is guaranteed to

be debuted, with the design to be decided by the winner of Pepsi’s ‘Skin it to Win it’ public competition. As for the Barbagallo livery, it was designed by Sydney-based tattoo artist Jeremy Hession, and brings a dark new look to car #11. “I was looking to bring to life a much darker edge with this livery, and the fusion of the black and yellow on track should look phenomenal,” said Hession. “Plus, with the chance to pay homage to Murph’s #51, I think this is one of the best livery offerings on track in 2011.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

WURZ AND WEBBY V8 SUPERCARS

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ALEX Wurz is in the frame to partner Jono Webb at the Gold Coast 600, but no deal is done according to the V8 Supercar rising star. Wurz registered his interest in the ‘international’ V8 Supercar race exclusively through Motorsport eNews following the Australian Grand Prix, and since then has been in contact with Webb’s Tekno Autosport. But according to Webb, a deal is far from done – despite recent reports to the contrary. “It’s all speculation at this point,” Webb told eNews. “I have no comment, except for the fact that I’ve been in touch with him.” Last year, Webb was partnered with

Sebastien Bourdais, who turned out to be the revelation of the round. Bourdais has since done a deal with TeamVodafone. In other GC600 news, it appears that one man who will not be making the trips is Wurz’s Le Mans rival, Tom Kristensen. The great Dane, who apart from being an eight-time Le Mans winner is an accomplished DTM racer, had been connected to one of the leading Ford teams for the event. eNews believes that Kristensen’s corporate commitments with Audi will clash with the GC race weekend and as a result, he will have to wait another year to make his debut in the event. – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Look: Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport took th THOMMO SETS New new transporter last week. This is it on its maid SIGHTS ON FV8 Western Australia. FIGHTBACK FUJITSU V8s

ANDREW Thompson will be looking to get his title charge back on track when the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series hits Barbagallo Raceway this weekend. Thompson will be back in action in the Monster Energy-backed Commodore – run out of the Triple Eight Race Engineering stable – this weekend, after an up-and-down weekend at the seasonopener in Adelaide last month. “It was a disappointing result for Race 2 [in Adelaide],” Thompson said. “We now know what we are up against and the gloves are off. We will give as good as we get! “After a solid, but disappointing, weekend in Adelaide, we are looking forward to finishing the job we started. We showed we had good speed and we have made some improvements on our performance as a whole ahead of Perth. “The Monster Energy/GearWrench Commodore is ready to go and I’m ready to get back on track for the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.”

REYNOLDS: BARB

V8 SUPERCARS

Dirk Klynsmith

DAVID Reynolds is hoping for a breakthrough result at the coming weekend’s V8 Supercar round at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth. When the V8s last visited Western Australia in 2009, Reynolds was on course for a podium finish in the Bundy Red Racing Commodore, only to have a loose wheel nut take him out of contention. This weekend, in the Stratco Racing Commodore, Reynolds

is hoping that fate will pay him back. “I remember that race [2009] quite vividly,” said Reynolds. “It was all happening too easily for me and then it went so, so wrong so quickly. It’s been the story of my V8 Supercars career to some extent – everything goes wrong! Hopefully one day it all goes right for me. It has to turn around eventually. “I had a fair bit of pace on both hard and soft tyres at Perth in 2009. What put us to the front was that we had really motorsport news

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he wraps off its den voyage to

In Melbourne? Love Formula 1? Then ...

WATCH THE MONACO GP WITH MNEWS!

FORGET the royal wedding; Motorsport News is throwing a party for the only ‘prince’ that matters in motor racing – the principality of Monte Carlo. MNews is planning a heck of a bash in Melbourne to celebrate the 2011 running of the Monaco Grand Prix on May 29. Our hosts, the Arcadia Hotel in South Yarra, are throwing open their doors so we can bring you a big screen, big sound, viewing of the best Formula 1 race of the year – and it’s free!

Food and drink will be available for purchase, as will raffle tickets to go into the draw to win some big, big prizes (full list will be coming soon, so stay tuned). And all proceeds from the raffle will go straight to the Mark Webber Challenge Foundation. The party will kick off at 7pm on Sunday May 29, so come on down and hang with the crew from MNews. You never know who else might show up, too. If you wish to attend, let us know via email – rsvp@mnews.com.au

BAGALLO OWES ME Bates to

miss WA? FUJITSU V8s

John Morris/Mpix

www.mnews.com.au

Dirk Klynsmith

good strategy and running the soft tyres in the Saturday race almost came off, but the wheel nut rattled itself loose with about four or five laps to go. “I’m not a superstitious person but I think I might have to be soon. My luck has to change eventually. Hopefully our Stratco Commodore is really fast at Barbagallo so I can get a great result and move on from the memory of 2009. “In terms of luck and karma, I think that track owes me one.”

TONY Bates’s plans to race his Greg Murphy Racing-prepared VE Commodore in Round 2 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Barbagallo this weekend have been thrown into extreme doubt due to a serious crash in the second Commodore Cup race at the Bathurst Motor Festival on Sunday. Bates’s Commodore Cup car slammed into the wall on the right-hand side of Mountain Straight after contact with Gerard McLeod on the exit of Hell Corner. Bates was taken to Bathurst Hospital with neck pain, and returned to Melbourne only to be readmitted to hospital yesterday (Tuesday) complaining of dizziness. He was subsequently diagnosed with a perforated eardrum. As eNews went live, Bates was undergoing further scans to ascertain the total extent of his injuries. If Bates doesn’t race, GMR will be down to two cars for the weekend – Daniel Jilesen and Geoff Emery – with their fourth car currently without a driver. In other Fujitsu Series news, Jay Motorsport will miss this weekend’s round of the 2011 series. The South Australian squad had planned to debut their newly-acquired VE Commodore. And Matt Stone Racing has secured backing from energy drink company Mad Croc for Irish driver Robert Cregan’s Falcon. Cregan will be part of a 24-car field in the series’ first trip to WA. – LACHLAN MANSELL

AUDI LEAD LE MANS TEST SPORTSCARS

THIS year’s Le Mans 24 Hour race looks like a classic, if the Test Day on Easter Sunday is any indication. The teams had eight hours in which to test their new cars on the famous French track and the results were startling. Bearing in mind the 2011 regs had stripped about 150hp from the LMP1 cars, the ACO had thought a lap time of about 3:30 would be realistic. The teams reached it inside three hours, and by the end of the day, Tom Kristensen topped the lists at 3:27.687 in the new R18. The first five cars – three Audis and two Peugeots, all turbo diesels – were covered by less than four-

tenths of a second. Although there were the usual suspicions about sandbagging, it was certainly a great day for Audi, which has suffered from a speed deficit to Peugeot at Le Mans for the last three years. Those fans hoping to see the diesels given a run for their money by the petrol brigade had a very unpromising day. Admittedly, Highcroft (for which David Brabham drives) was not present, but the fastest time a petrol car could manage was the Pescarolo’s 3:36.583, while the Lola-Toyotas were in the 37-38 range. Aston Martin had a disastrous day, with two engine failures, no spares and a total of about eight laps for their two

AMR-Ones. As the Astons were already five seconds off the petrol-engined pace at the recent LMS race at Paul Ricard, they face an enormous battle to make a respectable showing in the race itself. Back in GTE (formerly called GT2), there are also prospects of a mighty contest in June. Allan Simonsen was quickest in a Ferrari 458, but there was strong competition from Porsche, BMW and Chevrolet, with Aston Martin not far behind. Even the new Lotus Evora was quicker and more reliable than some people had feared would be the case. Next stop for the category is the Spa 1000kms on 7 May, then it’s back to Le Mans for the 24 Hours on 11-12 June. – DAVID GREENHALGH

Totally Cool: Ben Barker will sport a new look when the Carrera Cup gets back underway this weekend at Barbagallo Raceway.

