Motorsport News Issue 406 - April 2011 by V8 Sleuth

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1000 WORDS Opposite lock is rarely useful when you're on the ground,so when you're in the air it is completely ineffective. Although,nobody remembered to tell Fetter Solberg that in Mexico as he made his new Citroen DS3 fly. sutton-images.com

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THIS MONTH’S FEATURES Unusoal Suspects 1-!

The Grid

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Life has changed a bit for Trevor Bayne since he claimed a surprise Daytona 500 victory in February. At the age of20. In just his second NASCAR Sprint Cup start...

THE TEAM’S LEADER Dick Johnson Racing may have won the 2010V8 title, but it wasn't all beer and skittles. Steven Johnson opens up about a tough year and the future.

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Between Mark Glendenning's dayjob with Autosport, training for the London Marathon and attending FI testing in Barcelona, he put In a transatlantic call to NASCAR's man ofthe minute, Bayne.

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When we heard FIA President Jean Todt was going to be in Sydney for a day, we had just the man to go and talk to him, our Special Projects Editor, Steve Normoyle.

GAME ON!

On the eve of the 2011 season. MNews takes a look at some of the key players and talking points from the world of Formula 1.

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Sure, having an Australian series named ‘World Series Sprintcars'is up there with American baseball's 'World Series', but we're pretty sure Robbie Farr doesn't care. Fie just won it for the first time!

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NATIONAL FEATURES U

NEWS

Editorial

Executive Heritor Phil Branagan editor@mnews.com.au Assistant Editor Andrew van Leeuwen andrew@mnews.com.au Speciai Projects Editor Steve Normoyle snormoyle@chevron.com.au Nationai Editor Mitchell Adam mitcheli@mnews.com.au

The Grid

Victorian Publisher Chris Lambden pubiisher@mnews.com.au

Editorial Enquiries

357 Nepean Highway, Brighton East, ViC,3187 (PO Box 7072, Brighton, ViC, 3186) P 03 9596 5555 F 03 9596 5030 admin@mnews.com.au

Contributing Writers

Mark Glendenning, Bruce Moxon, Geoff Rounds, LukeNieuwhof

Photography

Sutton Motorsport Images, Dirk Klynsmith, John Morris, Andrew Hail,James Smith, Peter Bury, Phil Williams, Rob Lang, Geoff Gracie

Trevor Who? Two months ago, no-one had heard of Trevor Bayne. Now,he's won NASCAR's biggest race

The travelling Dane Allan Simonsen has a schedule you don't want, but frequent flyer miles you do

Russelling up a result Having come close in recent years, David Russell wants to win the 2011 Fujitsu Series

Raced only on Sundays Porsche's 996 CupCars are still going strong in the GT3 Cup Challenge

Robbie's #1 After some narrow misses, Robbie Farr has finally won a W5S title

Cover Design: Chris Currie

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Motor Mouth with Phil Branagan

Chief Executive Officer, David Gardiner Commercial Director, Bruce Duncan

On The Limiter with Chris Lambden

Bits & Pieces

Winding Back

Box Seat

Model Behaviour

Trade

Classifieds

The Final Word with Paul Cruickshank

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THE FRONT ROW since we last met

WORLD RALLY CITROEN has made amends for its poor start to the 2011 World Rally Championship in style, with a dominant Sebastien Loeb win in Mecixo. After Ford dominated the opening round in Sweden,there were suggestions that the French . carmaker had been caught off guard by the newfor-2011 WRC technical regulations. But any such concerns were quickly dissolved when the series tackled gravel for the first time with the new cars, with the Citroen DS3 proving to be the car to beat. But it wasn't all smooth sailing for Loeb. Early in the event, he was under pressure from his team mate Sebastien Ogier and Citroen privateer Fetter Solberg. While an engine problem on Day 1 took Solberg out of the front-running, Ogier proved a little harder to shake - and even went into the final day with a 10.5s lead. It was poised to be a battle royale to the finish ... until Ogier crashed out on the first stage of the final leg. The mistake handed victory to Loeb, and gifted a 2-3 finish to Ford's Mikko Flirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala, after they'd barely looked in the game. "It's another exceptional result for Citroen," said team boss Olivier Quesnel. "it was a really great rally. We lost Sebastien Ogier along the way; it's unfortunate but that's how it goes. "In the first event on gravel we showed the speed and reliability of the DS3 WRC,even if we had a few glitches. I'm feeling confident for the rest of the season as I'm convinced that we've got the best car and the best crews. We've now got to use our brains to fight for the two world titles."

DAYTONA 500 BEFORE the 2011 Daytona 500, not many people had heard of Trevor Bayne. But the Sunday night of the race, his name was trending on Twitter. Bayne turned 20 on the Saturday of the Daytona 500,and started the race for the rather unfancied Wood Brothers squad the same team that Marcos Ambrose drove for when he first went to America. It doesn't sound like a winning recipe, but in a bizarre race, littered with record numbers of cautions and lead changes, and dictated by bump-drafting, Bayne found himself in the right place at the right time - and took a Flollywood-style D500 win. "This is insane," he said at the time. "God has been so good to us all week to be in this situation and to be able to work with the Wood Brotherss in the famous 21 car. I want to be in this thing for a long time to come. Flopefully I don't wake up from this."

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For more with Bayne, turn to page 60 for our Australian exclusive chat with NASCAR's neweststar.

motorsport news

eNews of the Month LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! Queensland Raceway's round of the 2011 V8 Supercar Championship will be held under lights. Just like Abu Dhabi's V8 round,the Ipswich circuit will host races on Friday and Saturday nights, with portable lighting systems beaming down on the circuit, grandstands and car parks. Each race will close with fireworks. Friday night's will be broadcast live on 7Mate,one of Network Seven's digital channels,to avoid clashing with Seven's AFL coverage.

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WORLD SUPERBIKES CARLOS Checa couldn't have asked for a better start to the World Superbike season at Phillip Island. The Spaniard and his Ducati were in a class of their own, topping all the dry practice sessions, scorching to pole position, and then crushing everyone in both races. "It has just been the perfect week," he said at the finish. "From the beginning of testing last Monday and Tuesday until [Sunday]. I've had strong pace the whole time, but you just never know what's going to happen until the real action begins. "It may have been a bit boring for the spectators to see me out front by myself, but it was the best strategy to put in place and the 50 points is just brilliant." Reigning Champion Max Biaggi was second in both races, while Leon Haslam gave BMW its third-ever WSBK podium in Race 1 with third place. Former Phillip Island MotoGP winner Marco Melandri was third in Race 2.

www.mnews.com.au

Jason Richards is planning to be back in a V8 Supercar-full-time - before the endurance races. While it had been rumoured that Richards would team up with Jason Bright at Phillip island and Bathurst, health permitting, Richards told eNews that he wanted to be cancerfree and racing again before the enduros. "I'm looking at dealing with this cancer sooner than [the enduros] and getting back into V8 Supercar racing full-time," Richards said."[Jason Bargwanna] probably won't want to hear that! "But the reality is that V8 Supercar racing is where it's at for me, that's what I want to be doing and 1 want to be doing that sooner rather than later - because we all know that time out of the chair in these cars, the V8s, is detrimental to your performance." Richards raced a Ferrari F430 at the Clipsal 500, his first race since his treatment for a rare stomach cancer started.

An in-field pit-lane will be constructed at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth before the 2012 running ofthe track's V8 Supercar event. While the current pit-lane will remain in place, a V8-specific lane will be built on the inside ofthe main straight, with the entry to be situated immediately after the track's final turn, and the exit feeding back onto the inside of Turn 1. The new addition will be overseen by Mark Skaife, who is the chairman ofthe National Track Safety Advisory Committee.^ "The design ofthe pits has been finalised and completely ticked off," Skaife told eNews. "That confirms that work should be starting basically immediately, although this won't be used by [the V8 Supercars] until next year. "The WA Sporting Car Club has had some concerns about safety, so the new pit-lane will be 10 metres further back than the existing one. That way it won't cause any problems if guys who are racing at state level spin to the in-field at the last corner."

BRISCOE, LONG TO SUIT UP IN RED

Expect to see Ryan Briscoe and Patrick Long wearing Flolden Racing Team red on the Gold Coast later this year. Briscoe is set to return for another GC600 outing with F1RT, while Patrick Long - who was a stand-out last year - has been poached from Garry Rogers Motorsport.

Motorsport eNews available 8pm Mondays. www.mnews.com.au

*11

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[BRANAGAN ■MOTOR MOUTH

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F you are going to write about motor racing, I suppose that there are worse places in which to base yourself than Melbourne, i have never been to Port Moresby or Minsk, but 1 would imagine that they are hardly hotbeds of international motorsport or global communications hotspots. No, Melbourne will do me fine - but it is, for most of the time anyway, off the beaten track in terms on opportunities to talk to the sport's international movers and shakers. So, when the opportunity presents itself to speak to the President of the FIA and Formula 1 's Commercial Rights Holder within the space of eight hours you jump. Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone are the two most powerful men in the sport, and I write that in no way to infer any pecking order. The two have a long history, but it is their future relationship that looks particularly fascinating. There are any number of issues on the horizon that could divide them, including the manner in

which the sport's finances are distributed in the future. But first, noise - or rather, sound.The two have varied stances on whether the newfor-2013F1 engine regulations, which will marry a 1.6-litfe four-cylinder engine with turbocharging and various energy recovery features, are a good thing for the sport. The sound of the new engines is prompting different views. "People get excited about the noise," Ecclestone told me. "I brought some Russian gentlemen to Singapore and I met them afterwards in Russia. It was the first race that they had ever been to. I said,'What impressed you?'They said,'Most important was the noise! It really gets to you.' Ladies love the noise! I am anti, anti, anti moving into this so-called small turbo formula. We don't need it." Todt, whose role is, in part, to implement the decisions of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, which set the new engine agenda last December, is understandably more circumspect. He spoke of the

"challenge" that the new rules, and the sound the engines may make, will present to engineers. Formula 1 faces challenges, in recent times, Honda, Toyota and BMW have all taken their exit from Grand Prix racing, but not the sport itself. Honda has IndyCar,Toyota NASCAR, and both have domestic motorsport commitments around the globe and are dipping their toes into Sportscar racing before, possibly, plunging into Le Mans assaults. BMW has its riascent MINI World Rally program, and will enter DTM in 2012. Confirmation of Volkswagen's WRC intentions are imminent as I write this, but the company recently discounted an entry into FI though, to be fair, it is not crystal dear whether the reference was to Volkswagen the Group or just the VW brand. So don't discount Volkswagen in FI behind an Audi, Lamborghini or, dare I even dream it, Skoda badge. Another interesting recent event is that Infiniti is now a sponsor of Red Bull Racing. The Nissan-owned luxury brand will not develop FI technology (as showroom rival Mercedes-Benz does) nor will the Renault engine in the cars of Sebastian Vettei

and Mark Webber be rebranded (possible because of Renault and Nissan's corporate co-owership). No, Infinti is to RBR as Vodafone is to McLaren;'just'a sponsor. It's not that new (Indian carmaker Tata has been an FI sponsor for some time) but it is a notable wrinkle on the previously common relationship between car companies and GP racing. This deal, and seeing other car companies take their motor racing business elsewhere, make for interesting times for the most powerful men at the front of the sport. And, the noise? Perhaps it's a good thing that those Russian gentlemen have never heard the 3-litre VI Os that came before the current 2.4-litre V8s, or the glorious wail of the 3.5-litre -'ll Ferrari and Honda VI 2s before that. I did - and I have heard the technically satisfying scream of four-cylinder World Superbikes. Roll on 2013,1 say. Times change, and so do people's priorities. Who was the last man to win the Formula 1 World Championship with a fourcylinder, turbocharged engine? Nelson Piquet, in 1983, in a Brabham-BMW. Who owned the team? You will never guess...

Who was the last man to win the Formula 1 World Championship with a four-cylinder, turbocharged engine? Nelson Piquet, in 1983, in a BrabhamBMW. Who owned the team? You will never guess...

The Australasian Safari is Australia's ultimate off-road adventure as competitors on two and four wheels tackle the remote, rugged and stunning terrain of Western Australia. Widely rated as the toughest endurance motorsport event in the Asia-Pacific region, some of the international off-road stars who competed in the 2010 event say it even rivals the renowned Paris-Dakar. Commencing in Perth and finishing in Kalgoorlie, the Australasian safari is 7 days and 3,700 kilometres of Western Australia's stunning but challenging outback terrain. This year's event was won by V8 Supercar^ i. driver Craig Lowdnes in a Holden Colorado in his Rookie Year.

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So watch the adventure unfold as teams from ten countries battle for Safari honours. in what is commonly referred to today as the Dakar Downunder.

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. ON THE LIMITER at. ERO:a word that, in the modern world, gets a bit over-used. Perspective: another word that's springing to mind as this column is penned (or key-boarded, I guess). I had my heroes when I was a kid, growing up.Jim Clark was my absolute hero.The day he died, i was shattered and couldn't go to school. Jochen Rindt was pretty much a hero too. When I got a bit older, heroworship turned more to respect, i had great respect for Ayrton Senna. I have great respect for Mark Webber. I'm sure that along the journalistic way. I've occasionally used the word 'heroic'in describing someone's drive,someone overcoming the odds to get a result.To be honest, I shouldn't have. We have some great achievers in motorsport,some superstars, but events of the past few

weeks have refreshed my view on the word 'hero', i watched in horror the live coverage as the place I grew up in, Christchurch, crumbled. I watched as rescuers burrowed in under iayers of unstable rubble in streets I recognised; listened to tales of doctors and anaesthetists risking their own safety under that same rubble to amputate limbs in order that people be rescued.That's heroic - they are heroes. A few days after the quake, i had reason to be in Christchurch for a day or two and saw the devastation up close. Heroes. In that light, and following the series of natural disasters which have afflicted Austraiia in recent months- and now with the Daddy OfThem All, the Japanese earthquake plus tsunami plus nuclear 'incident'dominating the news as this is written - yes, i have

reminded myself that the word 'hero'shouldn't really apply to motorsport stars, or any sports stars for that matter. Respect, admiration even. But they're not heroes in the real sense... But don't get me wrong,that's not to denigrate the value of sport. I guess it's just a matter of perspective. Indeed, when times are as crazy as they currently are, when people are pretty much 'disastered-out',the temporary distraction of major sport - be it footy, AFL, cricket, or, in our case,the start of what promises to be an intriguing motorsport season, both in FI and V8 Supercars - is a great thing. If, for a few hours or a couple of days, people can at least get a break from the stream of bad news dominating the air-waves, then that's a big plus. So, I hope you enjoyed the Clipsal 500 and do soak up the atmosphere of the Grand Prix - it's going to be an intriguing year within both. Forget the world's problems for a bit and relax. Pre-season FI testing has produced the usual wildly

ranging sets of times, and breathless reporting that Driver A, B, C, or D has topped the sheets. Yawn.This is testing, where fresh tyres and a lack offuel load can make three or more seconds a lap difference! The real pecking order will only become apparent when FI lines up for its first qualifying runs and race of the year, here in Oz,as this issue of MNews is published. Only then will we see who has the outright pace; or who can make a set of Pirellis go further than the others on full tanks. It's going to be a fascinating weekend in Melbourne. And while Williams, Sauber,and an apparently struggling McLaren have pulled the odd lap out of the testing bag,the clear vibe is that Bed Bplljea^m Newey does again look the likely benchmaric'.'’^*" That's good news for Aussie race fans. And at a time when things aren't crash-hot elsewhere,and when the usual suspects are groaning about the cost of the Aussie GP, we can at leastjump on the Webber bandwagon and enjoy the ride.

M M When times are as crazy as they currently are, when people are pretty much ^ ^ 'disastered-out', the temporary distraction ofmajorsportis a great thing

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1 would like to inform you thatTV3 V8 ! eovepagelniMewZealand is atari'alltime low,and is on a par with what we used to seeahout|0 years ago.1;his : year, we will see Saturday's race on ; Sunday afternoon and Sunday's race I late Sunday night.

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' We want tO’ see af the V8SC racing I and news in JIf, not just the bits that TV3 thinks we should see. Give the i broadcastingi,rights to someone: who : cares about their viewers

Wa'zzarMoms ^ Is there any chance you could askT¥3 for all the V8 fans over here ifthey c,an answer questidns^nthelr lnability«to Show VSs live and on time? They won't acknowledge anybody's questions,

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QUICK QUIZ 1

Before racing V8 Supercars, Steve Johnson raced in two other national classes. Can you name them?

What is Johnson’s best finish in the V8 Supercar championship standings? And what year was it?

In which year did Ryan Briscoe first race for the Holden Racing Team in a V8SC round?

While most famous for his role at Ferrari, with which manufacturer did Jean Todt have his early success?

5 14

In which year was Allan Simonsen the Australian GT Champion? motorsport news

MY FAVOURITE RACE

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JAMES MOFFAT - FUJITSU SERIES, ADELAIDE 2009

Mar 24-27 Mar 25-26 Mar 27 Mar 27 Mar 27 Mar 27 Apr 1-3 Apr 3 Apr 3 Apr 9 'D have to say the Clipsal 500 in 2009, when I won the first Fujitsu Series race on debut. At the time, I didn't think too much about being fast, because the focus was all about trying to get enough money to get to the first round.The car was plain white at the start of the weekend, before Fujitsu threw us a bit of money and we slapped some stickers on the side before Race 1. 1 remember being in my race suit, putting the stickers on, before we got called to the marshaling area - that's how last minute it was! So no, I couldn't have imagined being so fast. Sonic had put a lot on the line to have me in the car, and I'd put a lot on the line as well, backing myself to get a sponsor at some point during the year... which we ended up doing with Norton. But in the lead up to that round, it was a stressful time, because there was a lot riding on a good weekend,and a weekend where we stayed out of trouble. For Sonic it was a big deal as well.

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because it was the team's first foray into the Fujitsu Series,so it was new to all of us. Clearly we started out with good cars - exTriple Eight cars - but we weren't thinking so much about being right at the front, because it wasn't just me on debut,the team was as well. I don't know if anyone has achieved something like that in V8 Supercars before... It was a massive relief when we won the race, and satisfaction at the same time. We essentially achieved what we had set out to do, but none of us, in our wildest dreams, though it would actually happen that quickly. From that point of view it was just so satisfying. As for the relief, that was because it was so important for me to be running at the start,just to create some attention so I could try and get some proper sponsorship. We were able to do that thanks to our good friends at Norton! But the first three rounds, they were tough times. James Moffatspoke to Andrew van Leeuwen

Without an appendix I’m certain to be faster ... I mean, it must have weighed a few grams at least Timo Glock has found an interesting way to shed some weight during the off-season ...

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WINDING BACK the year that was...

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N the early 1970s, Formula 5000 was just about the hottest motor racing category in the world. Sure there was Formula 1, where a young Emerson Fittipaldi about to show the world just how great a driver he was. And there were CanAm Sportscars which, literally, shook the earth wherever they raced. The most successful F5000 pilot of his era was Graham McRae. By the time the brilliant New Zealander left university with his engineering degree at 23, he had already built two racing cars bearing his name. He was also an excellent driver, a point he drove home in the 1971 Tasman Series, winning three of the seven races and lifting the title. From Australia to Britain,from New Zealand to America, F5000 was about to take off. In early 1972, a whole breed of new cars was about to engage in a war-like Tasman Series;from Australia, Garry Cooper's Elfin MR5s and Frank Matich's Repco-Matich A50, which debuted in mid-1971;from England, Frank Gardner and some Lola customers in the futuristic Formula 2-based T300.The dominant car of the'71 series, the McLaren Ml OB, suddenly looked, and was,obsolete. 16

McRae recognised this, and his quest for a new car was accelerated when his McLaren was destroyed in a crash in Germany in September '71.The answer was a new McRae. Actually, it wasn't; it was a Leda. Len Terry had built an impressive design CV with such marques as Lotus, BRM and Mirage, and when he turned his hand to FSOOOs, may expected that the result would be a dominant car. At first, they did not get one; in 1970,Terry's Leda LT20 was not fast at all (four were built and all four were destroyed in either testing or practice crashes).The LT21 was better, but not much,and the LT25 was reasonably competitive.Two were built, one survives. With the backing of his insurance broker John Heynes, McRae become a partner in the business and the result was the LT27 which in July 1 became known as the McRae GM1. It was a beautifully-engineered update of the concept laid down by the McLaren Ml OB;front radiator, side-mounted fuel tanks(which led some to comment that the car looked pregnant) and conventional outboard suspension (whereas some of Terry's earlier designs had a dalliance with

inboard, rocker arm suspension). Where the Lola was all sharp angles and swooping air intakes, and the Matich all purposebuilt, industrial-looking efficiency, the Leda featured round,sweeping curves. In STP pink, it looked ... well, it looked female. It was also simple, it was very light and it was fast. The car was light for a very good reason; McRae was obsessive about weight,treating almost as a personal enemy.The F5000 regulations of the time stated a minimum weight of 1250 pounds and, without fail, McRae's car would weigh in at that, plus a few for safety, every time. He was fastidious, but a bit secretive. McRae claimed to have a friend in the UK who was involved in the supply of titanium which was then something usually only seen in Formula 1 - so he made as many parts as he could from titanium. He was also good at reading the rulebook; all cars had to be fitted with a starter motor that turned the engine over, but nowhere did it say that by doing so it had to actually start the motor. So McRae's car was fitted with a small starter motor that could turn the crankshaft, but which had no motorsport news

Red means Fast: Graham McRae set the Tasman Series alight in 1972, taking out the series in the Leda GM1 - which would soon become known around the world as a McRae. This is the fearsome Turn 1 at Surfers Paradise, left. The car took pole and its first win at Levin, right- and people may have wondered why it was that a car with a starter motor was push started every time it ran... McRae looked like a racing driver is supposed to look, bottom right, and a dozen or so ofhis cars still race in Historic events around the world. Below, Chris Hyde and Steve Ross sandwich the Lola ofKenny Smith at Phillip Island in 2010.

hope in the world of cranking a 5-litre V8 into life. Subsequently, he could afford to also do away with a large car battery and run with a smaller one designed for a motorcycle. The net weight loss from just that thinking was more than 10kg - but his mechanics had to push start the car before every session. The effect that the car had on the category was huge. He didn't win the opening race ofthe series,the 19th New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe, on a weekend of disasters. McRae qualified on pole but gear linkage problems had him in the pits within three laps. Gardner won the race, but no one much noticed after the dreadful mid-race accident that killed Bryan Faloon and left Graeme Lawrence with 14 broken bones and severe leg injuries. At Levin, McRae took pole and led all the way, and he backed up at Wigram,almost a minute clear of second-placed Mike Hailwood, but the tricky wet conditions at Teretonga caught him out. He finished the race in a ditch and DNF'd. Matich took pole at Surfer's Paradise, but McRae hunted him down to take his third win - and keep his record of winning each www.mnews.com.au

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race he had finished intact. He was fourth at Warwick Farm, Matich proving, as ever, the master ofthe Sydney horse track, and things came to a head at Sandown's Australian Grand Prix. McRae was fourth early and Matich and Gardner fought for the lead, but the Lola lost fourth gear and Matich had problems with an oil pump. McRae cruised home to the first of three AGP wins; only Michael Schumacher and Lex Davison have won more. The deciding round at the brand new Adelaide International Raceway was a fizzer; McRae lost an engine and Matich suffered gearbox failure, leaving David Hobbs to win the battle, but McRae and his Leda won the war. America beckoned.The US series kicked off at Laguna Seca in May and McRae won again in the new car, and proved that it was no fluke with third at the next race in Edmonton, Canada.Two more wins at Watkins Glen and Elkhart Lake put McRae on top ofthe pointscore and at the final round ofthe series at Riverside in California, third place was enough to seal the title. He also contested the European title.

finishing fourth. In 28 F5000 races in 1972, McRae won 12 times, and took home two major titles. In 1973, he completed a Tasman Series hat-trick, winning in another GM1. The impact of McRae's dominance was soon to be seen in the rest ofthe grid. Between him winning theTasman title and starting his assault on America, Evan Noyes signed up to buy one of the cars, the first of numerous customers. Fourteen GMIs were built and raced and almost four decades later, the McRae marque is one ofthe most popular in the booming ranks of FSOOOs on the historic racing scene. 17

Jaime Alguersuari is cool. Cool enough that he // can talk about his other passion, DJing, without sounding like a pretentious, over-privileged kid with too much time on his hands.

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ORMULA 1 people quickly get bored with speculation.They like facts, which is why no matter how many times somebody asked the same tedious question during the final pre-season test at Barcelona about which team was looking the quickest,they never received anything more than a vague answer. So let's stick with the facts: Jaime Alguersuari is cool. Cool enough that he can talk about his other passion, DJing, without sounding like a pretentious, over-privileged kid with too much time on his hands. Cool enough that he can walk around with a Red Bull beanie pulled down around his ears without looking faintly ridiculous, which is something that not even Sebastian Vettel can pull off. Cool enough that he can take in his stride the fact that with Toro Rosso potentially about to dive up from beneath the radar with a very, very good car, he might well be perched on the brink of a season to remember. He's also easy and engaging to chat to,fixing you with his grey eyes when he speaks(rimmed with dark lashes, they give him the slightly unsettling appearance that he is permanently wearing mascara), and rewarding the questions that he finds interesting by putting a bit of effort into his answers. For that reason, he's a good person to talk to about the state of play where the would-be giantkillers among the grid are concerned over the first few races.The opening part of the season is going to be critical for many of the midfield teams,and particularly Toro Rosso, because it will be during the initial rounds that offer the Baby Bulls the best opportunity to spring a surprise. Not only will the bigger teams still be getting their heads around the optimum strategies with the new Pirellis, but STR won't yet have been swept up in a development war that resources dictate it will inevitably lose. For this reason, Alguersuari has big, red circles marked around the Melbourne, Malaysia and China dates on his calendar. "I think we have a very good car," he says earnestly."We have made big steps from last year. But there are so many teams that will develop their car and they will be fast, and we will struggle to keep them behind us. In these first races we need to attack and stay in front." The new rules have thrown all manner of curveballs into the teams'preparations for the season, and at Barcelona it was fascinating to watch how different teams along pitlane used their final days of on-track preparation. This correspondent's desk happened to be directly above the Toro Rosso garage, and there was no mistaking where the Italian team felt that

it could gain an edge. For two days in succession, STR opted to spend the final hour and a half of running time practicing pitstops Lap after lap, Alguersuari or Sebastien Buemi(depending on who was in the car that day) would drive out of pitlane,the mechanics would rush out,the car would swoop back in, the tyres would be changed, and the car would be released onto the track again.The mechanics all trooped back into the garage,only to re-emerge 30s later to repeat the trick. Over and over,the team drilled itself, shaving fractions of seconds off the time needed to re-shoe a Formula 1 car.The car never stopped lapping during the entire period, and yet because it never crossed the timing beam, it never set an actual time. It was relentless - other teams obviously did pitstop practice, but not on this scale. And yet when you think about how rapidly the new tyres degrade and the increased importance of pitstops this year, it seems such a no-brainer that you wonder whether everyone else missed a trick. Alguersuari confirms that this was an area where STR believes it can make a difference. "I thinkforasmall team it's a big benefit this year that we have three or four pitstops," he says."It means that you can play with the strategy more and more. If you start at the back and you have a good strategy, you could end up at the front. "Regarding all the pitstop practice... it seems we are going to have a lot of stops in the race and obviously it's going to be the key this year. The strategy, as we have seen, is going to be very important. "If you do four stops in a race,this means you do eight stops with both cars and this means that maybe 60-70 percent of the race will be about strategy and stops.This is why it is becoming a more important part of the race, it's just all about saving your tyres and driving smooth, more than being fast and aggressive." The other area the team has obviously worked on is reliability, and in Barcelona the STR6 seemed bulletproof. Developments are on the way. It is a happy-looking Spaniard sitting across the table in the Red Bull motorhome; albeit one not about to start counting chickens. "Obviously It is going to be a difficult year," he says."I don't think it is going to be easy because we have a good car, I still think it is going to be difficult because if we are faster we will need to score points in every race to keep our rivals behind. But it will be a different year. I think it will be difficult for everybody. Toro Rosso was born in 2006. It won in the wet in 2008. It became a standalone constructor in 2010. Will 2011 be the year it comes of age?

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AFTER WHAT HE DESCRIBES AS HIS TOUGHEST YEAR IN V8 SUPERCARS

STEVEN JOHNSON

OPENS UP ABOUT THE TURMOIL HIS TEAM WAS IN LAST YEAR, HIS PLANS FOR 2011 AND HOW WHAT HAPPENED HAS AFFECTED THE TEAM, HIS FAMILY AND HIMSELF.

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MOTORSPORT NEWS:Two races down, and there is a long way to go in 2011. But so far, the signs are pretty good. STEVEN JOHNSON:They are. It is obviously going to be pretty interesting to sort out everybody else but, going by how we started the year, it is a different team with some different staff. James Moffat has come on board, and it is going to be interesting to see how it ail pans out. We were pretty confident that we would be able to take off from where we were. Now, we have to make sure that the effort goes in where it needs to. I need to step it up this year. James Courtney left, that is that, so we need to go forward, not only on my behalf but everyone's. There were signs there at the start, even though we did not get the results that we probably should have got at Abu Dhabi.

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People talk about the changes within your team. But there are constants there as well; the hardware is similar, and last year, the cars were really competitive. They were. We have a really good base to start from, and that is a massive positive for the team. I am in a different car this year. Even though it is essentially the same car, from the same build, my chassis was chassis 16, and this one is chassis 19. Basically, it was a car built the same year but it has only done half the work. It is the car that Whincup used in '09; it is a bit fresher. The structures that we have put in place, engineering-wise and engineer-to-driver, are very positive. They are working well, we did not get lost and there was a clear direction that we followed. We were never unsure of what we needed to do next at Abu Dhabi. Do people over-estimate the effect that an individual engineer has on a particular driver, rather than the engineering pool, including its information from the past? Definitely. We have had some pretty smart guys there for a while now, whose talent has not been able to be utilised in the past because of the structures and the way that it was designed to work in the past. We have a main engineer who oversees everything and one per car. But sometimes, you can get to a place where the car engineers overpower the main engineer and you do not get to see the best out of them. It depends on the personality too; if someone has a strong personality in the car engineers, and the head engineer doesn't - and we had that situation in the past - he felt like he was overwhelmed. He felt like he could not

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contribute, or to put forward his ideas. I want to try to get those guys working 100 percent together. The positive for myself is to work together as a team. The main engineer is mainly overseeing myself, and he was there last year while Scott Sinclair and Mark Penning went about their business. All of a sudden, at the end of the year when Mark and Scotty left, Mark Woolfrey, who is now my engineer, said that he had some ideas and we wanted to try them. So it has given us a bit of a fresh start, and some fresh ideas, engineering-wise. We, didn't know that he was thinking of those things. Let's talk 2010. There were races in which you and Courtney were close in speed and results, and races where you weren't. What do you do about that this year? i think that 80 percent of that is having a clear head, and having a head that is concentrating 100 percent on racing, rather than some of the things that were going on around us. It had that big an effect? It really did.The things that were happening last year... a lot of people did not know. I am not one to talk about it and neither is Dad, or anyone else in the team. Mostly, not even my team-mate knew much of what was going on. It got to a pretty ugly stage. When I see Mum and Dad struggling, with their health, with everything, the whole feeling of standing in the corner and getting kicked, it's pretty hard. It's been hard to take. Family, to me, is my main priority. It has always been about family. As soon as you see anyone struggling, especially family, it has a massive effect. I can stand in the corner and get abuse, hurled at me like I have been. I take that with a grain of salt and that doesn't bother me. But at the end of the day, it was not a happy place. The guys at the bottom couldn't see all of what was going on. They were kept to themselves, and it's no one else's business what was going on. We just needed to work through it and we have. It is the best thing that we have done. It is such a better place to be now, compared to this time last year. Sure, I am a paid driver but at the end of the day, I am not just a 'James Courtney) where I am paid to do what I do, with no ties to the team, other than wanting to go good himself. Fair enough. I have other things that I need to worry about too. I am not worried about my future, or whether I

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g^want to be there later on, running the iteam, etcetera.That is stuff that I might ; have to think about pretty soon. ■ My Dad, obviously, owns the business f- the majority of the business. It has very close family ties and it has been going for a lot of years. To see how hard they have worked, to get it where it is, and for all that for it to possibly get taken away by someone is really pretty disturbing. To see my Mum... everyone up and down pitlane knows my Mum - she has been there for as long as Dad has been racing - she is as big a part of this as any of us. She has always been a very happy person, all the time, loves meeting people ... Mum hardly came out of the house last year. For Mum to go from one extreme to the other, like that, you could see it was taking a massive toll. That was pretty destroying. I have had to be around her for as much as I can. A lot of people, in that same situation, would be lucky to see out the year. The effect that had on the family actually impacted on you more than the effect on the team. Is that what you are saying? Absolutely. Absolutely. People might forget about that, Steve. Yes. I am in a hard situation. My situation is different to anyorre else's up and down pitlane. That is why, probably, 1 cop the flack I cop. That is why, probably, 1 don't cop the accolades or the positives I probably should at times. I am not out there to promote myself, I just want to be out there to do the job. Sometimes, and certainly in that situation, things look pretty grim. It is hard for me. Everyone said, "Just forget about everything, and drive". Well, that would be the same as saying to anybody else, "Your Dad is lying in hospital, on his

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deathbed but don't worry about it, just do your best". You cannot just do that sort of stuff. Hang on, just to be clear; your Dad is not unwell, to that point, is he? (Pause) His health Is okay now. Last year, especially from early in the year to mid year? Not great. Not at all. For various reasons. (Long Pause) No need to get into the various reasons. People forget that apart from a team owner and driver relationship, you and your Dad are very close. Absolutely. (Very quietly) He's my best mate. That is the way that it has always been, and that is the way that it always will be. I guess that is why we work together so well. We never have any dramas. For me, it is the ideal situation. To make it even more ideal, 1 want to win some races.The team is still rebuilding and it is going to take us a couple of years to build it to where we want to get it. In the meantime, I want to win some races. There are some people out there who are probably not really expecting us to win any races. I think that they may have got a little surprise over in Abu Dhabi! But that is not the main reason to go racing - to surprise people. The main reason is, I want to be competitive and to win races. I am happy that James is on board. I have liked working with different drivers, like Luffy and other guys, and I enjoy helping young guys out at work. I want to help a team-mate out, to improve myself as well. Last year, it was not an ideal situation from that point; the year before, that was not the focus too much but I finished sixth and James finished seventh in the championship. James won it last year and, to be honest, after what I feel was the worst year I have ever had in motorsport, I still finished 10th in the III! championship.

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WORST YEAR I HAVE EVER HAD IN MOTORSPORT, I STILL EINISHED lOTH IN THE (2010) CFIAMPIONSHIP

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That was the hardest year, definitely, and to finish in the top 10, after all that, was a testament to the team and what a good job they did.They kept me going, kept me wanting to drive, and I did not want to give up with all that was going on. You have taken visible steps to move forward this year. You have changed trainers and gone to the UK to get some tuition from Rob Wilson.

I think that the change of trainer was good for me. He knows exactly what i needed - he is a professional athlete himself, a Jujitsu champion and he trains footballers in their tackling techniques. He is very knowledgeable in strengths and weaknesses; he is obviously not a race driver. but he does what I need him to do. He got me to my goal weight. I lost 11 kg in three and a half weeks, during January. It is still coming down now. For a lot of people. seeing me come out lighter and more focused is a good thing. If I weight 95 kilos. people think that I am on the case, but that is not necessarily the case. It helps me to drive better, but it is the whole package. sj

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A lot of people are expecting me to get down to the weight, and then put it back on again. That is not going to be the case. This year is the year of getting my weight managed, so that I do not put it on - when it comes off, it stays off. I will be in the mid-90s. and what we are doing with the diet and the training, all helps.