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Kubica out of hospital FORMULA 1

where I will start a deep rehabilitation program, and a preliminary soft training program. The two programs will gradually cross over based on the speed of my recovery.” It is still unknown when Kubica will be fit enough to drive a racing car again.

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ROBERT Kubica has been released from hospital, just under three months after his frightening rally crash. Kubica will now head home to Monaco for several days, before returning to Italy for

further treatment with his doctor, Riccardo Ceccarelli. “As soon as I leave hospital, I’ll head to my home in Monaco for a short period of rest,” he said shortly before being discharged. “Then, I’ll move to Dr Ceccarelli ‘s facilities in Italy

KERS ISSUE sutton-images.com

Turkish tweets indicate no GP FORMULA 1 TURKEY is set to lose its Grand Prix, according to the official Twitter account of Murat Yalcintas, the chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. According to Yalcintas’ tweets, Bernie Ecclestone is attempting to almost double the circuit’s sanction fees after the current contract expires this year, and the Turkish capital aren’t having a bar of it. 12

“It looks like the Formula 1 race will not be held in Istanbul next year,” Yalcintas tweeted. “Every year the Ministry of Finance paid [US]$13 million to Formula 1 Administration Limited,” he added. “Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of Formula 1, asked for [US]$24 million this year.” “Because the figure was found very high, it looks like the payment will not be made.” The news comes after constantly dwindling crowd figures have dogged the city’s recent Grands Prix. motorsport news

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BERNIE GOES TWO WAYS ON F1 SALE FORMULA 1

THE potential sale of Formula 1 has become a confusing issue, with Bernie Ecclestone making conflicting comments about whether media company News Corp is in the frame for a buy-out from current owners CVC. Last week, Sky News reported that News Corp was considering a bid to take control of Grand Prix racing, with the company to form a consortium with the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim. “News Corp is in the early stages of exploring a potential takeover bid for Formula 1 motor racing, Sky News has learned,” read the report. “City editor Mark Kleinman said the media group had held preliminary discussions with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, about forming a consortium.

“People connected to at least one of F1’s big car manufacturers had also been in talks with News Corp in recent weeks, he said.” But Ecclestone immediately countered the comments in the following day’s The Telegraph in London. “It’s rubbish,” he said. “Formula 1 is not for sale. And, anyway, we would not sell to a media company because it would restrict the ability to negotiate with other broadcasters.” Several days later, however, Ecclestone was quoted by the UK’s Sunday Times as having changed his tune on the matter. “I’m old enough to get a pension, so I don’t have to get a job,” Ecclestone reportedly said. “I’d have to be sure the people [behind the bid] are people I would like to work with and whether they would want to work with me.”

ISSUE JOB NUMBER 1 FOR RED BULL FORMULA 1

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MARK Webber has confirmed that fixing the KERS issue that has plagued the start of his 2011 season is Red Bull Racing’s most crucial task. In his column in Melbourne newspaper The Herald Sun, Webber wrote that KERS was a priority for RBR as the Formula 1 circus heads back to Europe for the Turkish Grand Prix in less than a fortnight. “Top of the job sheet is KERS, which continued to give us problems in China,” Webber wrote. “It’s a key component in F1 this year and Red Bull Racing are not out of the woods with our system yet. We didn’t run KERS in 2009 and we’re playing catch-up to the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, who did. “The 80bhp boost that the system gives you for 6.6s per lap is worth between 0.3s and 0.5s per lap, depending on the circuit, and I had to race without it from Lap 24 on Sunday [in China]. “If we can get the system reliable in time for Istanbul, we’ll head to the race with confidence. The RB7 is already a great car and we’ll be looking to put McLaren back in their place after Lewis Hamilton’s victory in China.” 13

Ambrose in Canada

PENSKE KEEPS THE PEACE

NASCAR

Power in a tough spot after Helio incident

Indycar Media

INDYCAR

Ford Racing

THE in-house stoush at Team Penske at Long Beach has led to some interesting follow-ups. After Will Power was hit hard from behind on a restart by team-mate Helio Castroneves, Roger Penske tried to console him – but it did not seem to work. According to the Press Telegram, Penske told Power, “No one feels worse than Helio.” And Power responded, “I do.” That is because going into the third road course of the season, Power led Dario Franchitti by seven points, 94 to 87. And, Power was likely

going to earn at least a podium finish. Instead, he was demoted to a 10th place finish worth 21 points instead of 35, which Franchitti earned by finishing third. Power is now second in points with a sevenpoint gap, 121 Franchitti to Power’s 115 with the next road course in Brazil before a series of four ovals, starting with Indianapolis. “It’s definitely not the finish we wanted,” reflected Power. “I’m not sure what happened other than being hit by Helio. That happens, especially close racing like this with the doublefile restarts.” – MARY MENDEZ

WHAT does a NASCAR driver do on his weekends off? Why, he races, of course. That is what Marcos Ambrose is planning to do. The Petty driver will race in Nova Scotia, Canada this July to enter the 2011 IWK 250 presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body, a race for super late model Speedway cars. It will be the second year that Ambrose will race in the event, after a debut finish of 19th last year. “We had a car good enough to win last year,” said Ambrose,, “but we had a motor lay over with around 100 laps to go. We had heaps of speed so if everything hangs together, and I keep my head screwed on straight, we should be close to the front all night.” The event raises money for the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax and draws a full house. “The atmosphere is incredible,” said Ambrose. “I was impressed with the huge crowd, the competition, and the other racers, the great facilities, and the awesome oval. I’m really glad to be going back this year.”

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2012 CLOSER More details on new Indycar

does not want to dictate nor take responsibility for the teams’ choices.” DETAIL is emerging about the All three engine manufacturers technical specification of the new have chosen to run a 6-cylinder 2012 Indy car. engine ranging from 60-90 degrees The first prototype will be ready but have the option of a twin or to run mid-July, built in Italy by single turbo. Chevy has indicated Dallara and with final assembly in they will run a single turbo. Indianapolis. Dallara’s new building in Performance levels will be controlled Speedway, Indiana, just blocks from through the ECU rather than a popthe Indianapolis Motor Speedway, off valve. won’t be finished until the fall but For the superspeedways, the arrangements have been made to horsepower target is 550, on short use the former Riley and Scott facility ovals 625, and road and street circuits, 700. The 550 hp, a drop in 100 hp, across the street in the interim. A team not currently competing, should maintain the current speeds rumored to be Bryan Herta Autosport at Indianapolis with the turbocharger. with driver Dan Wheldon (except All engines will use a standard ECU for their Indy 500 entry), will put the supplied by TAG-McLaren controlled new package through its paces to by the series. evaluate component mileage life Cotman indicated the cars could and collect data for two months. start the season all using Dallara’s Both the road course and speedway aero kits but up to five constructor configuration will be tested. aero kits designs are expected to start By September, the car will be ready in use by Indianapolis. An aero kit for the engine manufacturers to test, manufacturer must supply parts for with Honda’s V6 engine farther along all types of tracks, superspeedways, its development path than Chevy’s or short ovals and road courses. Cotman Lotus’s powerplants. pointed out developing aero kits “Every team will receive one car mid- “are a marketing exercise for brand December,” said Project Manager Tony recognition rather than for profit,” Cotman. with the cost being a maximum of “And each team will receive their $70,000. second car in January. Then orders The new Dallara features a raised will be filled as they are received. nose with a wider cockpit using Teams will make their own decision FIA standards that allow the seat as to which engine they chose but with driver to be extracted. Total INDYCAR hopes there will be close cost is fixed at $385,000. A team to an equal number of each engine can purchase only two aero kits per represented on the grid. Will it be season. perfect? Of course not, but INDYCAR – MARY MENDEZ

INDYCAR

IndyCar Media

The Best Damn Fire in Town NASCAR A PIECE of NASCAR history was destroyed last week, when Smokey Yunick’s garage was burnt down. The garage, on North Beach Street in Daytona Beach, Florida, caught fire last Monday night about 7pm, local time. www.mnews.com.au

Within 90 minutes, only burnt-out walls remained of what its owner dubbed ‘The Best Damn Garage in Town’. Yunick, who died in 2001 aged 77, was one of the innovators in NASCAR’s early days. While working on trucks on one side of the shops to keep the business running, he built racecars on the other side. His cars

won two Daytona 500, with Marvin Panch winning in 1961 and Fireball Roberts two years later. As well as racing, Yunick invented some now widely-recognised automotive features, which included variable ratio power steering and the extended tip spark plug. 15

Dirk Klynsmith

Farrell eyes F3 return FORMULA 3 IRISH driver Lee Farrell is working on a return to the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship this year. Farrell raced in the championship in 2008, finishing second in the National

Class with Team BRM. He’s remained in Australia but been on the sidelines since, and is now looking to secure the funding to return to F3 for a crack at the Gold Star. “We’re in talks with a couple of different companies at the moment and things are looking

quite positive, with getting the money for the year,” he said. “The aim is to do F3 because I can get a full season in it, and it’s a good platform – after having a year off, unfortunately, and a bit of time out of the car – to get back into it. “I’ve done the National Class

before, and it was good to get me used to the cars and the way things are done over here in Australia, but I reckon the championship would be the only beneficial option for my career, so that’s what we’re aiming at.” – MITCHELL ADAM

BMF: Bathurst’s new BFF BMF

John Morris / Mpix

THE return of the Bathurst Motor Festival over the Easter long weekend may only be the first of many to come, with massive grid numbers and healthy spectator numbers suggesting the necessary building blocks to secure the event’s long-term viability are in place. The event was originally run in 2006, but had since morphed into the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour event, which moved from the Easter long weekend to February. The revival of the BMF, however, saw a massive 270 cars entered over five categories and an estimated 6000 fans turning out.

“The Event was designed to provide competitors, who ordinarily may not get the chance, the opportunity to compete at Mount Panorama,” event director James O’Brien said. “The quality of the racing was first class and the balance of categories was a good mixture between the higher-profile national categories, statelevel categories and regularity categories. “Overall I think it has been very successful.” O’Brien believes the spectator entry fee, a bank note donation to the Cancer Council of NSW was a success for all parties involved, and he hopes to work with the Bathurst Regional

Council to continue the Easter event. “There was a good atmosphere and people had perhaps more access for less money than at any other racing event held here, so clearly they took advantage of it,” he said. “A full review of operations post-event will lead to conformation about the long-

term future of the Bathurst Motor Festival in due course. “We will meet with the Bathurst Regional Council and review this year before making an announcement about future Events. But I am confident this year’s Event has demonstrated the viability of the Bathurst Motor Festival to be held over the Easter long weekend.” motorsport news

news WRC A CHANGE in the running order regulations could be implemented in the World Rally Championship – if the teams can agree on a new format. According to British magazine Autosport, the FIA is considering a tweak to the running order at WRC rounds, after title leaders Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen struggled on unswept roads in Jordan recently. Autosport reports that it may be a reversed running order, similar to the reversed-Top 15 that was

used for Days 2 and 3 on World Rallies up until 2008. However, the FIA will require full support from the teams, and Ford and Citroen can’t seem to agree on the best way to go, with the Blue Oval asking for the rules to remain untouched, and the French calling for a change. “Look at the fight in Jordan,” said Ford’s Malcolm Wilson. “Look at all of the rallies this season, five drivers in with a chance of winning in Sweden and then in Jordan the closest finish ever, that’s because of these regulations. We are seeing some incredibly exciting

sport right now and if we go back to reversing the order, we could have some fairly predictable results.” “We knew from the start that Mikko and Seb [Loeb] could not win [in Jordan],” countered Citroen’s Olivier Quesnel. “The result was as we expected: Ogier and Latvala fighting – the first day reversed. If we don’t change this, we can’t find out who is the fastest driver because the conditions will not be the same for everybody.” Meanwhile, Petter Solberg, below, told Autosport that a random running order was the

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Running orders, not Will Orders

way to go. “It’s just boring now,” he said. “This is not why we come to rallies. I want to drive flat out from the start, I don’t want to be thinking about slowing down, this is a competition, we’re supposed to drive as fast as we can. “For me, the way to fix this is by taking numbers out of the hat. We have 15 numbers in the hat and the top 15 drivers take their turns to pick one. This has to be the fairest way, doesn’t it? I mean, sometimes, you will be unlucky and get number one, but that’s not going to happen all of the time.”

Walden ready for Spa AUSSIES OVERSEAS GARTH Walden will leave for Europe on Saturday, ahead of his drive in the Radical Masters at the famous Spa Francorchamps in Belgium next weekend. Walden received the opportunity as part of the Radical Australia Cup program, and will drive a V8-powered Radical SR8 in the outright class. “Peter Opie won the Radical www.mnews.com.au

Cup last year, and the prize was a drive in the Radical Masters,” Walden explained. “After discussions with all the competitors, he decided to give the drive to me so we had the best chance of representing Australia in the event. It’s my first time racing in Europe, and it’s a fantastic opportunity.” The Radical Masters races will take place on Thursday, May 5 and Friday, May 6. The race format will be similar

to the Radical Australia Cup rounds, with practice, qualifying and two 50-minute races with a compulsory pit-stop and optional driver change. A total of 62 cars are entered in the event, including Radical SR3, SR4 and SR8 models, but despite the high level of competition, Walden says he’s aiming for the top. “I’m going over there to win,” he said. “It will be hard, because

I haven’t driven the SR8 anywhere near as much as I’ve driven the SR3, and I haven’t raced at Spa before. However, the SR8 will be in the outright class, and it will be absolutely awesome to drive. The fastest lap for an SR8 around Spa is 2:16, which is really fast for an 8-kilometre circuit. “I really want to bring back the number 1 for Australia, so I will be driving as hard as I can,” Walden concluded. – LACHLAN MANSELL 17

RATHER BOSCH AT BORLAND FORMULA FORD BORLAND Racing Developments driver Jesse Fenech will continue to sport Bosch Batteries as the naming rights sponsor on the side of his Spectrum 012 Formula Ford this season. The deal will significantly help Fenech as he seeks to secure funding for the remainder of the season, and sees a nostalgic return for Bosch to the Borland outfit as they sponsored exBorland factory runners Mark Winterbottom, Steve Owen, Tim Macrow and Shane Price and from the years 2000, to 2005. Borland team manager Paul Zsidy hopes that the return of Bosch will see Fenech replicate the career success of the former Borland drivers. “During Bosch Batteries’ time with us they have supported

drivers such as Mark Winterbottom, Tim Macrow, Shane Price and Steve Owen who have all been successful in their motorsport careers post Formula Ford. We hope that, with the support of Bosch, Jesse will follow in their footsteps” Said Zsidy. Bosch is also proud and eager to see their name once again support one of Australia’s young hopefuls. “Jesse is an outstanding young man who will be a great ambassador for Bosch, our products and our partners.” Said Bosch. After a strong opening round on the streets of Adelaide, Fenech sits second in the championship behind teammate Tom Williamson. The Australian Formula Ford championship will hold their second round at Winton 20-22 of May.

– CALLUM BRANAGAN

VIC STATE RACER MAGAZINE IS BACK FOR 2011! VICTORIA’S state racing season has started, and that means Vic State Racer is back for another year. The first issue of 2011 is now online – and it’s free! There’s full coverage of every category. Head to www.mnews.com.au and follow the Vic State Racer links to check it out.