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Rob Wilson works with drivers in road cars, he does not usually jump into your racecar and tell you what to do. He keeps it fairly simple. He does it in a frontwheel-drive road car - we used a diesel Mondeo. It is not a performance car, and the more basic the car he used, the easier it is to show up your strengths and weaknesses. That is why he uses those cars. There are certain ways to drive around a problem with a lot of power but when you only have not much horsepower, it really shows that up. it is very interesting. He tells you things that might not work for every track, it might only work at one out of three tracks - and at that one track, it might only work in four out of 20 corners. In a day, if you can make a tenth difference in a driver, it well and truly has paid for itself. P o

"JUST FORGET ABOUT IWRYTHING AND DRIVE". WELL, THAT WOULD BE THE SAME AS SAYING TO ANYBODY ELSE, "YOUR DAD IS LYING IN HOSPITAL, ON HIS DEATHBED BUT DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, JUST DO YOUR BEST".

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He is not a shrink, in the sense that he teaches you how to think. But a lot of it is"you need to think this and do that."It is more about car dynamics. He teaches you how to be on your game,every corner. every lap, to get you on your game. If you can pick up a tenth or a tenth and a half a lap, over a race distance, that can be 10 or 12 seconds. It is also a matter of, at this stage of you career... I don't want to use the word'inconsistent'but you have circuits that don't always bring out your best form. I think that I have to bring my best form to our weaker tracks. Even before the season, I sat down with all the guys. We went through all the tracks that we were good at, and then all the ones we struggled at. I said,"These are the tracks we need

Lowndesy did. We were working on certain corners, making improvements that we think will work at the specific tracks we just spoke about. When we go to those next time, we should understand what works and what doesn't and with an understanding of what will make our cars faster on that track. Last year, we struggled to get into the top 10 in Abu Dhabi; we were lucky. I think that I finished 13th in one race and 11th in the other.This year,first race I qualified eighth, and that was with my mistakes, and we should have K been in the top five or six - but that coolsuit box cover came loose. Race 2, I was fighting up there and we would have been in the top three, if not for a strategy misjudgement. Already, we have made the gains that I wanted to make,or some of them, at least. We are not crowing yet,and I want to get on

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You have added responsibility this season. James Moffat is a Main Series rookie, and there will be some attention on him because of his name. You have to stand up and take some of that weight, don't you?

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I do. i have a fair bit to work on myself and i need to make sure that I fire on all cylinders. Everything I do, James needs to use that to make sure that it helps him as well. It is a big learning curve for him, and if we could get him inside the top 15, that would be a massive plus for us. But I do not want to be doing that to the detriment of my own performance. I will juggle that pretty closely but I do not want to sit and hold his hand every week. That is the engineer's job. I certainty want to give him any guidance I can but without sacrificing my own performance. Apart from Courtney leaving, Luffy (Warren Luff) has his own drive now. That is going to impact the team's endurance plans. It is. It is going to be interesting. As part of the season, you need to think of the endurance races. We did not know where we are going to be during this season but we have all the eggs in the same carton now, so we can start to make plans around things like the enduro lineup. We can plan a couple of years ahead. Hopefully, we will make the right call to keep the team where it needs to be. James did not win the championship alone last year,

he did one hell of a job but the team did too. We have lost a data guy, two engineers and a team manager and there are still a couple of roles to be filled in the workshop. But the reason we have not filled them already is because we have not found the right people. We are not going to bring in a person just to fill a hole if they are not the right person for the job. We are still a couple short but we will end up with the right people before much longer. We are travelling as good, if not better, than we were at the end of last year - as a team. There is less pressure, and I guess, business-wise in the background, it is going to be a lot nicer. I am a lot more energised for the year, it is very hard to be motivated when you get told constantly that they want to replace you and get you out of there, because you don't deserve to be there.That is what I was getting told constantly last year from a certain person at DJR. After the year you have had, and it's probably unfair to pick out one race, what would a Bathurst win mean to you and your Mum and Dad? A Bathurst win would be the ultimate. I genuinely think that we can have a rip at being in the top three in the championship - particularly after the speed we showed at Abu Dhabi. As I said before, the reason 1 do it is not to prove people wrong ... but it would be nice to get to Bathurst and have a win. I could certainly walk past a few people and give them a smile and feel good about it - put it that way!

I Great start: Johnson showed ■ pledty bf speed in Abu Dhabi's season opener and is determined to keep it going during the year.

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That happened two years 3t0r, n after the Perkins-run version oi @pini0,nr;0f<ahy0tiiej]niitlSe'Mrslew5"0fnGe only ran at the ibigumeetings 'Wih®ercy■Allai^Gniee and'WinPerGy'winningithe dii990' was bought out from England'to run a oneIf yorfre goingi to Ibulld' a race team from Bathuiistilip^fWasithebidoest, iDesjSresultiihcar team ^ as team manager.andli'driver.Ihe scratch, y0,U'!needig.0©:di:pG0:pie©» your side. the history ©fthejHolden Racing,Teatm.;, first race was at Amaroo Park, Round >l of By the ilate (?980s, lomi Wa lteinshaw ^ There's a few reason whythe wih' was just ' the '90 ATGC, but at a time when:the Ford! Racingihad'estafeliiShediiitSelifas anfentity amaiing.‘F©f starters, .it was the first year^^pf Sierras and Nissan Skylines were too fast'and that couild tackle any facet of imotor iraciing. HRT;a team that; while it-ihadJthf might-pf nimble for the VL Commodore, partieularly TWR had! already Gonqiueredifouring Cars .at a track like Amaroo, T4th vvas #he#est’ and'S;p;©;r«tsears,,and!su'Gce'ssful|! stints iih. ● f»|^:£n®St;itedtet0rted:|®l4scr<tG^| w©iiVdi'be;aSifiuGjrs®uihl?reir.Motors'pil»': Percy could; do. on debut. Super fouiringi and f©rmuilai ili were Just A classic debut it was'rrdt, b.ut5jt was; a roun d! .th e'.jg]©;riner.JB!u$ w/iithi so'imuch goiingi ■ ■h'ad^lftiiferbwni’Gar^hdiifieht.womBath^rsi^ the proper birth of a legendar>ylbrandfiiCon.!i!hltuir©pe for fWi; d'eMdlioping‘HIRTiin Australiaiii tnnotorsport. the colonies was 'beyondffom himself on. a |J^d.lp|hej^|^0mmdd0r&hadt|ii^lb fu’lhtimeibasis. r- . .iiuM^Siînh:iM^tHr^btH!atye'aivf|^^^^_, §ilmifymmajn -'^FordjSilrrMifndpl&p^Skyiines were So, he needed! someone to imowe to Australia'and! work exdusiwelyon. the.Hlo:ld:en: ^ . fastand^^^g^j|^S^turlDf?lffdrg“^^^' John Grennan was the biggestiof thebigi: project. The man choseni was Win Percy and' a'hdiifb^^heel'4j^psysterh's;jB’ui dogs in V8 Supercar racingrit and'that's;'not; it was ani'inspiirediChoiGe. fOm; and.Win ihadi sneaki^gj|nts tifeSootout arid irriprOîap Just because he is an ama|ihgly‘ta1l«ah'.. beeniibest ibuddies ‘since .they'diimet clkl-' jt0ff'^femthetîiîiJning^heT©he-JI0fel@i 'it was the Coimmglore'Ihat was out'front The man known as'Crenno^was the levelrracing; docades earlier. Win was the jia'Iêhicles- ' .mahiF®;rn.friUfted!th’e’!m'0Sjt.. ● founding,'GE0:of'hl0rden": .afterfl^., ât.famouS’.vjGfofj^: -* lh|r||j| there was .a .pers0hal .trlg.edy that ● Win's 1!990.stint at theheim;Of!Flit was whemit started in T987 (beforeUHRiT)), and! ' !h:a||!|dilbe ovenG©h^;.PefGyiln9di’missed the:.. was lnstrumental>in'bringi'ngi*iBiand; ' ● piwotalin the early development of the iMdiralSfp'uhdli0fth'e!^990KMl|^wljehrhim ,HIS.\/' together^ Hehad;a straightforward'' team, and ,to this day, there are .few oweifeas. visitors at the Bathurst T000 who. are aS philosophy ^ build.the best race teamin the ; f0rGeditb;returnft0‘Ehgland.after the suddeg^ "4 death ©flKi|s©,n»l^lrr,etur®&d:'to»AustfalfeC.;!^ C©untry,.andi.thenbuildarbig!.fehce.ar0'un#it. .popuiar asWiniPercy... immersed himselhin,his work as;a way-tit Forthe most part, he lived by it perfectly. overcpme the grief, and was rewarded! with .Crennani was instrumentah.mf.he . Firsi mm m- IP'f development of HRT's merchandising Now, this could! get .® little confusing:. program, which has for years iprOwided. what ii;s iknowni as'i’Sbi.i5tJM0neyrt0;#f There are .twOtraipS'Of .thsugfet ®s .to which often funds testing and development, exactly when the Holden Racing Team ■T! There are^lhdiedsinfhe^wpObHOldenifans ! lor ai!long',IOng! time, iNRT'SimerChandisingf actually started.ês, it was iin -T988 that tomi .who.'refus^pj.bel ieve it,^lDu|ph]iûp9lta’ ■ program was the envy of the V8 Supercar. Wa l kinshaw Raci ng a nd' Gen era I Motors 1. time, Peter'Brock raced a'Fo|d|! ; world;, althoug;h'.iMouid be argued that Holden decided' tojoiniforcis anddevelOp a yepi,iit'SttSUe;îi988i theripprdeiil'iiDeale.r ■ leamMpdafOne'a're’inowfhe-'kings .of'shlrf'factory'teami .but the res-u ItingiiprOgnam! was Team and.Broek were oh different paths, saies. runbyLarry ferkins, andwas ealled'SptCiai! and;ir©Ck'J;oin:ediforces witlii. Aian.'Gow.to: 'Crinnan.!l!eft the team .in. 2008,,and'iis Vehicles iaCimgf. it was the ;birth ofiiHPIde# raee,ifstlyj ex^Frank GardnerBMWs, nowbackinfhe Sport as.Ghalrm®nofiKelly Special'vehicles, but technical ly,;!it wasn't the then Andy .Rouse-built Ford'Sierras. lii birth ctf'HRt Racing.

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Anyway,the Ford/Brock alliance only lasted until 1991, when Brock formed a partnership with Perkins, who quite ironically had been ousted from running the 'official' Holden entries by the emergence of HRT.That put Brock back in a Commodore, a VN to be precise, but it wasn't until 1994 that'Peter Perfect'was properly welcomed back into the Holden frame by being offered a seat at HRT. Of course, by signing Brock, HRT had another little win ... Mobil was a Brock Racing sponsor, but in 1994,the long association with HRT - one that exists today, albeit in a much smaller capacity - kicked into action.

Signing Craig Lowndes As far as decisions go, signing Craig Lowndes for a full-time drive in 1996 would have been as easy as they come for HRT. For two years, the young Victorian had been continually stunning the Australian Touring Car fraternity with his raw pace. In 1994, Lowndes - straight out of Formula Ford - and Brad Jones finished fifth at Sandown. Lowndes' pace was good enough that Rickard Rydell received a call from HRT saying that he wasn't needed for Bathurst, and Lowndes repaid the faith by passing

John Bowe for the lead ... only to have to back off late in the race and settle for second. In 1995,there was more HRT endurance duty for Lowndes,and he proved the'94 result was no fluke by qualifying fastest. As of that point, it was official - Lowndes was a one-in-a-million find, and if he wasn't put in an HRT car full-time, he'd be off elsewhere. As a result, Tomas Mezera was moved to endurance driver duties, and Lowndes and Peter Brock lined up in cars 15 and 05 respectively. By the time the 1996 Bathurst 1000 rolled around, Lowndes already had #1 on the side of his car...

Grand Slam 1996 When Craig Lowndes joined HRT full-time in 1996, expectations were high. After all, he'd earned the drive with two stunning outings at Bathurst. But, on the flipside, he was still a young man,and here he was, driving for the factory Holden team as Peter Brock's team-mate. It could well have gone very badly. But, as we now know, it went well. Very well. Like, title, Sandown and Bathurst, well. Lowndes achieved the Grand Slam in his first full year - a massive feat. To put the achievement into perspective.

only one other driver, in V8SC/ATCC history; *■ has done it - Brock achieved the triple twice, in 1978 and 1980. There was also the dominance with which he won the championship. Lowndes won six of the 10 rounds, and was 79 points clear of John Bowe at season's end. And this was back when the points were only awarded to the Top 10, and the winner only got 20 points per race...

Brock's last race There's the odd cynic out there who might suggest that sometimes, on very rare occasions, the 'official' crowd figures for V8 Supercar races are slightly embellished. Now isn't the time to debate that fact, but instead to discuss a day where crowd figures needed absolutely no embellishment - Oran Park 1997. This was the day that Peter Brock made what was, at the time, going to be his final outing in the Australian Touring Car Championship. People crowded onto the banks of the Sydney circuit's final corner, shouted, cheered and cried as Brock bowed out of the ATCC and into ATCC history. And to make it an almost perfect finale, he qualified on pole, the oldest driver to be so in ATCC III history, at 52 years of age. ar^vir?

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Murph, Skaife, Lowndes Not a single person wanted Craig Lowndes to make it to Formula 1 more than Greg Murphy. Even when he was racing Formula 3000 in Europe, Lowndes was an HRT man. His F3000 single-seater even looked like an HRT car, and the understanding was always that if things didn't work out in Europe,Lowndes would slot straight back into the fold at HRT. As we now know,things didn't work out for Lowndes in Europe. He had a terrible year in 1997,and by early'98 it was clear the Formula 1 dream was over. A return to the ATCC was on the cards. And the timing would have been fine, with a spot opening up at HRT for'98 with the retirement of Peter Brock. Lowndes and Greg Murphy in at HRT. Easy. Problem was, back in late July '97, HRT had already agreed to a deal for Mark Skaife to leave the struggling Gibson Motorsport outfit and suit up in HRT blue for the following season as a Brock replacement. Issue #106 of MNews even had a photo of Skaife wearing an HRT suit on the front cover. So here was the equation; Skaife was locked and loaded, Murphy was winning races, and Lowndes - the Golden Child - was coming home.Two doesn't go into three,so there had to be a loser. Unfortunately for the likeable Kiwi, it was Murphy who was bumped back to enduro driver duties- and the formidable Skaife/Lowndes combination was born.

Lowndes' big shunt

Craig Lowndes'1999 crash at Calder is now part ofV8 Supercar folklore. During the eighth round of the'99 ATCC while Lowndes was leading the title race - he went flying off the circuit at around 200 clicks. hit a bank,and did a handy five flips through the air. His injuries? A sore elbow and a sore knee. 1t was like being in a washing machine,"said Lowndes at the time. I was lucky the car kept rolling and dissipating its energy, rather than hitting the wall or something else.'

It's funny, but there is a whole bunch of Australian race circuits that have lapirecords set in 1999. It seems a little strange.Technology has come a long way in the last 12 years,'So why are so many practice and race lap records still standteg from '99? It's all because ofthose round!jblack things - tyres. When the'90s died,so did theV8 Supercar tyre war. Bridgestone, Dunlop, and Yokohama were going at it up until '99.The resultiof the war was some very, very fast rubbercom.au

especially in qualifying. In 1999,Bridgestone was made the control tyre supplier - and for one last year the tyres were jets.Then the typical control tyre attitude of making the rubber bullet-proof kicked in, and it's been that way ever since Dunlop took over the contract in 2002.That's why some of those old '99 lap times are still hard to beat. So what does this have to do with the Holden Racing Team? With a link between HSV and Bridgestone, HRT was Bridgestone's favourite team through the tyre war.When it came time for everyone to go to Bridgestone rubber, HRT were particularly well-placed no doubt a handy boost during the team's period of dominance.

Queensland 2000 An ordinary sprint round,at an ordinary circuit - how is that a pivotal moment in the 21-year history of the Holden Racing Team? To be honest, it's a moment that could have easily slipped under the radar... had it not been for issue #378 of MNews,published back in December 20d8.1t wasihe first issue after Mark Skaife announced his full-time retirement, and as part of our coverage of Skaife's career, we asked long-time HRT tech guru Jeff Grech what his most memorable Skaife moment was. He picked QR in '00. The most memorable moment was when he and Lowndesy were racing each other at Queensland Raceway," he revealed. 'They were side-by-side, as team-mates. I was going off my tree,tryingrto stop them taking each other out.They came in at the end of the race, walked down pit-lane, both with a huge smile and smirk across their faces. thinking how funny it was to get the team manager so riled up." A scroll back through the photo archive from that meeting uncovers plenty of images of Skaife and Lowndes going hammer-and tongs. Finding another car in frame is very tricky. It sums up just how dominant HRT were back then.

Front Blue to Red Holden Racing Team has red ears, right? Wrong. For a long time, HRT ran all sorts of colours on its cars. Up until 2000,the only consistent hue on the HRT Commodores was white. First it was blaek and:white,and then blue and white as thejMdbil!sponsorship kicked into gear, andigradually more red was added until the first SlINred car was run in '00. To have a predominately blue HRT car seems inconceivabli!||Wi given howstrong the brand/colour association has become in V8 Supercars. FordSareblue, Holdens are red to the point wherefearnVodafone lost its Ford backing because it rOfuSed to add blue to its livery. But if you look at aiphoto of an HRT nil car circa 1996, well,,!iJ'Srpretty blue.

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Lowndes leaves The whole'will he, won't he'soap opera that was Craig Lowndes'departure from the Holden Racing Team had an element of drama that would make a Grey's Anatomy writer jealous. One minute Lowndes was going to Ford, and the next he was staying at HRT. In the end. Ford won,and Lowndes took off to join the Blue Oval on a lucrative manufacturer deal - the likes of which are now banned in V8 Supercars - and a contract with Gibson Motorsport, which had also jumped ship from Holden. Issue #196 of MNews called it"the silliest Silly Season in the history ofV8 Supercars". The news sent shockwaves through the V8 Supercar community, not least because many expected him to stay with HRT. But, ironically, while Ford lured him across to win titles, Lowndes never did it in a Falcon - and now he drives for a Holden team again! However, Lowndes did win Ford three Bathurst 1000s...