V8 UTES

WEST COAST UTES

Dirk Klynsmith

THERE will be a distinct West Australian feel to the V8 Ute category this weekend, when it stages its second round at Barbagallo Raceway. The West Coast Institute of Training will supply junior personnel to a large number of the V8 Ute teams, as part of a hands-on motorsport program. “We are definitely excited to be involved,” said motorsport lecturer Vaughn Brewer. “We’ve competed in MINI Challenge before where we struck up a friendship with Brendan Cook, who asked us if we could supply a pit crew for the Perth round of this year’s V8 Ute round. From there we have made contact with 15 teams,

who have all agreed to take on our students. “Work experience in motorsport is something that you can’t simulate in a classroom, and what better place to gain experience than at one of Australia’s premier events.” “It is great to be able to give something back to the industry when the opportunity comes up,” added Bill West, V8 Ute Series category manager. “This is a very worthwhile program, and not only does it help the students gain valuable experience, it also gives our teams extra legs on the ground when most teams won’t take a full complement of staff, due to the long haul for the round.” The last time the Utes visited WA was in 2008, when local boy

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Honda tests ‘12 racer MOTOGP HONDA’S new 2012 MotoGP racer has hit the track – but that is about all we can tell you. In a contrast to Ducati, which tested its GP12 two weeks ago

and had Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden talk about it afterwards, HRC has been tightlipped about the 1000cc racer. About the only detail is that former 500cc GP winner Tady Okada and HRC test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi rode the

bike (or possibly bikes) in a high-security test at Honda’s Suzuka Circuit on April 14-15. No technical details of the machine have been released, nor any performance numbers. More testing is expected in the near future, and Yamaha

is expected to be the next cab off the rank. The 2012 version of its across-the-frame fourcylinder M1 racer is expected to test in the hands of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies in Japan in about three months’ time.

Stars with Scars MOTOGP

Honda Racing

WHILE it would be an exaggeration to say all eyes will be on two men at Estoril this weekend, Dani Pedrosa and Alvaro Bautista will be under the spotlight when MotoGP continues its European season. Pedrosa, right, will try to overcome his recent surgery to fix an injured collarbone, having gone under the knife immediately after the Jerez race to address problems he has suffered for some time. “I did what I had to do in these three weeks off,” said Pedrosa this week, “and I look forward to get back on the bike after this period which has been good for me to undergo surgery and start rehabilitation. “Last week I had the stitches removed, so everything is still very fresh and I don’t know how I will feel in Estoril, but I’m excited to see if everything went well and if I can put the issues aside once on the bike.”

At Suzuki, Bautista will attempt to return to the saddle, just 42 days after breaking his left femur in practice for the opening round of the season in Qatar. “I have been working very hard to be back in time for Estoril and I believe I will be able to take part in the race,” he said. “I know it will be difficult, but I think the sooner I can get on the bike the more it will aid my total recovery and help my way to full fitness. “I have now finished the rehabilitation phase and started on the physical preparation; this involves a lot of swimming, cycling and other fitness programmes to build up the strength so I can ride again.” John Hopkins, who replaced Bautista at Jerez, is unavailable this weekend due to British Superbike commitments. If Bautista is unable to ride, or not sufficiently competitive, Suzuki test rider Nobuatsu Aoki will be on stand-by to take over.

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American for Santo? DRAG RACING

Ken Ferguson

A USA driver is reportedly set to drive for Santo Rapisarda in Top Fuel at the Nitro Champs event in Sydney this weekend. Though nothing has yet been confirmed with both of Rapisarda’s entries currently remaining anonymous on the entry list, it could bring an even more exciting aspect to the nine-car field ... – LUKE NIEUWHOF

Wangara, and my uncle the former owner of the block where Big Rock Toyota sits, so it’s a huge privilege to continue our partnership in the family racing,” he said, tapping into his nostalgic side. But with the local season run and won, Puglia now turns his attention back east, where the team will pick up their Pro Stock ambitions again at Willowbank’s Winternationals in June, to round out the national season. “Our plans to run the ANDRA Pro Series were crushed with

rainouts, so from a Pro Stock perspective, we’ll have to put this year down to a ‘dressed rehearsal’ for next season, but these setbacks have just made us even hungrier,” he said. “I really think we have what it takes to give this series a shake, and despite the logistical nightmare of racing on the opposite side of the country to where we live, that just makes the challenge harder and the taste of success sweeter.” – LUKE NIEUWHOF

DRAG RACING ALLEN Puglia claimed his third Perth Motorplex track championship recently and his third WA Driver of the Year title in the process. The Nuford Ford Probe pilot set out at the start of the season with the aim of competing in both the hard fought domestic Super Comp category as well as stepping up to the Pro Stock class as part of ANDRA Pro Series Drag Racing. “We really had no idea what

we were in for this year,” said Puglia. “We would never have dreamed that we could take a hat trick in both Super Comp and the Driver of the Year.” Puglia had the support of Nuford and AHG on board for the season, a name he was proud to carry with a long family association. “The Puglia family name has had connections with AHG back many years in a very unique way, with my father previously owning the land where Nuford now stands in

Luke Nieuwhof

Puglia’s hat-trick

motorsport news

news

John Bosher

Big field as Pro Stock eyes a ‘6 in Sydney DRAG RACING THE Nitro Champs event to be held this weekend at Sydney Dragway might be named for the awesome nitro burning Top Fuel dragsters and Top Bikes, but much of the buzz is about the massive Pro Stock field set to race. At 25 entries, the field is the biggest seen in history of the ANDRA Pro Series. A 16-car field is on offer but will still see nine racers miss out following qualifying.

“Looking at the scheme of things, the entry list is larger than last weekend’s NHRA event in Charlotte,” said Pro Stock Owners Association president Paul Porter. “It only just seemed like yesterday when the bracket struggled to get eight cars per event.” Porter said he believed entry lists of this size would continue due to the amount of racers stepping up from the sportsman ranks as well as several new cars that have

just arrived or are very close to arriving to update current inventory. “Hats off to all of the competitors, current and newcomers, that have made the investment in the Pro Stock category,” he said. “I have full confidence that all stakeholders will get value for their money.” There is also the continued discussion about when the first Pro Stock six-second run will be seen. With the cool conditions traditionally provided at

Sydney Dragway at this time of year, the Nitro Champs could see history made. “For the last few seasons, the hottest talk within the ranks of Pro Stock has been when will the first six second pass be turned in,” said Porter. “It’s common for many people to mention the six second milestone every time we front for an event. I know that there are many drivers that want to be able to say that they were the first to do it.” – LUKE NIEUWHOF

HIDDEN VALLEY BACK IN ACTION DRAG RACING FRIDAY night saw racing return to Hidden Valley Drag Strip following extensive renovations. The Beat the Heat Off Street Series was the first event to

hit the new track, which was completely revamped in late 2010. With the Macmahon Grand Re-Opening on the 13-14 May, a test session was hosted for competition vehicles. “We have invested a considerable amount of time

and money into preparing the new drag strip for Friday,” said HVDRA president Jay Jukes. “Beat the Heat NT has come on board for another year and the team is eager to get out there and have a run against anyone with a

street registered vehicle. We saw a marked increase in the number of competitors in 2010 and it just shows that motoring enthusiasts are more inclined to race in a safe, legal environment.” – LUKE NIEUWHOF

Next ANDRA Pro Series Round: Nitro Champs, Sydney Dragway April 29 - May 1 ANDRA Pro Series on TV: Friday May 6 Top Fuel, Sydney Dragway www.mnews.com.au

Five Minutes with ...

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN

A little over a week since winning his first race, The Giz has already filed it under ‘precious memories’ and started thinking about WA. By ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

Dirk Klynsmith

MOTORSPORT NEWS: You’ve had a bit of time for this whole ‘being a race winner’ thing to sink in; how are you feeling about it a week or so on? SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Um, I’m really focused on Perth this weekend, now. But it was certainly an awesome weekend for us in New Zealand. I mean, what a way for us to get our championship back on track and also nail that first win. But we now need to keep that momentum going. I think the real test will be Perth. We had a shocker there last time we raced there, in 2009, but our car is quite different now to how it was back then. So if we can have a good couple of results, it will be awesome. Does the win put pressure on you for this weekend, or take pressure off you for this weekend? Probably neither. I’ve just got to keep focused. I suppose it does put some pressure on in some ways, because we want to keep it going. We don’t want to look like a onerace wonder, although we know that that’s not what we are. It’s a completely different style of track to what we’ve been getting 24

results on lately, so if we can do it there, then we can show that we’re in the hunt.

But in the race we saw some good racing. With some more grip available, you can do a lot more passing under braking That’s a good point – Barbagallo Raceway – and that’s what we saw in Hamilton. In couldn’t be a more different track general, with more grip, you have more compared to Hamilton. You’re going from confidence. a high-grip surface and 90-degree corners, I watched last year’s Hamilton race to a low-grip surface with long, flowing before I went over there, and there was corners. Can you guys transform the cars nowhere near as much passing, so the soft and make them quick in WA? tyre really spiced it up. Yeah I think so. Some of our best results Personally, I think we should use the last year were on tracks similar to soft tyre at every race – with a few mixed Barbagallo, with those low grip levels. events where the hard tyre comes into it. Darwin, for example, we had a great car, I think the soft tyre just makes awesome and that track is very similar to Barbagallo racing. grip-wise, and in the make-up of a few of the corners. So I think that if we can make Is there a spring in the step of the guys at the car work, and look after its tyres, then Stone Brothers Racing now? Has that win we’re pretty good on the soft tyres and changed the dynamic in the workshop, we’re looking good. from what you’ve seen? I think everyone’s a lot more upbeat and How did the soft tyre work in New positive. Not that they weren’t positive Zealand? I know it didn’t get much of a already, but as you put it, there’s a lot more chance to shine because of the weather, spring in their step. but you got a full race on it on Sunday ... But everyone is now focused on the We never got a full-blown qualifying next race. We’ve had a taste of what it’s run on it, and that would have been like, and we want more of it. That’s pretty interesting! awesome. motorsport news

chat

Dirk Klynsmith

www.mnews.com.au

WHY HAMILTON HAS SE A BELTER OF A 2011 SEA

HERE were some interesting observations to be made in the washup of the V8 Supercar racing in Hamilton. For starters, can we please make post-race burnouts a customary part of this series? Between Jamie Whincup at Albert Park and Shane van Gisbergen in Hamilton, we’ve seen that the winner doing a huge burnout is a spectacular way for a race to finish. The crowd loves it, to the point where it is almost a level of interaction between the winning driver and the people who turn out and watch the sport. And get this; it’s a free and easy way to make the V8 26

Supercar experience better for the people who walk through the gate. So much money is spent on putting on concerts, but this way of adding something extra to a V8 Supercar race, with a total cost of $0 (the rear Dunlops are stuffed after a race, anyway), seems to be constantly overlooked. To be honest, we were all expecting Whincup and van Gisbergen to get hit with penalties for their respective actions. Kudos to the rulemakers for letting it go. In NASCAR, the winner always does a burnout, so let’s let go of the OH&S concerns for 90 seconds at each V8 race meeting and let some rubber burn.

OPINION Andrew van Leeuwen – eNews Editor Secondly, how good a bloke is Fabian Coulthard. In the closing laps of Sunday’s race in Hamilton, when Coulthard had been wrecked and was out of the race, he stood on the side of the track visibly willing van Gisbergen towards his first win. When the race was over, he walked onto the track to clap The Giz past on the cool-down lap. Now, in a brutally honest moment, I’m sure Coulthard would love to have been the

New Zealander that won on Hamilton soil for the first time. But was there a hint of jealousy from the Bundaberg-backed driver? No. He was as excited as any other Kiwi race fan to see a boy from Auckland win the Mark Porter Trophy. That says a heck of a lot about the sort of person Coulthard is. Thirdly, we’re at a point where the old ‘floodgates will open after the first win’ theory will get a good workout. Okay, it wasn’t motorsport news

comment

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Motorsport meets Footy – Jarno Trulli learns about drop punts from AFL’s Luke Hodge ...

Footy deal looking good for V8s

Dirk Klynsmith

SET UP ASON

Rick Kellys first win in NZ, but it was Kelly Racing’s first win. The true test will be to see if the Kellys and van Gisbergen can go on with their newfound success, and win more, and more, and more. Of course, Barbagallo Raceway might not be the best follow-up venue for that theory, because it is radically different to Hamilton. The high-grip, 90-degree corners are gone, and Wanneroo’s slippery, gritty surface is waiting, with rearleft-killing long flowing corners. In Sunday’s press conference, Garth Tander said that the Hamilton weekend had proven that “there are still plenty of good stories in V8 Supercars”. It’s a good point and it was well made. The Hamilton weekend has set season 2011 up perfectly. Bring on Barbagallo. www.mnews.com.au

OPINION

HE expected announcement in the next day or so of the contract for AFL Chris Lambden – media rights for the next five years will have an impact Publisher on the forthcoming round of negotiations for the V8 an all-new team and approach at Ten. Supercar TV deal – and it looks moderately The quiet departure from Ten last Thursday of favourable. Head of News and Sport David White completes If the accurate Footy rumour-mill is to be an almost total move-on of the group which believed, the Seven Network will share the over-saw Ten’s last involvement. White (a serious AFL deal with Foxtel, broadcasting up to four petrol-head) went on to oversee the launch of prime matches per weekend live on FTA (freeOneHD, a tremendous concept for sport-hungry to-air), while Foxtel will in fact broadcast all Australia, but it seems the new broom at Ten, nine matches live, including the five that Seven headed by Lachlan Murdoch, weren’t prepared doesn’t broadcast. to give the channel the chance to build its It is thought, however, that Seven will offaudience in sport-only mode. Movies and docos load at least one of its four games per weekend will now supplement sport. – most likely the Sunday game, according to Another new factor is that all the main FTA industry sources – to either Nine or Ten. The players now also have additional bolt-on latter currently shares the AFL TV deal with digital channels available alongside their ‘main’ Seven, but withdrew from the negotiating channels. The options are wide-ranging. ‘partnership’ quite late in the day. The other intriguing aspect of the AFL If Nine gets that Sunday game, then Ten – negotiations, which may provide food for albeit with all-new management set to widen thought, is Telstra’s rumoured input of $100m OneHD’s content away from just sport – and over four years for online rights. It is the clearest Seven itself would seem to at least have ‘room’ illustration of the expanding and alternate to do justice to Sunday V8 Supercars. If Ten options new media offers. got the Sunday Footy, that still leaves the The one certain positive for V8s in the incumbent Seven with Sunday ‘space’. outcome of the Footy deal is Foxtel’s majority On the face of it, there look like being strong involvement, at a cost of over $500 million. options to pitch at when V8 Supercars start The cable network is thus unlikely to show any talking. overwhelming interest in V8s – so whatever It won’t of course be that simple. Seven, it the outcome, V8s are certain to remain on seems, wants into Rugby League as well. In terms free-to-air. of Ten, whoever owns V8 Supercars by then So far so good. It’s an increasingly complex (recent intelligence suggests a successful sale of thing, but couch-potato fans of V8 Supercars at least 51% of the business) will be dealing with can afford cautious optimism. 27