Skaife's title run - and retirement Consider this - the last time the Holden Racing Team won a title, Mark Skaife was the driver. The year was 2002,and it was the end of a golden run by HRT and Skaife. Having come third in 1998 and '99- Skaife's first two years at HRT - he went on a tear.Titles came in 2000,'01 and '02, the first of those coming when Craig Lowndes was still in the team.That meant that Skaife had to overcome the form driver of the late'90s, in the same car and in the same garage. It was an impressive run, but after that, Skaife never got really close to winning another title. He was third in 2003,fifth in 2005 and eighth in 2007- the rest of his results were outside the Top 10. By the end of 2008,the lack of results were too much.Skaife hardly covered himself in glory at the'08 Bathurst 1000,and soon after announced he was giving the full-time driving away.

The Bathurst Bag How could a couple of plastic bags cause so much trouble? In 2002,old bags were the talk of Bathurst town. For starters. Ford pair Craig Lowndes and Neil Crompton had a podium finish snatched away by radiator-clogging plastic bags.Then,the same fate threatened to snatch the win away from Mark Skaife and Jim Richards. The HRT Commodore's radiator was well clogged with bags in the latter stages of the '02 Bathurst 1000,and the temp gauge was practically heading upwards as fast as the lap chart was ticking down. M

In the end,the engine just hung on, but if the race had been Just a single lap longer, it might have been quite different...

Ownership saga Who owns the Holden Racing Team? It's a simple question, and in essence,the answer should be just as simple. However, across the last decade,there have been times when the ownership of HRT has been less than clear.This is a simple summation of what has happened. It all started in 2002, when the Arrows Formula 1 Team went into liquidation.The primary shareholder of Arrows wasTom Walkinshaw Racing,so as a result,TWR was also forced to close its doors. At the same time,TWR was also the owner and operator of HRT,so the team had to change hands. It went to Holden, which was fine during a'grace'period, but under the Touring Car Entrants Group rules of the time,a manufacturer wasn't allowed to own a team, so Mark Skaife -through his company Skaife Sports - became the owner of HRT. At least that's what the entry forms said. But at the start of the 2007 season,the question was asked by TEGA - who owns this team? Was it Skaife? Was it Holden? Was it Walkinshaw? The only suitable answer was Skaife, because Holden weren't allowed to own the team,and the V8 Supercars board had deemed Walkinshaw unfit to own a V8 team after the Arrows saga of'02. But proving that Skaife was the genuine owner was a messy process. After threats that HRT would be forced to miss the Clipsal 500,the'truth'came out.Yes, Skaife Sports owned HRT, but Walkinshaw owned 50 percent of Skaife Sports. However, as long as the stake didn't creep ahead of 50 percent, it was kosher. By the middle of 2008,there were more problems. Skaife Sports had accrued a huge debt to Walkinshaw,and there was only one option -to relinquish the team back to its original owner. But by then,V8SA decided that Walkinshaw was now a suitable V8 Supercar owner,and order was restored.

Brock's comeback In the latter stages of his remarkable life, Peter Brock must have regretted not starting the 2004 Bathurst 1000. Having retired at the end of 1997, Brock made a Bathurst comeback in 2002 as part of the Team Brock organisation.Two years later, he made another Bathurst comeback - but this one was much more meaningful, because it was with the Holden Racing Team. Brock was paired with Brit Jason Plato, and the #05 car was the ultimate second Bathurst entry, as was so often seen before the Primary Driver rule was bought in last year. Anyway, Brock qualified 26th, before the disastrous decision was made iiii^

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iaii to let Plato start the race. Mid-way through the first stint, Plato, having broken something on the Commodore, was crawling back to the pits - in the middle of the racing line. Another Brit, John Cleland, came flying around The Chase and drove straight into the back of the HRT car. Cleland ended up on his roof, and Plato's race just ended. And that's the story of Brock's last Bathurst ... when he never got to turn a racing lap.

Two titlesfor HSVDT If Rick Kelly and Garth Tander hadn't won the 2006 and 2007 V8 Supercar titles respectively, things might look a fair bit different at Clayton today. Sick of being beaten up by its little brother -the Kelly Eamily-owned HSV Dealer Team - HRT went on a bit of a pillage for 2008. Tander was drafted into the'main'team, meaning the HSV Dealer Team never got to run the #1 from Tander's title. Toll, HSVDT's title sponsor, also jumped ship, making it the Toll Holden Racing Team.There were key personnel changes,too, and for the 2008 season the Kelly side of the garage looked a shadow of its former self. The HSV DealerTeam only lasted until the end of 2009, when the Kellys went their own way to start Kelly Racing, and the Walkinshaw Racing second-tier team was born. Had HRT not picked its way through

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the best parts of the title-winning team, well, things might be different now...

Bathurst 2009 Bathurst 2009 was a must-win for Holden. In the mid-2000s, even when Ford was winning titles, Bathurst was all Holden's. In fact,The General won every Bathurst 1000 from 1999 to 2005,the last of that run being the HRT entry of Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly. But then came theTriple Eight run of brilliance, where Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes owned the race for three years running.They were helped by the fact that nothing that came out of the HRT/HSV stable seemed to be able to hold together for 1000km, but the fact of the matter was simple; Ford had become the new kings of Bathurst. Adding sting to that was that since 2006, right when the Ford run of success started, the winner's trophy had been named the Peter BrockTrophy. It was something that Holden wanted badly. Before the '09 B1000, you could sense a change was on the cards. Yes, Whincup was the reigning Bathurst winner,the reigning Champion,and the current points leader. But the effort from HRT in the lead-up had a sense of concentration to it. Tander proved that they were there to win beyond doubt by sticking car #2 on pole position, but given the fragility of the VEs at Bathurst in the previous years - and the

fact that T8 had a knack of winning from the third row of the grid - nothing much could be read into it. But after a rain-affected race, it was Tander and Will Davison who were on top. The Peter Brock Trophy was headed to Fisherman's Bend, which is where Holden claimed it belonged - and even held a huge reception at Holden HQ to welcome the trophy'home'.

Signing James Courtney Something changed at the Holden Racing Team at the end of 2010. With Dick Johnson Racing circling the drain, it was obvious that James Courtney was on the move for 2011. But most had him pegged to end up in a Eord team. We'd all heard the rumours that HRT were chasing the Champ, but surely it wouldn't happen? Surely HRT was Garth Tander's team, and a safer option, like moving Eabian Coulthard up from Walkinshaw Racing, would be preferred? But nope. HRT played hard-ball, and they got their man. And as this issue of MNews went to press,the score is 1-0 to Courtney, after his somewhat fortnate win in Abu Dhabi. Has the mantle been passed? Has Tander lost his hold on the team? It's way too early to tell, but it's going to be interesting to find

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K »1T|Li|'j Ki%.c;iiv THE best indication of the form of Red Bull Racing comes not from looking at pre-season testing, or even at the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship. After 10 years, and in its third incarnation Stewart Grand Prix begat Jaguar Racing, which became Red Bull Racing in late 2004- RBR has become the technical measuring stick for every team in pitlane. But to get the true picture, you need to look at the last two seasons. In the 36 races in 2009 and '10, RBR scored 20 pole positions and 14 wins - by far the biggest haul ofany of FI'steams. This is made all the more rerparkable by the fact that,for all its engineering brilliance, RBR actually missed the boat in the most talkedabout technical tweaks over the last two seasons; 2009's double diffuser(which was pioneered by BrawnGP,WilliamsFI and Toyota) and last season's F-Duct(which first appeared on the McLarens in pre-season testing). Like the rest of the paddock. Red Bull's engineering department investigated those tweaks and came out with their own versions, all the while staying true to Adrian Newey's design philosophy. Wind back the clock two seasons and the decision by FI Technical Delegate Charlie Whiting,to green-light the double diffusers, was probably the moment that BrawnGP put one hand on the title. Had that decision gone the other way,chances are that RBR would be shooting at a title hat-trick this year. The strength of the Red Bull-Renaults over the last two years has been the cars' packaging, which is the reason why Newey wanted Renault V8s in the first place.That allowed him to run back-to-the-future pullrod rear suspension, which dovetailed with his aero philosophy, which included his version of the blown diffuser.The proof of the pudding was that his cars were equally dominant on circuits

as diverse as Silverstone and Monaco. Of course,there is consistency in RBR,in spades.The management and the drivers are the same,and with Sebastian Vettel midway through his current contract,the telling thing about recent negotiations is that in spite of the fact that Mark Webber is currently signing yearto-year deals, his current one was not signed until May last year - after he was sure that Newey was staying put. Driver-wise,the team looks first rate. Webber may be older than the median age of GP drivers but he is at the peak of his powers. A perennially excellent qualifier, an exceptional race driver and just as even-headed now as he was when he was on the way up the ladder. In Vettel,the paddock has a huge potential problem. His rate of improvement over the last two years, in particular, has bordered on the spectacular, and he is starting to eradicate the problems that GP drivers often make when they are only 23. If that process continues to its logical level this season,the German might just start the season as unbackable title favourite. There are not many downsides faced by the titleists.They are stepping into the unknown with Pirelli, but so are the other teams, and the testing bans means that drivers who can sort through problems quickly have a potential edge - and both Vettel and Webber are those. KERS is back this year. RBR never ran that when they had the chance, but Newey's brilliance in packaging is far from likely to leave the team at a severe disadvantage. The other potential problem the team faces is its perceived predilection to play in-house politics (which is not quite as bad as some of the media would have you*believe).That reared its head last season but the fact is, the team still won the titles. Which is going to happen again this year, unless someone can run with the Bulls. 47

IF Ferrari does not win the Formula 1 title for the first time in four seasons,it will not be for a lack of... pressure. In the history of the Prancing Florse, never have expectations been higher. During a pre-season media event, Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo made it absolutely clear, in front of the entire press corps,that anything short of a Drivers'title will be unacceptable this year. Failure is not remotely an option. Ferrari might have - some would say should have - won last year's title, but it was not Just the strategy SNAFU at Abu Dhabi that cost the team.The fact is that its 2010 car was not good enough, often enough. That led to driver errors,from having to push so hard for so much of the time,to race with the Red Bulls. Flence, Fernando Alonso jumped the start in China; he thumped into Robert Kubica in England; and Felipe Massa did ... well, not much. The team will be counting on that habit ending this year.The Brazilian needs to stand up, get some podiums and start taking points off the opposition. Fie needs to return to his German GP form, without the pit wall histrionics. Alonso is a masterful driver, a great qualifier and racer and mentally the best driver on the grid. In spite of falling only a few points short of titles in two of the last four years, he is still a man to be respected. The 2011 Ferrari ... er, what the heck is it called this week? Anyway, it looks sharp.

There are some Red Bullish features, its n electronics appear to work with a high ' degree of reliability, and the team's previou form with KERS is likely to be an advantage in developing its new system. It has also proved reliable; at the point that the testini was due to end,in time for the originally scheduled Bahrain GP date,the team had logged 5200km, more than any other team That could be telling. The irony in potential effects the raft of changes could have on the Ferrari is the end of its long-term relationship with Bridgestone.The era of bespoke tyres for Ferrari - or more probably, Michael Schumacher - is well and truly over, but thf cosy relationship the team had with the mr who developed the tyres is bound to have been valuable, even if everyone was on the same tyre. Of course, one could argue that it is in Pirelli's interests to have an Italian car win the title, but the fact that Paul Flembery, Pirelli's motorsport director, is British rather shoots down that notion. The signs are that Ferrari has designed and built a good car for this season. It also seems that the team's DNA is intact;just witness the farrago surrounding the naming of the new car. Add to that di Montezemolo's diatribe and you can see that things have not changed a lot in the sport's mostwatched team. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing will be known in about 19 races.

Ills GREAT news for all Formula 1 fans; KERS is back. Okay, we are being facetious. In its single year in Grand Prix racing in 2009, KERS was on cars, then off cars, and the fact remains that the teams that produced the fastest cars that season, BrawnGP and Red Bull, never even got close to utilising it. For all its technical wizardry, KERS never developed as much as some automakers have developed their Flybrid technology,and it remains difficult to explain to casual fans of the sport. But, it's back, most teams are going to utilise it and,for better or worse, it might decide races this season. There are changes on the aero front. Along with the end of the double diffuser and Fduct eras, drivers will now have moveable rear wings to play with. Like many technical add-ons,the idea is that this will encourage overtaking but, given that a'defensive'driver could use a KERS button to counter an 'offensive'attack from a wing-mover behind him, it is difficult to see this being successful. But, we are willing to be patient and have some rule-making genius prove us to be a 42

bunch of cynical hacks. On the other hand, Pirelli has made quite an impression in pre-season testing. Bridgestone engineers could never quite bring themselves to make an option tyre that went fast for a few laps then fell to bits, thereby promoting wheel-to-wheel racing and overtaking.That led to the ludicrous situation, shown to effect by Kamui Kobayashi in Valencia and Mark Webber in Budapest, where drivers salvaged great results by using the softer Bridgestones for far,far longer than would be expected otherwise. Not any more. Pirelli has picked up the soft-fast-then-fade mantra and run with it. Expect two or three stops per race, and big discrepancies between cars on different types, or newer or older, tyres - at least until everyone plays copycat on tyre strategy. The downside of Pirelli's largesse could be that as more,softer tyres are consumed in any given race, there will be more marbles off-line.That could lead to cars hitting walls, or drivers sticking resolutely to one-lane racetracks. Let's see what happens.

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msnriviT^pij'X' HERE is a prediction for this season; Renault could win a Grand Prix. At the end of last season,that would not seem to be much of a reach.The car was one of the big improvers of the season and in Robert Kubica,the team had a uniformly brilliant team leader; consistent, technically astute, hard-working and fast. Added to that, the somewhat criticised Vitaly Petrov proved to have a decent rookie season,and did rather better than many expected, particularly in the second half of the year. But then,the team lost Kubica in widely-reported circumstances,for this season at the very least, and drafted in Nick Heidfeld to lead the team. And so far, he has. He has been aided by what we will call the Renault R31, as we are ignoring the Lotus v Lotus blather until it is settled, hopefully soon, by a British court. The car appears to have great potential. It has looked fast, and has proven to be consistent in testing so far. Of course, it shares an engine with the triumphant Red Bull (and others); RenaultFl experienced the ups and downs of KERS in 2009, which should stand it in good stead; and it is aerodynamically efficient. The latter point is no surprise, because the team recruited well from the defunct Toyota team,including Aussie James Manderson (yes,the former Formula 3 champion). One of the features that the team has come up with is the leading exhaust layout, which seems to somewhat mitigate some of the downforce surrendered to the demise of split and blown diffusers and the F-duct. The change to Pirelli could actually help the team's competitiveness, as its performances were never quite the same after the exit of Michelin in 2006. Any advantage that the opposition may have had with Bridgestone experience has now been swept away.

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I I I I Hi l l I mi l l I MERCEDES-Benz has put an awful lot into Formula 1 over a long period - and it may not get just reward for that input in 2011. When testing started, the signs were not great for the lads in silber. First, McLaren started the test season with an interim car and when it did roll out the MP4/26, It was not convincingly fast. It also appeared to be technically complex, making developing laborious. In the MercedesGP garage,faces were not much happier.The new W02 failed to set the world on fire until it got a significant pre-season upgrade - which is usually a telltale sign of a team that is about to hit

Struggle Street. In this case, it worked;the car was better but the battle is far from over. Still, there are some smart people in the game here. Ross Brawn may not be an equity partner in his team any more but the brain still works and he has some decent assets to count on. Power is good,and Nico Rosberg looks to have the mettle to push the team forward. We wish we could say the same about Michael Schumacher but, at 42, and with new Pirellis to learn after thousands and thousands of FI kilometres on Bridgestones, the words that most readily spring to mind are 'old','new','dog'and 'tricks'. Maybe he

FORMULA 1 breaks some new ground,literally, this season,as it reaches into the four corners of the globe. The circus's new stop this year is in Greater Noida, India,for the maiden Indian GP in late October. On one hand,that does not look like a great thing; recent events in Asia have been far from successful though,to be fair,judging the first Korean GP as a success or failure appears impossible, given that the event suffered the most catastrophic weather one might imagine for a race, particularly a firstup FI race. India has lots of people, lots of commerce and one thing that other recent new events have lacked; a motor racing culture. No,the landscape is not heavy with tracks and speedways, but there is the Force India FI team,one current driver in Narain Karthikeyan and one just out of the cockpit in Karun Chandhok.That is far,far more motorsport connections than in other new events;the only claim to fame that Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Korea,combined, have is that Sebastien Buemi has lived in Bahrain - and you can bet he does not now. If even a small percentage of a billion Indians embrace the sport, the race should be a great success.The main hope is that the same people who built the Commonwealth Games Village are not building the racetrack - which, it should be noted, is another Flermann Tiike design... 44

will prove his doubters wrong. At McLaren, they have some aces up their sleeve;two great drivers, particularly Lewis Flamilton (sorry, Jenson); experience with KERS; a stellar engineering base; and a track record of turning bad cars into race winners, within a single season. In fact, the team did just that only two seasons ago, with a car that was nowhere near as smick when it rolled out as the /26 is now. At present, McLaren looks to be a tad behind Red Bull and Ferrari, and the Mercs further back again. Perhaps things will progress quickly and before long,the podium will be a sea of glorious silver...