BATHURST MOTOR FESTIVAL MOUNT PANORAMA

The Mountain comes alive The Bathurst Motor Festival returned in 2011, bringing five categories to Mount Panorama for Easter. LACHLAN MANSELL was there

motorsport news

race

John Morris / Mpix

www.mnews.com.au

COMMODORE CUP

James Smith John Morris / Mpix

Points: Zukanovic 252, McGregor 242, Beechey 234, Bates 221, Hayes 220

John Morris / Mpix

OSS McGregor and Drew Russell have taken out Round 2 of the Commodore Cup national series at the Bathurst Motor Festival over the Easter Long Weekend. McGregor and Russell won the opening race, and finished third in the second race to take overall honours ahead of Marcus Zukanovic / Gerard McLeod and Adam Beechey / Dean Crosswell. In Race 1, McGregor dropped from sixth on the grid to 11th before handing the car over to Russell, who charged through the field to grab the lead with three laps to go. Russell’s move for the lead was not without incident; he shortcut the circuit through The Esses during a side-by-side battle with Matt Hayes, but the officials deemed that no advantage was gained. The two races were both interrupted by Safety Car interventions. In Race 1, the Safety Car was deployed when Jason Domaschenz crashed at McPhillamy Park. It was the second incident for the Domaschenz mobile at the top of the mountain, with Jason’s brother Craig rolling the car in

the gravel trap in qualifying. Race 2 was marred by much more serious incident, with Tony Bates being turned around at the bottom of Mountain Straight by Gerard McLeod. Bates’s car made heavy contact with the concrete wall on the righthand side of the circuit, and Bates was taken to Bathurst hospital (see news story). The Safety Car period lasted into the pitstop window, prompting the majority of the field to complete their driver changes. When racing resumed, Steve Owen led the field to the chequered flag to win the race in the car he was sharing with Geoff Emery, a fine recovery after a retirement with a blown engine in Race 1. Zukanovic / McLeod were second ahead of McGregor / Russell. Josh Hughes and Tim Blanchard were excluded from Race 1 and banished from Race 2 when a can of fuel was found in the boot of their car after the opening race. Hughes also received a suspended $10,000 fine for the safety infringement.

John Morris / Mpix

Ross & Drew prevail R

motorsport news

race

AUSSIE RACING CARS

ETER Carr came out on top in a typically close weekend of racing in Round 2 of the Aussie Racing Car Series at the Bathurst Motor Festival, winning three of the weekend’s four races. Carr qualified on pole position by almost two seconds, but the races were much tighter, with Tyler Owen and Kyle Clews both keeping the

pressure on Carr throughout the weekend’s first, second and fourth races. The defending champion, Clews, below, was the only driver to defeat Carr over the weekend, taking victory in the third, Top 10 reverse-grid race. Clews also finished second for the round, with Tyler Owen rounding out the podium. Brendon Pingel, Phil Ward and Simon Smith battled for the remaining Top 5 positions. Adrian Cottrell was also in the

Chamberlain was running inside the Top 10 in Race 3 when he slammed into the outside wall on pit straight after a collision with another competitor at the end of the opening lap. In the Masters Cup, Tom Vucicevic took victory with a few outright Top 10 finishes. Grant Ludbey was second in the class ahead of Mark Clements. Points: Clews 101, Owen 97, Carr 96, Masini 92, Cottrell 92.

James Smith

www.mnews.com.au

mix in Race 1, but he dropped to 14th in Race 2 with a misfire, before recovering to 11th in Race 3 and 10th in Race 4. Maurice Masini, below right, was one of the weekend’s hard chargers. After failing to finish Race 1, Masini charged through the field in Races 2 and 3 before eventually finishing fourth in Race 4. One of the biggest incidents of the weekend involved Darren Chamberlain. After finishing eighth in Race 2,

John Morris / Mpix

The fastest Carr

John Morris / Mpix

Andrew & Jamie win Prod Sports, FFord returns to Bathurst OTHER CATEGORIES

James Smith

FIELD of almost 50 cars contested the Production Sports Car races at the Bathurst Motor Festival on the weekend, producing a fine demonstration of multiclass racing. A variety of cars found themselves at the head of the timesheets over the course of the weekend, including machinery from Lotus, Porsche, Chevrolet and Lamborghini. In the opening sprint race, Rod Wilson claimed victory in his Corvette Z06 from Jamie Augustine (Daytona Coupe) and Iain Pretty (Ford GT 40). The race’s big casualty was Ross Zampatti, who crashed his Lamborghini at the top of the mountain. Neale Muston looked good early in Race 2, before spinning into the wall on the exit of Hell Corner, ending his weekend. Andrew Miedecke, sharing the Daytona with Augustine, capitalised to win the race from Simon Scuffham and Garth Walden, who stormed through from the rear of the grid.

Sunday’s one-hour endurance race featured a battle between the Porsche Carrera Cup car of Ray Angus, the Lamborghini of Ted Huglin and Augustine and Miedecke. The race came under the control of the Safety Car early on when Cary Morsink spun his Porsche into the McPhillamy Park gravel trap after contact with David Raddatz’s Mazda MX5. When racing resumed, Miedecke took the ascendancy, while Huglin was able to hold off Angus in the battle for third, inset. Rick Shaw won Class B in his Mazda RX7 with an impressive sixth outright, while David Raddatz and Rob Hay recovered from a drivethrough penalty to take out Class C. In Formula Ford’s return to Bathurst, Rob Storey won two out of the weekend’s three races, taking advantage of an incredible stroke of luck in Race 1. The two runaway race leaders, Luke Ellery and Greg Woodrow, incorrectly believed the race had finished a lap early, and pulled into the paddock on Mountain Straight, handing Storey a clear

path to victory ahead of Brett Francis. Ellery and Woodrow both worked their way into the Top 5 in Race 2, with Ellery eventually winning the third and final race. Fujitsu V8 Supercar driver Tom Tweedie made an appearance driving his 1986 Van Diemen. Despite a lack of straight-line speed, Tweedie came third in Race 1, but retired from Race 2 with mechanical problems. Jon Mills had a tough weekend, crashing at McPhillamy Park twice over the course of the event. Shawn Jamieson claimed the Ashley Cooper Trophy with a dominant performance in the non-championship Saloon Car

event, winning all three races. Jamieson qualified on pole position and led every lap of the weekend, while Matt Lovell battled with Simon Tabinor and Coleby Cowham for the minor places. David Rogers was the best of the NSW drivers with two eighths and a ninth from the three races, while Gerard Miscamble totalled his newly-built VT Commodore with a huge crash in the weekend’s first qualifying session. Alex Veryinis took out the NSW Road Racing Club Modern Regularity contest in his HSV Clubsport, while Geoff Morgan won the NSW Porsche Club Regularity trial. motorsport news

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John Morris / Mpix

Rob Storey, above, won two of the three Formula Ford races, with Luke Ellery, right, grabbing the other. There was no sharing in Saloon Cars, though, with Shawn Jamieson, below, winning all three races.

James Smith James Smith

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KARTING NATIONALS COCKBURN, WA

FOTHERGILL, ON THE DOU 34

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DOUBLE

In a typically frantic weekend of Nationals action in Perth, Cian Fothergill was the only man to win two green and gold Number 1 plates

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Waters Fall: Matthew Waters bounced back from heartbreak in the Clubman Light class to win Senior Heavy, top, while WA locals Jesse Elliott, above, and Kip Foster, below, were also plate winners. However, the biggest winner was Cian Fothergill, right.