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rrHis i\Ti5>v xci^ THERE are some fresh faces in pitlane this season and there is some considerable talent among the newbies. First-up, Williams has signed Pastor Maldonado.The Venezuelan arrives courtesy of a GDP-sized sponsorship deal from his country's oil industry, and he has earned some kudos on the way to Formula 1. He is, for instance,the reigning GP2 Champion,so he is following the footsteps of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton,Timo Glockand Nico Hulkenberg. Here is the problem; Hulkenberg had to lose his seat for Maldonado to get his and, after the German had such a fine rookie season,that is not fair. Under those circumstances, it is harsh to label Maldonado as a pay driver, and everyone deserves the opportunity to earn their FI stripes. So, let's give him a chance. Sergio Perez finds himself in much the same position, except that the flag is Mexican and it's a telco, not an oil giant, backing him. Again, he is far from being a baboon behind the wheel of a car(he was second to Maldonado in GP2 last year) and he is up against the highly-rated Kamui Kobayashi at Sauber - whose cars were conspicuously free of sponsors last year. No such comments are attached to Paul di Resta.The Scot, a cousin to the Franchitti clan,took the unusual detour to the DTM on the way to Force India (his three years in the taxis yielded second,third and first). He has been lightning fast in testing, is technically astute and,in short, looks absolutely capable of pushing Adrian Sutil in the other FI. The only other rookie to be confirmed at the time of writing is Jerome d'Ambrosio.The exotic name is somewhat at odds with his nationality, Belgian, and he arrives at Marussia Virgin via a sound commercial basket. His CV is not that impressive when he has raced the Big Kids,so it looks like a big ask for him to be the breakthrough driver of the year in this company.

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Pressure:Alguesuari will have to watch his back with a speedy Dan Ricciardo on the Toro Rosso scene in '7 7.

m-iis SMsc;c^\Tip misH appeared.This year, Lotus Racing,Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing Team face that difficult sophomore year. By far, the team that looks to be in the pound seats is Tony Fernandez's Lotus team.With the astute Mike Gascoyne calling the shots on the technical front, much could be expected once the team got past the debut season,for which you would reasonably expect to prompt a designer to choose a conservative,safe path. Add to that some fine acquisitionsfor 2011, like Renault motors and a Red Bull Racing transmission, and you suddenly have great expectations. In fact, with the experienced pairing of Jarno Trulli and Fleikki Kovalainen in the cars, there are predictions from some quarters that the team could break out of the newbies"drop zone'and start to threaten or beat the likes of Toro Rosso or even Sauber. Less is expected from the other teams. At the time of writing, we are yet to see the Virgin on the track but the new car looks more technically muscular than its predecessor. As for HRT, it survived Year 1, which was a major achievement, and a sensible aim would appear to be getting to the end of 2011 without running out of money, looking out of its depth and without resorting to using four drivers, as it did in 2010. 46

motorsport news

IN football, it can be a fun game to name the first coach to get fired during the season - or in the case of some footy codes, before the season starts. In Formula 1, it is drivers. Some cannot be sacked because of the bags of cash they bring with them to their teams, but there is still scope for drivers to move on - often with the phrase 'mutual consent'getting an airing in media releases. So, who could go this season? Both the Toro Rossos have the right to remain nervous; Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguesuari have both been around the dance floor enough times to lose the shine off their

shoes, so they are not the next hottest things any more - unless they start to take the Rossos up the grid.To make matters worse, Daniel Ricciardo has signed on as STR's test and reserve driver, which is particularly interesting for we Aussies.The lad from Perth has not quite won everything on the way to GP racing, but he has looked to be the best driver in the categories on the way through. The other thing about Ricciardo is that he has looked so good when he has tested - which quite apart from showing that he is good, means somebody at Red Bull wants him to look good.

Another man in the hot seat, surely, is Adrian Sutil. Likewise, he is no rookie (he's done 71 races) and he has shown speed in the past. But Force Inidia has taken on Nico Fiulkenberg as its reserve driver. Beyond the fact that The Hulk was fast last season, his manager is Willi Weber, never a man known for being shy he did,for instance, make Ralf Schumacher one of the highestpaid drivers in the sport. Sutil may be hoping that Michael Schumacher finds the going tough and decides to call its quits, that MercedesGP's brass claims Hulkenberg as their own and that he heads off to give him some breathing space...

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THERE is something simple and great about Grand Prix racing that goes far beyond the battle for the Drivers'and Constructors'Championships. While those contests are likely to predominantly orbit around Red Bull and Ferrari,further back there appears to be a number offascinating subtexts that have the potential to be - almost- as compelling. For instance,the new Williams. Will the team return to its vaunted heights of the 1990s? No, but there are signs that the new Cosworth-powered FW33 has the potential to move the team up the order.The team's recent stock market flotation has secured its financial future, and the documentation necessarily attached to that process appears to have underlined that this will be the final season for Patrick Head,one of the sport's most influential minds of the last 30 years. Maybe the team could snatch him one final win? Likewise,the legal stoush between the two teams that vie for the use of the name Lotus, and which soon should come to a conclusion.

offers a fascinating angle to their on-track rivalry. Regardless of which side is right or wrong in this matter,the battle between the team formerly owned by Renault and that currently owned by Tony Fernandez could be,on occasion, close - with the added irony that both teams now use similar drivetrains. After the fuss from Germany last season,team orders should not be in the news, but you can expect that in place ofthat controversy,there will be others, perhaps attached to all the new aero regulations. Also,the extra pitstops that are likely with the Pirelli tyres widens the window for race winning, or race-losing, calls from those on the pitwall with the headsets on. On a personnel level, Chris Dyer will not be seen this year, as a consequence of Ferrari's Abu Dhabi disasters. Who will be the next person to be sentenced to'home duties'- or could it be that the Aussie engineer may leave the Scuderia during the season and pop up somewhere else in pitlane? 47

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AUL di Resta looks at Grand Prix racing a little differently than most. The majority of young drivers focus on the cars, opting to race open-wheelers to be as best prepared for the technical onslaught of a Formula 1 car as possible. The thing is, a couple of seasons In GP2 might prepare a driver well for driving a Formula 1 car, but it doesn't necessarily prepare a driver well for everything else that goes with being a Grand Prix driver. But Force India's new driver has no such issues. Fle's not used to playing support categories, he used to being the main game. Fle's used to taking on some of the best Touring Car drivers in the world in Germany's DTM,and in the case of 2010, beating them to a title. Fle's used to waking up on a Sunday morning and preparing to make a race all about him. Paul di Resta, a man who's never raced a GP2 car in his life, is ready for Formula 1. "Fortunately, the DTM adopted the Formula 1 system a few years ago, where you're the main feature of the weekend, so your preparation and track time is probably the same," he says. "In terms of the media, I know it sounds crazy, but in terms of media work there is probably a bit less in Formula 1 for me as a driver. In DTM, when you're with MercedesBenz,they've got hundreds and hundreds of guests at each event. But in Formula 1 I am working a bit harder with the engineers and on the finer details. "Combining the two last year I think opened my eyes a bit, to see where I needed to work a bit harder. Obviously I was racing in DTM and in Formula 1, 1 was preparing for running on Thursday and Friday. So I have a bit of an idea, but it's going to change, and I suppose it all boils down to how much pressure and how your performance is. If your performance is low you have to work harder; if it's a bit higher you can probably relax a bit and take it in your stride. It's something I'm going to gauge nearer the time. "1 don't really know what to expect. All I can really hope is that it all goes to plan. Fortunately I've not really found it too difficult so far, but it's only winter testing, i'm sure it will change a few times during the year, but as long as you can deal with it... I feel I've got the support from the team that they will give me the necessary feedback information I need to deal with it all." Just in case you've never heard of Paul di Resta, here's a bit of background;for starters, he's Scottish. And not only is he Scottish, but he's got two cousins who are also Scottish racecar drivers, Dario and Marino Franchitti. For the most part, di Resta's Junior path was pretty standard - karting. Formula Renault, Formula 3. But then, instead of 50

pursuing the GP2AVorld Series path, he turned pro, taking a Mercedes drive in the DTM for 2007. Fie was fifth in the standings at the end of his debut year, won races in 2008 and 2009, and took out the title in 2010. While he was busy winning one of the most prestigious Touring Certifies in the world, he was also doing a heck of a lot of Friday running for Force India at Grands Prix. It was reasonably obvious that Mercedes and FI were grooming the Scot to take over from Tonio Liuzzi in 2011,and in February it was made public. Now,di Resta faces a new challenge and one of his primary objectives is not getting too carried away with targets and objectives. "I have [had targets] in previous years, but I think that Formula 1 is a different approach," he says. "The formulas I've been involved in before, apart from the first year in the DTM when I was in an old car, and you've got to understand the car that you're in and what you can really achieve in that car.The other things I've been in, I've had the same opportunity as everybody else to win the championship,and I've been fighting for that. "Coming into Force India, of course your ambitions are high, my drive is high and as a combination of team and driver I want to push them on for championships. But understandably and being realistic about it, it's going to be a challenge to do that. But you've got to be ready if that should happen,and I feel can be as ready as I am just now. But I think as a target, probably getting into the top five in the [constructors] championship would be a fantastic year. And that's what me and Adrian [Sutil] and everybody back at the factory are working towards." For a modern rookie, di Resta has actually done a lot of miles.The days of countless laps pounding around a deserted test track are over,so unless your new employers are willing to sit one of their drivers out for Friday practice - as FI did a lot during 2010 - then it can be hard to get miles. Not only did di Resta get plenty of Friday running last year, but he also got to take part in the Abu Dhabi young driver test, which immediately followed the last Grand Prix. According to di Resta, the back-to-back nature of the test ailowed a good comparison between the rookies, and the guns. "I think it was quite a good program that they put together,to go straight from the Grand Prix into the test and then into the Pirelli test, "i didn't do much on the young driver stuff. I did an hour each morning,and it was all data gathering for the Pirelli test. It was sensors on the car that we didn't have a lot of, and we needed nil

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Deutschmeisterzu Weltmeister? di Resta has gone from winning the DTM, above and below, to being a Formula 7 driver.

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to get up to grips with them. And obviously with the young guys in the car, when I was out we were making sure that we were gathering the information that we needed without too much risk. "But 1 think the program worked well; the weather was good, the track conditions were obviously good, having had a Grand Prix there the week before, and then it rolled into the Pirelli test. Everything was all set up. I think in the future it is definitely something that they should do again, and I think that the teams can get a better idea of where somebody is, having just raced there the week before." That was the end of the 2010 season, and if everything had gone to plan, a mirrored version of the Abu Dhabi test would have greeted di Resta for the start of 2011. Teams were meant to be testing in Bahrain just days before the opening Grand Prix in Manama, but the cancellation of the race put paid to any chance of a few more pressure miles - and means that di Resta will jump straight into the deep end at Melbourne's Albert Park. "I saw it as a disadvantage for me. It was a unique situation. For my first Grand Prix I was going to be testing for two days at the track the weekend before and then going straight into the Grand Prix weekend. It would have taken the pressure off a bit, in terms of just feeling a bit more confident on the track. "Now, I am arriving at a track that is ultimately one of the more difficult ones in FI. It is a street track, and there is a little bit more caution needed. There is not a lot of room for error. But you know the challenge ahead of you and you have to get on with it. You're a racing driver. I've

gotten this far, and it's just going to take a bit more work. "I really enjoy Melbourne as a track. We started some work on it in the simulator the week before the last Barcelona test, and I'm really looking forward to going out there. It was where I drove the car for the first time at a Grand Prix weekend, and it's obviously going to be the first Grand Prix I'm going to do.The preparation doesn't seem to be going too bad, but only time will tell. We're going out there in good spirits and are certainly hopeful that we can improve on where we were last year." So here we have a 24-year-old kid from Scotland, who is the reigning German Touring Car Champion, and is about to make his Formula 1 race debut. You'd forgive Paul di Resta if he spent most of his days pinching himself, and praying not to wake up. "Now that it has happened you kind if take it in your stride," he says. "But if you'd asked me that last year, of course it was a massive achievement for me and a personal goal that I set myself many years ago, to get that done. And equally my family, they've put a lot of work into it and they should enjoy it as much now that weYe here. "But now we're here, there's a job to be done, and Formula 1 is a hard business. The work effort needs to be increased. You can't sit back and enjoy it; you've got to press on. Your performance is what keeps you here." Job to be done? Take it in your stride? Not the sort of comments one would expect from a rookie on the eve of his first Grand Prix. But remember, most rookies haven't been racing in a paid drive for four years, either... 53

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As a co-driver and a team principal Jean Todt won everything there was to win in RaUying, Cross Country, Sportscars and Formula 1. Now, as President of the FIA, he is focused on taking motorsport to the top - and saving five million lives on the roads. By STEVE NORMOYLE

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NE approaches an appointment to speak with Jean Todt with some trepidation. 'Intimidation'is the wrong word.The Frenchman is, in the environment of speaking to the media in his current role, not at all intimidating. In fact, with his partner,the actor Michelle Yeoh gliding about, he is far from that. It's just... you imagine that as the President of Ferrari, or as the Principal of the Prancing Horse's Formula 1 team, or as the head of Peugeot's triumphant Le Mans or WRC programs, intimidating-isjust what he would have been. Now? Clearly, he leaves any such activities for behind closed doors. Behind the pleasant, dare I say slightly cherubic exterior, there must be some kind of fire burning. I get a glimpse when I run through his CV. I muse,"titles in World Rally, Sportscars, FI ..."and he steps in,"and Cross Country!" That inner drive to do better, that innate competitiveness that drove Todt to orchestrate Peugeot's successful 1993 Le Mans campaign, is clearly evident in his 2011 role as world motorsport's top elected man.So too are the abilities he employed to turn a dysfunctional Ferrari FI outfit into a team of such unprecedented success that Ferrari made him CEO of the entire company. Even those of the view that(fellow legend of rallying) Ari Vatanen was the better candidate to replace the outgoing EIA president Max Mosley cannot argue the strength of Todt's credentials. Todt was in Australia recently for the formal presentation of a $125,000 grant from the FIAto CAMS's Ignition young driver training program. It was a lightning trip, with Todt in and out of the country just as his former El colleagues began to arrive down under.That Todt would be off to Asia delivering more road safety messages while the FI season kicked off in Melbourne was indicative of how seriously he has embraced the FIA's Action for Road Safety program. It is a major thrust of the Federation Internationale de I'Automobile's activities and a reminder that the FIA is not simply the governing body for world motorsport but also a federation of motoring organisations from around the world. This is not to say that Todt hasn't been active on the motorsport side of the FIA. Far from it, in fact.Todt has been a quiet behind-thescenes reformer of a variety of levels of the sport, although he's likely to soon find himself front and centre under the spotlight as a new Concorde Agreement is negotiated between the FIA,the FI teams, and CVC,the commercial rights holder of FI. Towards the end of Mosley's tenure, relations between the FIA president and the FI team bosses were at best strained, it will be interesting to see how the new talks proceed under former FI team boss Todt.The man himself says his relationship with the teams is fine. "It is true to say that in your life, you can have different chapters," he says."For most of my professional life I have been in the automotive industry; in racing for 16 years involved in Formula 1,firstly as team principal with Ferrari and then chief executive of the company,and now the President of the FIA. "So, probably,some could think it could be a bit tense with me and the teams, but those who have thought that are completely peaceful now, because they see that my interest is not what was my responsibility in the past but what my responsibility is now. "I am different from my predecessor;that doesn't mean I am better, or worse; I'm different, and things are different.The teams are working quite well together, and working well with the FIA, which is very important because if we develop good relationships we will be more efficient." Inevitably, FI is going to occupy a fair slab of Todt's time as nil 55

President. In the time he spent in the sport, he faced a great level of opposition from rival manufacturers but, of late, their number has fallen. As someone who has worked on both sides of the relationship between the makers and the organisation that tries to serve their needs, he has some interesting insights to the process. "I think it would be wrong to say that all manufacturers want the same thing," he says."You have interesting and different situations. "I have been trying to create more links with the manufacturers. It is a combined success, we can have, if we have more discussion, more harmony, between the manufacturers,the teams,the promoters of the championships and the clubs. It is something we are moving along. "In saying that,the final decisions have to be taken by the governing body, which is the FIA. But before we get to that decision, it is important that we listen to people,to learn from listening to people. It all depends; you have some (manufacturers) who are not interested in racing; you have some who are interested in Formula 1, but we try to do what we can to create interest, to have more manufacturers joining Formula 1, more manufacturers Joining rally, orTouring Cars, or other categories of motor racing.To achieve that, we must be listening to them and be able to propose some championships which provide an incentive for manufacturers." But the recent exits from the sport's highest

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level, FI, cannot go unnoticed. As Honda,Toyota and BMW survey their Grand Prix-less sporting landscapes, which involve programs in IndyCar, NASCAR,Japanese GT,the DTM and World Rally, does the FIA fear that FI is being left behind? "It is not being left behind,"Todt affirms."We have three manufacturers that are in involved in Formula 1 and they are with strong teams. But it is part of Formula 1; that is why you have to be cautious, because you need to secure continuity to our championships.The manufacturers arrive; they want to get something.That is what they expect. "You mention Honda and BMW.They have done Formula 1, and also Touring Car, and that may not have been happy about what they have been delivering. I am not sure that, if they had won a championship, whether they would have left. To be competitive in any international sport is very difficult. Sometimes, you may undermine that. "We have reinforced the manufacturers' commission within the FIA. We don't speed speak exclusively about racing, but last week we had a meeting with the new manufacturers'members, and all of them are high level people,so it gives us access to discussion at the highest level and the chance to work extensively with the manufacturers. "We have increased our relationship with the suppliers and have created three new working groups,for tyres,fuel, electronic. So with this we can work more closely with them,sharing views and taking their ideas on board.