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UEENSLANDER Cian Fothergill was the big winner from the 49th Australian Karting Association National Sprint Kart Championships at the Cockburn International Raceway in Western Australia last weekend, becoming the only multiple winner at the event. The Tracksa-backed racer won both the highly competitive Clubman Light and the Leopard Light classes in style. “This feels pretty surreal, I say,” said Fothergill. “I haven’t ever had results like this before, so it’s a bit different. I haven’t got quite used to the whole idea yet but I have to really thank everyone involved at the Tracksa Team, Remo Racing and Kosmic Karts, and Andrew Scott for crewing for me all weekend. Without all of their support none of this would be possible.” After qualifying fastest in the Clubman class, Fothergill took out the opening heat, finished third in Heat 2, and second in the pre-final to start on the outside front row of the 15-lap final. The reigning CIK Stars of Karting Pro Light (KF1) Champion was shuffled back to sixth at the start of the final while pole-sitter Tyler Greenbury led the way for the opening six laps. Sydneysider Matthew Waters then took the lead briefly, followed by defending Champion James Sera, who lead from lap 8 to lap 13. Waters reclaimed the lead on the penultimate lap, and looked set for the victory, but in trying to defend his position he ran wide with two corners remaining, allowing Fothergill through for the win over Sera and Waters. It was a more dominant performance from Fothergill in the Leopard Light class, with the fastest time in qualifying being followed by a win in every race apart from the opening heat. Victorian youngster Anton De Pasquale was the best performing junior driver of the meeting, narrowly missing a double victory after winning the Junior National Light class and finishing second in the Junior Clubman category. “It’s a great feeling, and I was a bit nervous right at the end there as Brock [Plumb] was coming, but then he sort of died off so I was able to take the win. It’s a great feeling,” said De Pasquale. “It’s always hard to get one win at the nationals and two is even harder, but I’m happy with a first and a second.” Local racer Jesse Elliott took the victory in the ultra competitive Junior Clubman final, with fellow West Aussie driver Jason LeCocq third. The were two other winners from WA, with Kip Foster a popular victor over outgoing Champion Shayne Piper in Clubman Heavy. The victory is Foster’s fifth at the prestigious event. Stuart Verco, who recently returned to the sport after a lengthy break, led home the outgoing Champ of Josh Brooker in Clubman Super Heavy. Victorian Lee Mitchener was the only driver to retain his Number 1 plate, triumphant for the second year running in the Leopard Heavy class. After leading both the Clubman Light and Senior National Light finals, and narrowly missing out on the win, Matthew Waters broke through for a victory in the Senior National Heavy class. Waters broke away early in the Senior National Light final, but when rain fell around the halfway point Nicholas Ellen reeled him in to snatch the win. Rain also fell mid-way though the Senior National Heavy final, however this time Waters had a large gap and wasn’t about to let another victory get away, crossing the line comfortably ahead of Ashley Quiddington. James Golding was a runaway winner in Junior National Light over South Aussie Luke Marquis. 2012 will see the 50th running of the prestigious National Sprint Kart Championships held in Darwin at the Hidden Valley Raceway complex.

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HONOUR ROLL: 49th AKA NATIONAL SPRINT KART CHAMPIONSHIPS

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CLUBMAN SUPER HEAVY 1. Stuart Verco 2. Josh Brooker 3. Luke Morton 4. Scott Simpson 5. Anthony Higgs

CLUBMAN HEAVY 1. Kip Foster 2. Shayne Piper 3. Zeke Edwards 4. Adam Levi 5. Shay Mayes

JUNIOR NATIONAL HEAVY 1. Anton de Pasquale 2. Brock Plumb 3. Joseph Mawson 4. Nicholas Rowe 5. Todd Hazelwood

SENIOR NATIONAL LIGHT 1. Nicholas Ellen 2. Matthew Waters 3. Aaron Borg 4. Ashley Quiddington 5. Jarryd Ebzery

CLUBMAN LIGHT 1. Cian Fothergill 2. James Sera 3. Matthew Waters 4. Jordan Ford 5. Tyler Greenbury

JUNIOR CLUBMAN 1. Jesse Elliott 2. Anton de Pasquale 3. Jason LeCocq 4. Joseph Mawson 5. Todd Hazelwood

LEOPARD HEAVY 1. Lee Mitchener 2. Brad Fitch 3. Michael Griffiths 4. Lloyd Billick 5. Guy Webster

LEOPARD LIGHT 1. Cian Fothergill 2. Amrit Kandola 3. James Sera 4. David Sera 5. Adam Willison

JUNIOR NATIONAL LIGHT 1. James Golding 2. Luke Marquis 3. Jordan Boys 4. James Abela 5. Damon Strongman

SENIOR NATIONAL HEAVY 1. Matthew Waters 2. Ashley Quiddington 3. Nicholas Ellen 4. Daniel Chandler 5. Simon Minton

2011 SPRINTCAR EASTER TRAIL

Trail Blazer Consistency was the key for Tasmanian youngster Shaun Dobson, in taking out the 2011 Easter Trail, GEOFF ROUNDS reports

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ASMANIAN excitement machine Shaun Dobson emerged through a hazardous three nights of racing to claim overall honours in the 2011 Easter Sprintcar Trail. The 18-year-old, who will drive for the powerful Reeve Kruck-owned Titan Garages team next season, amassed enough aggregate points to win with after a consistent weekend which included setting quick time at Avalon on Good Friday, winning Round 2 at Mount Gambier on Saturday and racing from

14th to seventh at Premier Speedway on Sunday. “It’s a tough Trail but it’s all about consistency,” Dobson said. “The whole team we’ve got here has done well again. I was pretty rapt to finally win a round on the Trail too so that was good. “It was also the last one for my dad (Andrew), so it was good to finish off like that. I’ve been driving for my family for three years.” The Hobart resident was surprised by

his performance over the long weekend. “This was my third Easter Trail,” he said. “In past years we’ve been quick but we just didn’t finish races. This year we came over after a pretty up-and-down season. We just wanted to give it a crack, but we ended up exceeding all expectations.” The final race of the tri-series at Premier Speedway on Sunday night was raced under a thick, dense eerie fog and it was the brightest star in Sprintcar racing in Australia who would claim victory on the final lap.

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race Steven Lines, right, snatched victory late in the A Main in the final leg, held at a foggy Warnambool.

Steven Lines again showed poise, patience and strong momentum to pass race leader Jamie Veal, much to the public disappointment of Veal, who has finished second in his last seven races. Lines, the defending Easter Trail champion, lunged around the outside of a fast Veal to steal the win on the last corner of the challenging and memorable A-Main, with Max Dumesny third. Lines’ victory in the third leg ensured the Mount Gambier driver claimed the 2010-11 Premier Speedway track

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championship, which saw him earn a Cool Chassis and panel kit. The 32nd Trail got underway at Avalon, but no final was held when debris from a Super Rod in their final entered the spectator area and an ambulance was required. The sprintcar A-Main field lined up on the start chute but management had no option but to cancel the feature as the venue could not run without an ambulance present. “Our concern is for everyone’s safety and that includes drivers and fans,” said

Avalon Raceway’s Jeff Drew. “With time running out we simply didn’t have time to get another ambulance before the curfew approached. It was a sad way to end but everyone’s safety is our primary concern. “I can’t thank the fans enough for their support and patience throughout the night and even this season on the whole.” The front row of the A-Main was headed by Stephen Bell and Steven Lines while quick-time winner Dobson and Dumesny were on the second row.

PYE STRUGGLES AT OULTON PARK AUSSIES OVERSEAS THREE different winners in three races at Oulton Park was the shape of the British F3 International Series as Lucas Foresti, Riki Christodoulou and Felipe Nasr won in Cheshire. Foresti, coached by former F1 driver Roberto Moreno, romped away to win Race 1 (his first F3 win) with Nasr inheriting second after Bahraini Menasheh Idafar crashed out.