I am differem from my predecessor; that doesn’t mean I am better,or worse; I’m different, and things are different

-Nobody is confusing Todtfor his predecessor

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As Time goes by: Jean Todt had long relationships with Michael Schumacher, top, Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, the previous FIA president. His successes at Peugeot led him to Ferrari, and he now shares the safety message with partner, Michelle Yeoh, below.

www.mnews.com.au

IT is somewhat challenging to turn Monsieur Todt's attentions from the important matters of road safety and global motorsport to the indigenous activities of V8 Supercars without sounding too much like a hillbilly. Flis recent visit to Daytona was an eye-opener, and he has similar views on the local brand of professional racing. "Those series are very popular," he says. "I never heard as much about V8 Supercars as I heard last night - I heard it was the second most popular sport, or the third; maybe you can help me on that. I am due to meet Tony Cochrane; I have heard a lot of good things. It is true to say it could look a bit surprising to have a large V8 engine, and maybe I could answer more specifically once I discuss it with them, but I am sure it will change. "What is very important I think is that you have developed a very strong national championship, which could have some ramifications in the Asia Pacific zone. With NASCAR, I attended Daytona last year and I must say I was very impressed not as much by the cars but by the show, which was very good. "I think you have to be humble; I think it would be wrong to say that it is only FIA

Championships that are good, like Formula 1. Sometimes Formula 1 is a bit presumptuous and I'm quite happy to take on board good aspects of other categories like V8 Supercars that are not FIA Championships but which are regulated by the FIA. Categories like Super GT in Japan, the DTM, endurance sports car racing, we are reassessing all those categories." But turn to conversation to his first love, rallying, and the tone steps up a gear. "I was a bit critical of the new format for rallying, about the evolution of the regulations," he details. "We have a new president of the rally commission, we have Michele Mouton on the commission, and we created a working group to reassess rallying. Mini is coming in this year, and I am confident we will see some announcements of new manufacturers coming into rallying in the next few months. So I am optimistic of a good evolution of rallying in the coming years. "I think in rallying we need more adventure and more endurance. Over the next years, every year the life of the tyres will be increased by 15 percent. In a few years we will be aiming for one set of tyres per day." - STEVE NORMOYLE 57

I wentto the Geneva Motor Show.Most of the focus was on hybrid cars,electric cars,hydrogen. Times are changing. -Torn sees what iscemingtea track near yen Pf

We have established within the FIA a new commission, a single seater commission,to try to work more specifically about what should the structure: the grassroots starting point with go-karts and aiming to arrive in Formula 1. We feel that at the moment there are a lot of categories,sometimes there is some confusion from one category to another, so it's something we are looking at and we want to address that situation." While he comes from a background of competition, rather than from the auto industry itself, it is clearly evident that Todt is attuned not just to the importance of road safety but to the needs of the industry. Like the makers themselves, he is aware that the links between road vehicles and competition cars is important - possibly now, with the rapid development of alternative energy, more important than it has ever been. "It's essential," he says."Formula 1 has to betaken as a sport, but also as the pinnacle of technology,so in this respect it has a strong link with what is happening in modern society. "Sometimes I read about some unhappiness about some of the new regulations for 2013, but it is not something that has been imposed without consultation. It has been the result of lengthy detailed discussion with all the stakeholders involved, and also anyone who could potentially be involved in the future in Formula 1, and we have ended up with this result that definitely takes into account new technologies and the evolution of society. "This is something we have started to apply in rallying, and we will apply it at the level of each FIA Championship. You cannot be blind and simply think about the show,the Championship, without thinking about what is around you in the world. "I went to the Geneva Motor Show,and most of the focus was on hybrid cars, new technologies, electric cars, hydrogen. Manufacturers are focused on these technologies into the future.Times are changing." The implementation of different energy sources will happen in the sport, and Todt expects that Formula 1 has the opportunity to lead the way. "It will happen," he says."In a way this makes it a fascinating period for the sport, to try to foresee what will be the situation in five, 10, 15 or 20 years. I think it's very difficult to go beyond that; everything is changing at a very high speed. "But if you look back two or three decades,so much has changed as

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well. If you go back 30 years, and try to foresee the future then, it is exactly the same evolution." He is also well aware that there are those who would point the finger at the sport, and criticise it as a waste of resources and, possibly, a threat to the environment. "It's a drop in the water in the (ocean), the consequences of racing car activities to those of society," he says."From the image point of view, we have to take this into consideration and we do. We have started with the implementation of energy recovery in Formula 1, by implementation of downsizing engines in all FIA Championships,so it's something which is being addressed." For much of his life, Jean Todt has been a competitive man. Either from the navigator's seat in a rally car, or directing programs to win some of the world's classic events through snow, desert, around the streets of Monaco or the sweeps of Le Mans,competition has been the fire that has driven him,and prompted him to drive others,to greater and greater successes. Now, his life is not like that. Surely, I asked, he misses that? "No, not at alll"he says, believably."To me, life is made to move forwards, and since when I was four or five, I have been a car enthusiast. It was in my genes; it was nothing to do with my family, but it is probably more noticeable with my son. He loves racing, because it has been in his blood. But my father was a doctor. With me, it was naturally coming to be with cars. "But it was not a career plan; with me,the easiest'career plan'was to be a co-driver. I have been successful in most of the categories of racing. Each time was a chapter; I decided that the chapter of being a competitive co-driver ended when I wanted to do something else. There were a number of things that I might have done. As President of the FIA, I was in a fantastic position to be able to contribute to the sport,to the industry that has been such an important part of my career, and to my life." With that, the audience must end. Approaching 63,Jean Todt has a lot to do, but there was one last question I had to ask; "You were first widely-known as a rally co-driver and you(Ms Yeoh) widely-known for bouncing across roofs while James Bond rode a BMW motorcycle (in Tomorrow Never Dies). So when you are at home, who drives?" "He does!"said Ms Yeoh."He is an excellent driver." Given Todt's CV, one would expect nothing less. motorsport news

BERNIE Ecclestone is known to lob the occasional hand grenade into the media to, urn,encourage discussion about something that may not be in the mainstream of Formula 1. So it is not that surprising that Jean Todt is somewhat guarded about Ecclestone's recent notion to artificially water the tracks at some venues,so as to spice up the racing in what may be otherwise considered dull. "The new technology of editing can be very dangerous/'Todt said cautiously. "Every day there is new information arriving on the internet.

and very often that information is not controlled. "I mean,you know Bernie loves to tease - and he is very good at it! He is not only successful in business... "If you want my opinion,it is true that racing in slippery conditions is more unpredictable. It has been like that always. If you want to make sure that each race is more unpredictable, then to suddenly flick a switch and make it wet, it will make it more unpredictable and more confusing, probably a more spectacular show than people were expecting. "But it's not going to happen."

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LAST MONTH, 19-YEAR-OLD TREVQH BAYNE WANTEia,TO MEET FAMOUS PEOPLE. THIS MONTH, AT 20^ HE IS A YEAR OLD DAYTONA SOO WINNER. BY MARK CLENDEN^NING

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Phoenix International Raceway.The 9 openirig-Sprint Cup practice sessiop <L' S’ IT'S hasthe kicked last Frjday 'of February '* at/^mr bff,and.an underfunded Ford Fusion tiiri ' _ - by a^singie-carteam is trundjing down * / the pit rbad. ' , , ‘ ' l' '.the driver, who Jurned'20just a.week ’earlie’p, hasnit even'gotten the thing up - - n l to speed yet but he ’already senses that .' l ●— something is vvr6ng> and'gets onto the ●: ■i t. radio to tell the. tearti thatthe brakes don't 2 ’ feel right. At turn 4, he leans off the power, '■ the tyres, lock and-he plows into the vyall, ; ● ‘ . crurapling-the right-side of the car. Therp’s no , harm done to him, but he'll have to’ switch .to_ , the back-up car for the rest,bf.thS weekend. . on a trailertoo; the vrct'im of an early-race: ' tanglewithTravisKvapil). ’; ● { (By the time the race is over that car yyili be . . ' , ■,AcoupleofWeek5earlier,al|.ofthisw.ould--'

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barely have regi-stereel as a footnot'e. When you've got one ofIhe most sucGessful M'A'^CAR' drivers of ail time in the formof Jeff Gordon ending;a 66race losing streak,the early -ex'it of a rookie not evenel'igiibie to score points s’houid barely register a,blip’; But seven days.earlier, that rookie had become the youngest-ever \ltfinner of the Daytona;500, and'from the inst'antTrevor Bayne stood'next to NASCAR'S mostfamous oversized trophy,everything he touched woGiid turn to a headline. n Where mostpeopie at Baype's age can get l - away with tbe odd ibit of youthiful stupidity here'and'there, everything'he does from here oh;-a new girlfriend-,,a-fender-bender in a carpark^ a shunt in practice - will be'recorded.The flipsjde Is that-theikudos Of being:a Daytona 500’winher is worth the trade-off of not being able to get drunk with your mates whenever you'want to, . and -Bayne himself certain ly doesn't see it as a problem. For one thing,,he's,still a year away from being-able to legally drink. And if things get too intense,.God will sort.it out. "1 think that[the attention] can be.good

and bad both ways," he.says;"That's . Bayne ofHis existence: where I: have to be true to who Trevor How is it possibie thata 20-year-old Bayne is. I don't want to have anything to can win the Daytona 500 on debut? hide. I want to be as public as possible and Trevor Bayne credits much ofhis truthful as possible and be the same person success to his faith in the Lord, above. lam in the media«as lam awayfrbm itVi've Phoenix proved less fruitful, opposite, but it would take more than a little tried to do that,try to stay humble through it all. scrape to wipe away thejoy ofthe "You're right-[winning at Daytona] does Daytona win seven days earlier. draw some attention that might be a lot to handle, but! know that God 1s not going to Whatever advance plans Bayne may give rpe more than I can hahdle..Mightbe . have made for the days between Daytona too much fofTrevor Bayne to handle, but and Phoenix were scrapped as soon as he heyer too much for Him to handle.-!just crossed the finish line, replaced by a blur have to manage the raountaintops, know of microphones,cameras,studio lights and there might-be bad days ahead, but be endless variations of the same questions. excited when we do get them because this "I am in a car on the way to the airport is really good for the sport and we're really to fly to San Francisco," Bayne tells III! excited about everything." Motorsport News. WV*'.

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“r WAS TSCAKEp CREDIT BSCAUSE: 1* FELl’ WEXRB COMiNdS IN lANDl WINNINCS OUR FIRST ONR WITH' ALE THE OTHER DMVERS THAT MAV^ *y BEEN DOING! THIS^FQR BOl »

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’otherraces,-why it was;thal?it rneantsov-.'' j!; It's precisely the sort of PR grind fhat,-,^ ■.rhuchip Mafk'Mardn-fha^^^ hadhVyy6rl'';.'.’V ;successful drivers qu|ck|y,-gro^'i!6 foathe, but for someone with just-three Spxirit.Cup ■' orfe-yef, or vftheit Ppjg'^arnha_rdtf-,Sri|itihily.'.: ; 'We left a littlemeet-andstarts undefhis belt an’d.a'Natibnwi.cl6car.-lilt -g6t-h.|syyid;;vyhat'vyasthat .definifi^^ greet with all the people from ' ■ 'he admi!ts.'''N0W;. I'rn stardng to i,he i' . almost totally bereft of sponsofship^ja'.' ; Chicagoiand Speedway,-sorrie situatioh tha't will.be;rectified price Baybe , ; .Daytona '500 isva. big.deahlt's.se^cpofto <c/in fans. But now we're getting ready tofly to . has a chance to-catchup^ith the hundreds ■ >'itJ|eehsp'blessedVmai^'''^-’ of ernairs that hav.e landed in,thepast two;.". San Francisco to be presented in Ghirardelii Mumility in its pures'f-fbrrtinsagua'lity-that. ^ weelks - the nov.elfy is' y.et ta wgar . '●' - .'ferids to be espoused,rather.than.exipt'ess'edSquare with an ice cream sundae. I don't ti know exactly what is going to happen, but "I always vyondered^what'lt.was that ■ ' 'atthetbp JeVels of professigiral spprtf.spv-v^, ' ■ Ji ●t! wete going to San Francisco, which is cool." separated the Daytona 5,00 from ail the. 'one ofthe most st-hkihg:thingsiri.lhj.er;.: . .'immediate aftermath of Bayne's.Dayfcinci, ■ ’ ' . success Was that itvfas;acicpmpariied by a. ■ ■ rV ; streak of-guilt; I . 'De's'pite his fears over how trashihg'jiie’ . . .ft ' , apple cart would'have been, feceivedtjy j* ■;hislmdr*e'estabjished;riyali>thevyih.has,.’,: heen-well-teceived'.. In.i pa'rty.thiS'is'due to,, Bayne's popui.ar1ty.amghgstthe:driyefs,●but' . i ^ ;jt':aisp oyyies a tpAhe place that tfie Wpod..’ , ' ● ' irdthers team:hdids’iri'NASCARjiistory'(see'. 1-*

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-.sjdebar)..' - ' '"';^; ’ . ■ , y‘ was;scared fp'take a'n'y credit becaus^e I ● ■ fe'lt weird Gp,rnihg;.infand] vyibping ourfirst,. Qnewith'allthe-othef driversthat'have been’ ● -‘djdmg-this.for so long," Bayne says. ^ V, *';i was ik'ind’ of Wofnied abpu;tthat at first,^‘" thinking I was a pupk 20-yeai;-dld.kid.'. ' ■ ~[co:ffijng],to'steal theffthunder?-Toseethe driver support is'huge'td'm,e.’They've fatten

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BROTHERS IN ARNfS

Cl6aiii Skins: The 20,If DaytontirS.0O winner's Nmionwf.de Series carfor the moment ■retndins ansponsore'di below left.. Bad Company: Bayne under attack from Sprint Gup stars Worfy Stewart (J4), Bobby Ldbonte(47 ^Ma'rcosArhbrose's 2010 ridb)\arfdMarkMartin (SJ... and getting acquainted with fellow NASCAR rookie &dnica Patrick.: Cairtsawaiiids; IVIarfin%i!iex,:j‘r..;. there were so many guy's-l worked with in 'that ta,ee,Jf iit. wasn't for them, there is, no way ● I could have .won if. A let off his go'esTo. . ' them as. well: ' f "Alsefbecause Itbhink a lot of guys' like » . fq see thafWoodi'Biiothers car back in Victory iLarie'. That's a big part of NASGAR, . ‘history;'f mean,, the Wood ,Brothers are ●omeoffhe greatesf.fam:iiies in NASCAR ) sf‘ill.They, deserve jit. Don nie Wingo as rtiiy crew cliieT; everybody loves,him..We have',. . agrek'group.su«0Uin;diing us. Everybody' . . is. really pum'ped for'us. I think it's welldeseryedfbr the,Wb'od' Brothers. Em iust, . glad'thalT wIas fortunate enough to be , the one.to getlhem back in Vijclofy Lane. ■ " "If was .rea’ily coop going .to the ESPN .. stujdibs. if actually g,0t to go last year,. [but], this,yea r'j-d id n't feel'IS ke I'was' ' . interruptihg therf-shows'for sothething.i' actually felt likethey wanted ‘mefhere a . lijttle more, so’that was cool." ':0yernight sensations fend to bemany .-..1 years'in'the making, arid' Bayne is no ': exception.''He moved from, his native. . Knoxville;Tennessee to Mooresville, North. Caro'linaaf theage of TS to.getihimself ' into the heart of N4S.CAR country. ■ Nbt eyerything went

IN Australia, Wood BrothersNASCAR Racing probably resonates for the part played early in Marcos Ambrose's career, but the teammost is the oldest anditone of the most venerated in NASCAR history.Formed in 1950,the team enjoyed its greatest period with the likes of Davey Allison during the 1970s.Things have been more lean in recent times - its last Daytona victory was at the famous 1976 race, where David Pearson and Richard Petty made contact at the final corner while leading and spun off; Pearson scrabbling but of the grass and onto the track to take the chequered flag (check it out on YouTube).The last win came 10 years ago, when a young Elliott Sadler caused an upset at Bristol. "The Wood Brothers are big history people," Bayne says."They have a lot of history. They've taken me through their shop.I've talked to David Pearson, met Richard Petty, hung out with him for a while. You have to love this sport. NASCAR is one of the sports that stays true to its foundation. I really appreciate that, remembering the people that founded this ground that we're walking on now." Its perhaps no coincidence that of all the veterans offering Bayne advice in the leadup to Daytona - a race that was only his second Cup start - it was a few words from Pearson that stuck with him the most. "They asked [Pearson]on ESPN if he had any advice," Bayne says."He said,'Be careful. Do the 21 car some justice'. That stuck out. "I entered that race with a totally different mindset than I normally had. As a 19 or 20year-old, you want to be the guy that leads every lap, you want to make a statement, you want to do everything right. You put a lot of pressure on yourself. "When he said that, I went into the race in kind of survival mode for the first 150 laps, thin king,'I have to get to the end of this, avoid any crashes, push, not be pushed,just be smart the whole time'.That was crucial because that kept me calm,that kept me patient when we dropped to the back on some of the restarts to push back up to the field. Then at the end,just to make smart moves. "Hopefully we did the 21 carsome justice like he asked us to do. I think seeing it back in Victory Lane might have done it for him. 1 hope sp." . / Wood Brothers Racing (Len Wood, Donnie Wingo, Bayne, Eddie Wood, Glen Wood and Leonard Wood), top, celebrate their first Daytona win since David Pearson's post-crash triumph in 1976 (below). Pearson poses with Bayne's car, painted to match his '71 Mercury.

BAYNE IS STILL. GETTINC HIS HEAD AROUND THE SUDDEN TRANSITION FROM BEING SOMEONE WHO WANTED TO MEET FAMOUS PEOPLE TO SOMEONE FAMOUS PEOPLE WANT TO MEET ■111

according to the script. He. going to sound weird, but it's not to be the best race car driver, the most marketable, landed a plum deal as a development driver with DEI the most popular,, but ift to build a platform and let God use us bn the platform that in 2007,only for a,lack of sponsorship to wipe out his NASCARCamping He's building, which might require me to become the best racecar driver or be the World East ride at the end of the year. He most marketable or most popular, whatever scraped.together enough backing for a one-_ off Nationwide start at Bristol in 2009 and , it is'. I just want to stand on’the platform He's finished 23rd, which was enough to get putting'undef'me. That's our goal. If that's ’ him signed by Diamond-Waltrip Racing. ● our goal,.oiir highs and lows are going to be That was also curtailed by a lack of funding a lot.more manageable."There-were times when I was down, there in late 2010, leaving his season to be was a, six-month period when I was out' of a. rescued by a free seat with Roush-Fenway for the last few races. racecar and I thought it was going to be the ■ Bayne claims that the main thing that most crucial year of my career. B,ut God had a plan for them all. When everything was steered him through the uncertainty was faith,.both in himself and-jn.the greater falling apart last'year,i'yfdn'j'kn@w What.was ■; happening. Had 1 not Just followed- His path, sense. A driyer's religious views are not there's no way I'd fee sitting-here today as the usually something that need ’to be taken ' into account when discussing his on-track Daytona 500 Champion.' He might credit God for getting him achievements, but as might be expected this far; blit What he does next-will from someone hailing frorri the heart of have a lot to do with a combination of America's Bible Belt, they are a big part of what makes Bayne tick. . MASCAR's regulationsrapd sponsorship.. Before this [win] ever happened, I. had ● New rules introduced this year require ●drivers to register either for the Sprint Cup, ,. a meeting wjth some of the people that are-running my business stuff, running ●Nationwide Series or CqqTpin^ World Truck . ■ Series, ratherthan scoring poiritsm-afl-ihree my finahGiai.and everything/' he says. We sat down and we said,'Whatlsth'e The idea was’to prevent'Cup drivers-ffom' ' . dominating at the second-tier NatiOhwide' ●' goal of Trevor Bayne as a company, as a ■ level 'as well, bufironically the rules had the person, as anything?' ! told them,'this is.' opposite effect at Da'ytOn'a - as 'a 'Nationwjcle■’driver, Bayne was, not awarded’any points for his; win. HO had the option’to switch to Cup, but would not have beeh;awa.rded-h!s ● Daytona points retrospectively. In any event. it's.a non-issue. 'I'm, going to stay-.with Nationwide," he says. I'thihk'jt's a greatthing they're doing for ' the.sport; for the .young drivers there/to be ' . ab'le,-to rise upas chartipipris. Nothing really 'ch'ariged. The only thing that changed.is we. g.etto be tj^ie Dayfoha 500 champions, which ●-Is-incredible." , Alsojncredifeleisthatthe Roush-Fenway .. Ford that he.racesfn Nationwide was, up until Daytona,;more or less upsponsored. They stilfhave a-biahk car" Bayne s£iys."rd loy.e to get sOhie partners on it' For once,, that probably won't beta *■ Earning his S tripe: i Or rather th&rightto'remove ii - Bayrie poses with his Sprint Cup rookie stripe, left: Before W Daytona he was yirtually unknown; after Daytona he was suddenly a famous person. !●

prob'leriii. Wood Brothers reportedly had more than 50.0 emails from potential sponsors after Daytona, all of which remained’unanswered for at least a Week because everyone involved'was too busy turning things around for Phoenix. Given that Bayne's.Nationwide ear is probably the imost d'esirable blank billboard in US sport at the moment,it's safe to assume that it won't remain all-white for long. In the meantime; Bayne is still getting his head’around the sudden transition from ibeing, someone’Who wanted to meet famous people t© someone famous people wanfto meet. 'When we were at ESPN, they asked who I'd like to meet and I said [.Pteburgh Steelers defensive rock] Troy Polamalu," Bayne says. They said,'We're sure that can happen. ' You can meet whoever you want to now'. I

thought that was kind of cool. But the high point was when the White House called and said the President was going to want to talk to me in the next couple days,i had no idea who it was.Just a private number came up on my phone. Jimmie Johnson called,Jeff Gordon ... all ofthem,have been showing their support. but that one was the one that.shocked me ■I the most.' A couple of weeks ago,, the idea that the missing link between the leader of the free world and a 94kg gridiron player with hair like Slash could be a hyper-enthusiastic Southern kid with a solid right foot.wouldn't have made a lot of sense. But if there's one thing Trevor Bayne is learning after winning the Daytona 500, is that sometimes no amount of dreaming can ever prepare you for reality.

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USY. Complicated. Chaotic. Pick your favourite, but they all describe the life of Allan Simonsen. The Danish driver has built himself quite the portfolio of gigs in the world of sportscar racing, in fact, if you're looking at results from a GT race anywhere in Europe, chances are A. Simonsen'will show up somewhere. After a career in karting and several years in junior open-wheelers,Simonsen made his sportscar debut in 2002, contesting the British GT Championship. British GT with Hector Lestor in a Ferrari has remained a constant throughout the years, but it has been Joined by an ever-increasing array of other commitments,in 2010,Simonsen contested a total of 20 different race meetings in nine countries. On top of that, he's a tyre tester for Hankook, which adds another two countries and countless circuits to his 2010 tally. A drive with Farnbacher Racing is his primary role, tackling the Le Mans Series and the Nurburgring's VLN Series in Ferrari F430s, while he also made appearances in British GT, Carrera Cup Asia, V8 Supercars,the Bathurst 12 Hour and a historic race in Copenhagen. In the big ticket races, Simonsen and team-mate Dominik Farnbacher were Joined by Leh Keen to take second in LMGT2 and 12th outright in the Le Mans 24 Hour,and second outright in the Nurburgring 24 Hour,for which they were also Joined by Marco Seefried. In previous years, Simonsen has also been seen in the FIA GT Championship, while the Hankook deal saw Simonsen and Farnbacher contest and win the GT2 class in the 2009 Asian Le Mans Series. "I don't think there's anyone who does any more than 1 do, as in different things," Simonsen, who's based in Monaco these days, says, "it's probably more than 20... probably 25 weekends away. Some of the races are double headers,so it adds up. "On top of that, we do a lot of testing; I do all of the development testing for HankookTyres,so we have a lot of test days on top of that and now we spend a lot of days on the Nordschleife with Farnbacher. "So associated with racing, it's probably more than 200 days of the year, that's for sure, because if you take your travelling and obviously it's not Just on the race. You've got to organise your packing, if you drive in 10 different championships, which helmets and suits are you going to bring to which car, where you're going to be from that point because you need to have all of your stuff with . you. "It takes a lot of organising and,on top of that, communicating with the teams in organising the travel and that stuff. And obviously in the off-season you try and get all of your contracts organised and that stuff. It's busy, but it's good. I choose myself to fill my calendar up like that." Stability will be on Simonsen's side in 2011, with his dance card remaining essentially the same,sticking with Farnbacher and Hankook. He'll have a new toy to play with in Europe, having already raced in Dubai and Australia before the season kicks off. "We're still going to do the Le Mans Series, which is the main priority, and Le Mans with HankookTyres," he said. "The biggest difference is that we're changing the car now to the new model Ferrari, the 458 GT2 car. So that's probably the biggest change on that aspect, but still, same team,same co-driver, Dominik

Farnbacher. We're going to do the Nurburgring 24 Hour again with Hankook as well as the German VLN rounds on the Nordschleife leading up to the 24 Hour. "So that's basically all the same except the change to the car and I'll try to do as many races as I can in the British GT again." Surprisingly, there is still time for hobbies and side projects. One of them. Drifting, saw Simonsen contest a round of the Scandinavian Drift Championship last year, while he could get behind the wheel of a Group C Sportscar this year. "Drifting is my hobby,"the 32-year-old said. "I had time to go and do one round of the Scandinavian Drift Championship and came sixth. I was pretty happy with that,seeing as it was my first time.That's more of a hobby than a profession, but it's good fun and it's another new aspect onto all of the other things, with rally and all that. "I've got another little project for this year, a friend of mine has bought a Historic Group C Sportscar and I might do a couple of rounds with him in that. But, again,that's more of a good time out rather than a professional meeting. We might do the Silverstone Classic and the German Revival, which is another big Sportscar event." The highlight of all of the machinery so far, he says,came at Le Mans in 2008. Simonsen stepped out of GT ranks and into a Prototype, running a Lola B05/40 in the LMP2 class. Having received a last-minute call-up from German outfit Kruse Schiller Motorsport alongside Hideki Noda(remember him?)and Jean de Portaies. Ultimately, a driveshaft failure ended their run Just before the halfway mark, but it left an impression and Simonsen hoping he'll get another crack in a Prototype. "For me,to drive Prototypes is the ultimate,"Simonsen said. "It's got more horsepower than a V8 Supercar and it's got three times the grip. That is, to me,the ultimate. "Hankook's got some plans for the future of going into Prototype Racing so it could be that I end up there again. Who knows? But Prototypes are probably the ultimate of the cars at this stage." Then, - Australia. there is a country many thousand kilometres from home Simonsen has been a regular in GT cars in Australia since 2003, and contested February's Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour with Luke Searle and Lestor,finishing sixth in the latter's Ferrari F430. He's back in the VodkaO Australian GT Championship, which he won in 2007, running as Nick O'Halloran's co-driver in at least two, possibly all three,the category's longer-distance rounds in a F430, which kicked off at the Clipsal 500. Simonsen's long-running association with Ted Huglin will also continue, aboard Huglin's newest toy, a Lamborghini LP560 GT. "Last year, 1 didn't actually come out and do any of the Australian GT rounds," he said. "I did a Production [Sports] Car race with Ted in his Lamborghini, and I'll do that again this year, but I'm gonna actually do the enduros for the Australian GT as well, starting at Clipsal with Maranello Motorsport with Nick O'Halloran, who's a gentleman driver. "At this stage it's Eastern Creek as well.There's another enduro at the end of the year at Phillip Island, but at the moment we might have a clash there with Europe,so we'll see if we can work nil it out.'

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He'll also contest the V8 Supercar endurance races. Simonsen made his debut with Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2003 and has since become a regular. A fifth at Bathurst in 2007 with Richard Lyons, when Simonsen brought their TeamVodafone Falcon home in greasy conditions, is his best result, while he finished sixth last year with Greg Murphy for Paul Morris Motorsport. International clashes ruled him out of the enduros in 2008 and Phillip Island last year, but he's clash free in 2011. While a deal hadn't been announced MNews went to print, he's been highly sought after. "This year I'll do both of them, which is great," he said. "It's always good to come down here and be a part of it. I still rate the V8 Supercars as the best championship in the world,so I'm pleased to be a part of it." Given the esteem in which he holds V8 Supercars, would he trade in all of his other gigs and European life for a fulltime V8 Supercar ride should, say,TeamVodafone boss Roland Dane get on the phone? "Yep. Absolutely," he says immediately. "I think it's the ultimate championship in the world.The cars are very unique,the fans in Australia back up against it so well and I've done all of this European stuff for a long time and made my name there,so I could always go back. "With the V8 Supercars, it would be nice to do it, but it would have to be a good team to do it and have a fair shot at it. I wouldn't want nil

to do it running down the back, it would have to be to give it a proper shot." When Simonsen first appeared down here as a relative unknown at the 2003 Clipsal 500, driving a Ferrari 360 in the now-defunct Nations Cup,few could have predicted that Australia would become such a large part of Simonsen's racing life. He lived in Melbourne for six years and while a fulltime V8 drive hasn't come to fruition yet, he's dabbled in tarmac rallying, V8 Utes and Aussie Racing Cars in addition to his enduro rides and GT duties. For the Dane it's just part of life as a professional driver, and that's the way he likes it. "Any driver's got to make it somewhere," he says. "I was already going pretty well in England at the time, it was Just a coincidence that I came down and I really loved the culture and the way people go about the racing here - it could've also been America or Japan, I had contacts there. "But this is where I came and I fell really well into the Australian GT Championship with Maranello Motorsport and the boys down there, and I've kept a very strong relationship with them ever since. "There's more to racing than just the racing, there's the life around it and it fitted in really well with what I wanted. I've done so much now that really the last thing I would've liked to do was go into the V8 Supercars and have a proper crack at it full-time, given the right opportunity. "You know, it's been very good,and I wouldn't change it for anything."

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HIS is a big year in the V8 Supercar career of David Russell. And he knows it. He's embarking on his third straight year in the Fujitsu Series in good machinery, and while he's scored race and round wins in the last two years, he wants to put it all together in 2011 and walk away with the title. And he wants to sew up a Main Game drive for 2012. To this point, the Lismore-born, Brisbane-based driver's career path hasn't been as conventional or linear as many of his rivals. Out of Speedway racing, he first emerged in Production Cars in 2002 and raced in the Konica Series with the Chance of a Lifetime program in 2003. A period on the sidelines was broken by a three-year

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stint in Carrera Cup starting in 2006, capped by third in the 2008 season. Howard Racing provided a return to V8s in 2009, finishing third in the Fujitsu Series. Then came an uncertain off-season, in which it looked as though he may miss out on a fulltime FV8 drive, before a last-minute call-up to join MW Motorsport in one of their FPR-built Falcons. Having never driven the car before the season opener, he dived straight into the deep end. "i actually sat in the car for the first time at Clipsal, so i had to make seat modifications and all of that sort of stuff at the track," he recalled. "I had no idea what to expect, whatsoever, when i rocked up. The first practice session was my first drive of

the car and it was a big learning curve from the year before. "The car took a bit of getting used to. When you're not testing in the car and not having done any miles in the car, you have to get your head around driving a new beast; butthe team were also trying to work out the set-up and adapting things on the car." When the racing got underway, things didn't exactly go to plan. The opening four rounds each featured a troubled race. At Townsville, Russell led the final race, only to cop a touch from Steve Owen when the eventual Champ made an error. A round win at Bathurst turned it around and third at Sandown got him up to second in the standings, only to endure a shocker in 73

Homebush's season finale and drop to fifth on the final table. "Last year was a bit trying for us in some cases," he said. "We were a bit unlucky and we sort of fought back pretty hard. Unfortunately it was a little bit too late. "This year, we've got continuity with the same car, the same team and same sponsor in Jayco,so it's very important that we start the season off well and make sure we've got that consistency throughout the year. "If we maintained a consistent run, we would've been a title contender last year. That's what we need to have, just that consistency in our runs. If we haven't got the car on the day, we Just want to fight hard and make sure we're finishing races." In a frustrating year, Bathurst stands out as a highlight, but he even had to do that the hard way. In practice, Russell came across Skyline to find another competitor stranded across the track and the inevitable accident occurred. From there, though, it was smooth sailing, taking pole position and a pair of wins. ISII

"That was a little bit out of our control," Russell said. "There are always a few inexperienced drivers that come along and say'right. I'll do Bathurst'and they sort of forget what a tough, challenging place it is to drive. We sort of got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, but we bounced back strongly from there. We went out and had a great qualifying to put it on pole and obviously win both races. "We had the pace and the consistency, so hopefully that's a sign for us. We had good pace in the last few rounds.That Bathurst round was certainly a turning point for us in 2010 and hopefully we can continue that form into this season." Having been among the front runners in the last two seasons, Russell is acutely aware of the expectations he's trying to meet in 2011. After last year's non-existent preparation, he's now done a full season with MW Motorsport and tested twice before the start of the 2011 campaign. He's expected to be fighting it out for the championship, "it's very important for me," he says of winning the title.

"This year, there won't be any excuses on the build-up. As a team, we need to roll the cars out and have them on the pace straight away. Myself, as a driver, i need to make sure that i'm on the pace straightaway and that we're up the front. "I'm feeling confident, I'm feeling fit and able to do the job." The 2011 Fujitsu Series is arguably the series'most open and competitive yet. Russell is joined by fellow 2010 round winnerTim Blanchard at MW, while Walkinshaw Racing protege Nick Percat is back after an impressive rookie campaign. Among the other contenders,the experienced Jack Perkins teams up with Sonic Motor Racing, while Main Game refugee Andrew Thompson will be behind the wheel in Triple Eight's maiden FV8 campaign. In short, there are plenty of drivers with the ability and machinery to get the job done. "There's certainly some good competition this year, as there was last year, but I think it's taken a step up," Russell said. "There are certainly some good cars, and some good drivers in them as well. motorsport news

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I ICLEAftiHlGHtIGHli D so it's definitely going to be a tough year." At various stages of 2010, Cameron McConville, Paul Morris, David Reynolds and Craig Baird all made Fujitsu Series appearances. While nowhere near as prominent as NASCAR stars running in the second tier Nationwide Series, experienced drivers running in the Fujitsu Series to grab extra miles before the enduros is becoming more popular and has split opinions. Morris is set to

contest selected rounds again in 2011, while there has been much talk about Triple Eight giving Mark Skaife a Fujitsu Series hitoutortwo. Russell says he welcomes the presence of the ring-ins, so long as those who support the full series aren't neglected. "1 think it's great to race against these guys," he said. "You can use them as a good yardstick and, also, if you're beating them, it

makes you look good anyway. On that side of it, I think it's fantastic that you've got guys coming in, and guys like Andrew Thompson coming in as well, he's obviously in very good equipment. Although he's young, he's also had the experience of the main series on several occasions. "The fact he's coming back will be good for the guys who are looking to get their leg into the main series to try and gauge off that as well.

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'My only view on that would be that the coverage when those guys are back in the series, is that the guys who are there for the season aren't forgotten on the TV coverage and that side of it. "The TV coverage doesn't need to be all about the guy who came back from the main game, because it's important for us to be able to go back to our sponsors and say'we got a good amount of coverage'." The endurance races also give young drivers like Russell a chance to prove their wares against the established drivers. Having made his enduro debut in 2003, Russell had to wait until last year for another crack, when he teamed up with Jonathon Webb in what was then the third Dick Johnson Racing Falcon, below. At Phillip Island, they were quiet achievers,finishing sixth. A month later, at Bathurst, Russell was in the top 10 in each of the two co-driver sessions. III!

with the pair eventually finishing the 1000km classic in 19th. "If I look at Bathurst, I was in the top six to top eight in those co-driver sessions," he said. "I was pretty happy to be in that top few guys. When I look back at some of the names I had behind me, and I wasn't even on green tyres, 1 was pretty happy. I learnt a lot about the intensity of those races and I'm looking forward to doing it again this year." As MNews went to print, Russell's 2011 enduro plans had yet to be finalised. He'd held discussions with several teams and tested with Kelly Racing atWinton in March. Like his Fujitsu Series contemporaries, Russell knows the 2010 rule change keeping main series drivers in their own cars has placed a greater importance on teams securing strong endurance drivers, and come in at a great time. "That's worked right into the favour of the guys that are in the Fujitsu Series

and doing a good job, that are showing they're capable of being a good co driver," he said. "It's taken away the 'let's put two gun drivers in that car and focus on that car and the second car gets to where it gets to'. "The drivers are saying 'I want to get the best co-driver I can' because they want to get the best result they can.That's certainly been a great rule change in my opinion." Racing in the top flight twice a year as a co-driver is one thing, Russell wants a car to himself for the full V8 Supercar Championship. Beyond results, Russell is focused on securing a step up for 2012. "That's the goal," he says,"and I've certainly made no secret of that, that I want to be in the main series in 2012. "I don't think that's out of reach at all, if we have a strong showing this year, I certainly don't think that it's out of reach for us at all."