In the second race however, with a reversal of the top eight on the grid from the Race 1 results had Kevin Magnussen on pole, but the Dane made a pox start and was passed by Riki Christodoulou on the run to Turn 1, with the Brit staying ahead till race’s end. Team-mate Pietro Fantin meanwhile made it a Hitech Racing one-two. Championship leader Nasr took his third win in six races by winning Race 3 with Foresti chasing him to the flag, while Idafar recovered from two crashes in earlier races

to take third. Scott Pye had three ninth places, frustrated at the lack of overtaking places on the narrow track, especially after he had been second fastest in pre-event testing the day before qualifying. He started Race 1 fifth but ran wide on the opening lap and fell to 10th which ultimately became ninth after Idafar crashed. Ninth on the grid for Race 2, he was unable to pass rivals to improve, finishing third in the final race.

MEANWHILE, IN THE FORMULA FORDS AUSSIES OVERSEAS NICK McBride came out best of the three Australians in the British Formula Ford Championship with two podium finishes in the three races at Oulton Park. McBride battled with Jamun team-mate Jeroen Slaghekke and Finnish driver Antti Buri in Race 1 to secure third place, while

he went one better in Race 2 after a tussle with Buri gave him second in the final laps. However, he was forced to settle for fifth in Race 3 after he was repelled by fellow countryman Geoff Uhrhane. Uhrhane, driving fro JTR, took a solid fifth in Race 1 but was forced to start Race 2 from the pit lane after a battery issue heading to the grid. The car lacked pace in the race and he could only salvage

12th, but raced hard in the final event and snatched third from Slaghekke on Lap 9, but a red flag meant the result went back a lap and he was classified a frustrated fourth. Spike Goddard lost time at the start of the last race with an incident that involved JTR’s Dan de Zille, but took a seventh and eighth in the first two races. - DAVID ADDISON

30 YEARS OF HISTORICS AT MALLALA HISTORICS THE Sporting Car Club of SA celebrated 30 Years of Historic Racing at Mallala with the traditional Easter Historic meeting. Turning out to help celebrate was a record 150 entries spread over nine classes of racing which included two regularity trial classes. The two-day programme was jam packed with both scratch and handicap races amassing a total of 38 events. Headed by a throng of V8’s, the Group N Touring Cars

provided the biggest field and saw several battles right throughout the pack. Coming out on top at the end of the weekend was Harry Bargwanna in his beautifully prepared Mustang from local Graham Jarrett in his crowd pleasing drift happy Camaro. The combined Groups Q&R also provided a strong field of cars and it went without saying that the pedigree of the cars was outstanding. The names Hass, Newman, Gardner, Patrese, Sullivan and Perkins all adorned several mounts. Simon Gardiner (Lola T560), Sean Whelan (Ralt RT4) and Tim

Kuchel (March 77B) headed the list with Gardiner and Whelan sharing the scratch races. Stan Ward (Elfin 623) and Peter Turner (Grantinni 111B) held on for the handicaps. The Don Fraser Memorial race for Groups K&L was won by Bob Schapel driving an MG TC Special. The stand out in Groups M&O was the Elfin Mono in the hands of Richard Carter with three wins from four scratch races and second in the remainder which was won by Ed Holly in a ’68 Brabaham. The handicap race saw Bo Jenson in an 83 Reynard Formula Ford cross the line first.

Geoff Williams didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend and dominated Group S claiming victory in all five races in his stunning looking and sounding Morgan Plus 8. Making its first appearance at Mallala was an original Singer Nine Special of James Redwood. With history going back to the 1955 Australian Grand Prix meeting at Pt Wakefield. The car, which hadn’t been near a track since ’56, recently had a full rebuild from the ground up after being purchased “as a box of parts” in late 2010 - PHIL WILLIAMS

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COBBY TAKES CHOCOLATES

SPEEDWAY ADELAIDE’S Speedway City gave the crowd of five thousand plus fans an extra Easter treat with the twin 20-lap Easter Cup features presented by Truckworks for the Open Sprintcar competitors. With some of the series competitors committed to Easter Sprintcar Trail, there were no series points on offer. Those who remained in Adelaide however put on a great display of racing on the well manicured and ultra fast track. Jamie ‘Cheese’ Cobby came from the rear of the field to claim the opening feature, so fast was Cobby he slashed an incredible 19 seconds from the existing 20 lap record. Cobby passed Darwin’s Alan Barlee in the closing laps to claim the victory. Behind Barlee was Steven Caruso, with each of the top three all sharing the lead at various stages of the event. Rounding out the top half dozen was Trevor Green, the well

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travelled New South Welshman Darryl Guerin and Leith Ahlfors. With a front row start in the for the second 20 lap feature Cobby blasted away from the field to another untroubled win, this time he shaved a further eightseconds from his record and by the end of the night the record had been smashed by a whopping twenty-seven seconds. On this occasion Ricky Maiolo, Leith Ahlfors, Luke Bowey, Steven Caruso and Justin Sloan rounded out the top six. After the two events had been run and won, Cobby claimed the Easter Cup with both hands. Flanking him on the podium dais were Steven Caruso and Leith Ahlfors who finished second and third on points overall. The 360 Sprintcars were also on hand for their Easter Cup which coincided as the Grand Final of their Revolution Racegear Track Championship Series. And with double points on offer, the title went down to the wire.

Fittingly, point’s leader Shane 'The Hammer' Hendry wrapped up the Championship with a masterful display in the feature event to wrap up the victory in both the race and the series. Second across the line and second overall in the series, was Jamie Hendry and Tyson Chambers was third to end his season on a high. A consistent Tragan Gates crossed the finish in fourth, which was enough for him to consolidate third outright in the series points. Rounding out the top-six was Brendan Guerin, Tyson Chambers and Steven Caruso. The night previous, the Sprintcars visited the Riverland Speedway venue in Renmark for their annual Easter Saturday event. The feature race started with father and son Darryl and Brendan Guerin starting from the front row, and on this occasion junior jumped to claim the victory. Chris Evans, Tyson Chambers and Tregan Gates finished back in the mix with troubled races. – PARIS CHARLES

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ODD SPOT!

rear of grid

Dude, where’s my car? PAUL Morris enjoys spending time in racecars. That should come as no surprise to you. Even before he retired from the Main Game at the end of 2008, Morris made a habit of dabbling in other types of machinery. To name but a few of his cameos, Morris has raced in V8 Utes, HQs, Aussie Racing Cars and the MINI Challenge, and he’s become an active Sprintcar racer in recent summers. He even has his own Speedway circuit, the Sugar Bowl, at his V8 Supercar team’s Queensland base. And, of course, Morris still has a V8 presence. He’ll make selected Fujitsu Series starts this year ahead of partnering Steve Owen in the endurance races.

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But last week, he added something new to his long and varied CV – Monster Truck driver. At Parklands Showground on the Gold Coast, Morris got behind the wheel of a 1600 horsepower, $300,000 truck at a media event to promote an event at the venue over the weekend. He even got to crush a couple of cars. ‘’Driving those trucks was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done,’’ Morris said. ‘’When you’re that high in the air you lose all sense of awareness. When I hit those cars I thought I was going to trip over but the thing just leapt in the air like a jumbo jet.’’ After discussions with event promoter Clive Featherby, the 25-minute run

might not be the last time Morris sits in a Monster Truck, either ... “I just though it would be a bit of fun and a good thing for the local community by helping Clive get bums on seats for this weekend’s show,” Morris continued. “But the moment I stepped out of the thing I just wanted to get straight back in for another strap! “Clive has invited me to compete in a race prior to the Hidden Valley V8 round in Darwin and looks like we’re going to make it happen. “I never thought I’d be into the big stuff but yesterday really blew me away and if I can make it happen I wouldn’t mind giving the Australian Monster Truck season a crack!”