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pthir clSahhels'aftenit's|l^d%. - ^ stint atthe top.'lnÂustraTia's’cas'e,- jy8’Su'percaf,thefranii^^Wer||li' that's Carrera Cup,.whiGhreturns,.,' ând theruthejbbely iS’putbiii'lt^î the PorscheGT3.^Gug:'Cha'llenge r X V-v to second spot onthepyrarhid _.^îFhe9,97ji|^l^|titi|ll|b^t^' and', generally, the second ^6p> '●*’ ' 'when-yo#start JiSinii^t|i-wet «for most.of Porsche's machinery;... ;jife-aJiffererf^^^^l@996i -●e, ■ r ,flife-GT3''Gup Chairentgestarted^ f§,etS)i|siityifetg^|rat^^^kai!i|l £> 'i î™200'8;a1m0stexiws#eT|vfe|r‘: - fg^gkerjapîMlhlfeafe!^" 996 CupCars, which'werei||^!î^. : ibrt!^brergnip^waiiabje'^dl#b:h^— between iQQS andf|00liii ^ it's like-ilriSingâMryjA/eathfe^^Î"** Carrera Cup's first'AustraliahtStiht.’ . ’kart4■© a^M7etêaWerg|)jklR^ And; alfnost a decade a%Nh%y*-_ i ' ●first raeediih Australia,th^feiSfiir*' -Is _tlieâssiSjs»|îyoM^-^.^^^ plenty ©filife left in the 996s. Even with an increasing ; : S:dJnt^tinfi4l^hW^h^^feik^ - f.V-number of newer 99-7s ehteriiit|t fi-7S3 »ratl the series, the';996 Gup^€ar|rc \ .v^neswinheritoiefi^^P""’'' i._ retnfihii#hi>,petitiê^!âj|iif^^^ '●ihtj#a|hukjîl^^pt|i®^^ the 2f@9iitle;M|tt:Kirfg|liyf'' , ’narr0wlymissed!'dUtfjt#ihfiThg:Sf, ●the|f%0?series,"due_t^_ ■ V '^t|i^|^|reilikl.l’^tirnils^,.--.>._^ ..q,ua!ii|!ing!,aGgidentat Sahi'dWn's |ilflilyia]^^^^gdfa.v,£ leasomfihate.' . . ' , ■Jill(?iKih^|gyS'aySi&espel^ r iarlierlhtheyear,-iK!nf|iiy... , <f' >●

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'’0|i||BlSoStthereiSi^llyf^^,/3^bi^ly^^^^^^p^^^ srei-at. ■ ● ■■ '';Wth.'m,^lf,KMe^M ’: :^|^rGent allll^^^^^^thiy"-' ©re|jme IraeksAv^hieithij g,©t t%<feiWlittT&lblt%. . quiite!bigil0thepl;;#W®aii . Eaj!e'fuf#,.wh'attheyy’o,wlth' a' ’ strengths and weakneSSesiirii "'j^res.'At^,^rn0n|lPlaihs,;la^t-.-. ● . bothfdf the cars, so it's ibddt year, threeTorfouricarshadffoi'g,©! maximisingit." '● loirear ofrgridibe'caqse they#a%. While the 997 is a-mdre'^ ● , ■-©utiolifronttyresf^ji’itheirtyre ■i'_: ipuiipbserbuilt racer, there are^ffillf. jîahk^ . ● -C&ndih'0ns-andi.c-irGum-^nce^'^îj!^j^teiiGarfWas<exteriîyll|!:'i - .thelbenefitidf A'B'S ^|i|S.dlictedl®iirfpi1htl£e''996la*rfd6 hands, asiKingsleyâhiji’d'^^-' ^ /wIlii'raGellirrithi® season, ipatticularihawe shown, they .Gp; _; ' vv^hieh kicks Off at WakefieldilPark still get the job done. ©nApril. i-S'.‘Kingsley is Hodkingi forward togettingi back "The biggest performance of innicanbifeelshis teams the 996 over the 997,fguess, is IT'*

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itiTifaite i&igjiilt Isiiiiiifep a goodyear inhis99@. "fhe 996 isa gOOd'Oldi glrli it Shoali’dibe now' after the' Sandowncrash/'he said: "It's been totally rebuilt, it's actually a lift feetter thaa it previously was, ini terms of corner weighting! andiit's got hrandi newf hocfe and everything. "It's goingtohe an absolute roCketShip- this year, Ibothifor myself and Terry. We'wedfne the same sort of process to iboth: cars, liffidithiihk at Wa'kefieidiPark, Terry will he pretty hiOody quick." In aiipositive sign, the 996 ra nks arenit pst oEeupied'hy people owning and continuing to irunitheir existing; car. iKnight soidihis 996 midway through last year, but purchasedi One o# f©nyQ.uinn'tO:'replaeeit.fo;rmer ProducliionCar racer ,tee Castl'e grabbed Knight's former ride andimade his.debut at Sandown,. finishing! thirdin the 996s for the weekend, iarl ier inthe year, Southi Austraiiani JfhntGoodacre made the switch from Saloon Gars to the'®®!'Cup Ghalfenge, when he also purchaseda: 996. Goodaere; who eventually finished thirdlh' the 996 class standiiings,; wasai complete POrsCheneWbie. "i haddt driven any PirsChe hef©re;"lhe says. "It was the first PorsCheildiever bought ordriven or ownedt Id inever eweni sat i n"one„ ifOr that matterl'iiiTowe the Caft it's exciting; it's aift of workhecauaey©u%e gOt a»!WNP#!lfemB|iaiphfx:andl the ear handil'es well.

Iimisfeeid:th i ndi i i?)i lililawfegKQn'If eoimpeted in four p©isinds,.\whieli f was pre®y hiappy wilih. f:©@dttla*teyliha'®© a;separata category w recog nise thatthe cars are diferent and thatthe ff&carsiean'tcQiinpetewl^ |®7,generally." ieyond;the class structuire, ttecars.!rernain!ic©iinpetitiwe. fhe ongoingperformances <tfiKimgsley andilose are ■ensouragihg for '©Oodaere; who aims to continae to make inroads this year, haffiingjSiored! threetoprsiifc (outtiight iraree finishes in 2010; '"ihepe%'ipK©:ha'i)1flha'lf-.a«second' ailap.:inHit,Jhetweenilie t«d> cars,"he said* of the diference ilDetween.af96 and 997. "got with: Matt ©atthe front, it encourages you that it is possible fO'iran at thelront. And' iKaneilOse, inhis 99S, wonithe Sandown roandisothe Cars aren'tsjow if yO:u?ye got |hei%iht SSWppnithem andiihawe themi sOited. "Ihe higgest proislemlhawe is..thatiid’onft;know how to set the car up properly. We don't really iknow anything, about the suspension Settings and that sort of things sf we're hoping that ■wlen; wef,et that sortedilhen we'iii be atibll rnore up towards the front of the teldi"

AilhO,ughiiikely tOimovejupto afff at some stage; (Soodacre is ihappy with his first foray into' !P’o:rsChei©.wn:e;Pshipj.th,e#:§^i|p' 'fihailgng,e and!,®pp0i5tunities t©'' undertake some exstracunricaiar ttiiingiiiihi state-ie«iii sportscars andi^Frod'aftion; Sports endyros. "it'snothingi likeaSalOOniCar! '^Iran aeoapleoffrodaition i'we got anHdlp'/MOlii»lidteiwe JpirtsiOmS'h'OUr ifacesiliitheta r iniimproved'Rfodaetion-and’ii ilst year,one atiMdrganiink, " drowe thatirecently andithought and^the'OntatfthtllipJISiandrie %0VB; this lijsfibadiiil inftlanffi^. 'Pigt ; ' 'Ifeu-canjun them iinrafi sorts Afterd'riwingithe Porsche, i'rtiii ' committeditoithBlPOrschenow/' . ofthings., ilit%aigo©dadvantage i€ood'acne says the’'996!was:ah'; , itojihawin gj the Porsche over the affordable and sensible way t© SSloonCfft in that it's a very jjoini the series. The fact they have competitive car in other events, their fWftOlass to race and sCfre "Withitheone“h©ar enduros, bragging rights within is another fOaiget out, the car's<fine,they're ibonus. relia'bie, they hardly ase any fuel ataffefOupe©:a'ldprohah;ly-.to;'t^ ''It was jiust aiffOd'sta rtingi hours ihit. ■ point,fthin'k, and-Offered value for im©:n ey"1he says of the a ppeaf ©flbuyingiaiffti. -' f, f|i was newitofthe series, so# ' to®!muchTo mlneatall.And' that's why youiibuf an, expen sive the most expensiwecat,fijust car, you ihope youicani get some wanted: to see how I went. reliability; it's relatively cheap to ,race the 996. because it's reliable:' 'fhe”996ciass Is gfodilthink WXSMulSSSQiSSiSiBiS

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BEFORE WSS commenced,we won the first race of the season, which was the $10,000 to win at Mackay in September. It was a good start for the team,so when WSS rolled around at Brisbane, we were pretty confident that we were on track. But little did we realise the night we were going to have there. We set quick-time, which was great, but then everything went sour, as the chassis was hurt in a heat race incident and was in very bad shape -four inches too short. But the dedicated ECP team and lots of other people pitched in to help to get the car back together.The car was that bad that if it wasn't a WSS round, we would have packed up, but we were there to race World Series and couldn't relinquish that many points so early. Amazingly, we won the race with an extremely wounded car, which was totally unexpected but a truly fantastic team effort. It was a night that we will talk about for years to come and technically shouldn't have finished anywhere near as good as we did, coming home in front of Steve Lines and Cameron Gessner.

WE got another win straight up in Toowoomba the following weekend, thankfully in not nearly as eventful circumstances as Brisbane. Quicktime was tough with a fuel drama, which resulted in us only qualifying in 10th. But we fought back throughout the night to start on the outside of the front row, next to Dave Murcott. We got the jump on the start and led every lap, with the new chassis feeling good all night. The crew did an awesome Job over those two weeks,and I really believe this good start to World Series made the difference in the end. We got home from Cameron Gessner and Matthew Reed that night, which resulted in a perfect points start in the WSS chase.

THE mVB- f5tE I'VE always enjoyed going to Tasmania, with good success there over the years, but Rounds 3 and 4 did not go anywhere near to plan.The tracks were very slick and we made some bad decisions with the car, and suffered with two results outside the top Top 10. Not what we wanted at all. The upside of that was we did learn a lot about the new car early, especially what not to do!

WE then had a small break before Christmas and competing in the hectic Speedweek. I thought Speedweek was where we really started to sort the car out and got a pretty good baseline for our set-up. Although we didn't have a win through the week, we were regularly in the Top 6, aside from ^valon where we suffered a power steering failure. With several other teams having mixed results that week, it really narrowed down who had a major chance of winning WSS. Dave Murcott had a good week and continually looked good every night. We knew he was going to be tough for the rest of the series from that point on. 83

mcm AFTER rain in Sydney, Brisbane and Mildura, we finally got a race in at Murray Bridge where we continued to improve the car, and came out of the night with a second.The only problem was, it was to our main points rival in Murcott. The next night at Adelaide we had another good night, running second in the feature, only to have a red light stoppage on the last lap. It was at this point my right rear tyre went flat while waiting for the restart, limping home to finish fifth. I was disappointed after that, but still confident heading into the home stretch of the series in Western Australia.

WHILE WSS was in limbo we headed back to Victoria for the Presidents Cup at Avalon, where we led until the front wing broke off and wedged between the chassis and steering. I salvaged a third place, but that was one that got away, only for the breakage. Over to Mount Gambler for the Kings Challenge was next, and after dropping a heat we come from the back to sixth place. I came away from that night really happy with our car speed.

IT'S the big event of the year, the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool, and I, like many others, do love racing there. We timed good, got through the heats no problem on the first night, and were sitting fourth in the feature until a right rear wheel centre broke entering Turn 3 and destroyed the car after hitting that tough wall. We put a new car together for the next night but had a bad start to the Classic feature, but worked through the field to be running sixth until the car stopped due to a broken fuel pump. The Australian Sprintcar Championship was a few days later, also at Warrnambool,and things unfortunately didn't go well either. After a solid opening night, we suffered contact with another car in the Preliminary A Main, costing us a heap of points going into night two. We started out of Position 16 for the 49th National Championship, and eventually came eighth.The Eagle was great but with such a quality field and not many stoppages, it was always going to be difficult to finish too far up the front. Personally, I would have liked to see what we could have done starting closer to the front. I really hoped for more out of the Australian Title, I do love that race, but at the end of the day, you need to put yourself in a position to win the race, and we just didn't do that. motorsport news

WE headed to Adelaide on our way for the final rounds of WSS and dropped in to race in the Jack Daniel's Australian Open Nationals. We ran second to newly crowned Australia #1 BrookeTatnell, which was pleasing as we were looking for momentum for the following week. The home run in WSS was now on. Kalgoorlie was first in the West for us and we grabbed a much-needed second behind Jason Johnson. With the WSS chase nearly done it was off to Bunbury to a track where I have had good success,and that continued with a win on night one,and a fourth the following evening.

THE penultimate round was at Manjimup Speedway,a track no-one had been to before. We did alright in qualifying, setting sixth, but after that the good luck ended.We started the A Main from row two but mid-race, having just caught the early leader in Murcott, he spun in front of us and we had nowhere to go. I put the car sideways to and try miss him but as we went in it hit dead sideways. It resulted in a huge amount of damage to the car and motor. So instead of going into the last round with a decent points lead, we now had a two-point lead and a destroyed racecar. We had a day and half to regroup but we were determined to bounce back and win this elusive WSS title, and spent the following day putting a new car together.

WE went into the final weekend of WSS with handful of points up our sleeve over Murcott.The pressure was on. It's a long, up and down Series, but this was it, and I had to have a better weekend than Murcott- it was as simple as that (1 hoped!). We qualified in theTop 6 and went forward in our heats. Our main challenger in Dave Murcott had an uncharacteristic qualifying,timing outside theTop 30.So from then on we just tried to run towards the front for the rest of the round running in theTop 5 all weekend and, unfortunately for Murcott and his team,they had a shocker all weekend. I don't get emotional very often, but when I watched the C main with Murcott missing the transfer spot, I knew we had won the Championship. It was a huge relieffor me and made me proud of my team,the effort they put in, and the opportunity I have been given to race for ECP. It was one of those career-defining moments to finally get the championship after coming close so many times. It is a great result for our team,sponsors and fans.

THB I HAVE won an Australian championship in both Sprintcars and Speedcars,and now the World Series Sprintcars Championship crown is something I will be very proud of for the rest of my life. My name is now on that trophy with the greatest names in Australian sprintcar racing,for me a Classic win would be cool to put with them all. Well, maybe one day. www.mnews.com.au

9,'

WORLD WAI When most people think of karting in Australia, they think of Arrow. But at the opening round of the 2011 CIK Stars of Karting series, there was 17 different chassis on the grid, and they came from all over the world

N years gone by, Australian karting has been dominated by a handful of chassis manufacturers and importers. However,over recent times the market has seen an influx of new brands taking to the track. The likes of well-known brands such as Arrow, BIrel, BRM, CRG, Monaco, PCR, Swiss Hutless,Tony Kart and Top Kart are now up against the new breed of chassis such as DR Kart, Exprit, FA Kart, Force One, Gillard, Intrepid, Kosmic, Lenzo Kart, MS Kart, Sodi Kart and Wright kart. The Drew Price Engineering (DPE) Arrow kart has been the long-time leader In terms of 86

market share in the sport, but with no less than 20 brands now available in Australia, there is a real European Invasion. While acknowledging the battle for kart sales is tougher than ever before, DPE's Research and Development Manager Bart Price says that being a homegrown manufacturer certainly has Its benefits. "It's extremely tough out there,the area that we find most difficult to stay ahead of is in the'performance classes' mainly, because our European opposition is continuing to develop all day every day while focusing on the Rotax/Leopard/ CIK type categories,"says Price. "Although we are big In

Australia, we probably don't connpare size-wise to the likes of Tony Kart and CRG,therefore we don't have the same amount of dollars to invest back into the development of these categories. "However,the area that we can excel in that they can't is the Australian 'specific'classes. We have an upper hand in these areas, as our testing and development is done in our conditions." The Arrow team has also changed the way their'Official RaceTeam'is structured in an effort to stay ahead of the pack. "We're moving into a phase where the younger drivers are becoming more involved in

the testing and development, because they can naturally drive faster and therefore it leaves more room in their analysing in what the kart is doing in terms on their feedback and what the kart requires," adds Price. "We now have a range of drivers in the race team, all have different styles in different classes to provide us with feedback, but we are also communicating a lot better with our external drivers as wel l to further enhance our product." CRG is one of the world's most recognisable brands with the distinctive black, yellow,and in more recent times, dayglo orange, becoming one of motorsport news

117 the most common sights on karting tracks around the world. Imported into Australia by the Chris Dell-led St George Kart Centre, Dell admits the new players into the Australian market have certainly changed the landscape of Australian karting. "While there is no doubt that the increased number of manufacturers and importers has made it more competitive, there are a number of areas we think will help CRG remain in the forefront of Australian karters,"says Dell. "I believe it is important to have a large range of models in your range, a lot of the brands may have one model that will suit one particular class, but not many of them will have something that goes from Midgets through to the CIK classes like we do.This is www.mnews.com.au

By the numbers- GIK Stars of Karting Series Round 1

HEN looking at the breakdown of the 72 competitors across the three Pro categories in the opening round of the CiK Stars of Karting Series recently, it makes for some interesting reading. Imported into Australia by Remo Racing,the Kosmic kart has been a strong performer for a few years now,and there were 12 drivers using the chassis. Right behind the Kosmic brand is the Kart 1 Racing Top Kart outfit led by Tim Craig and Fergus Symes. Early last decade the Blue Top Kart team was the dominantforce in the CIK Stars of Karting Series, capturing numerous titles, this year no less than 11 drivers are lining up aboard a Top Kart. A new player in the chassis war is the Exprit chassis, imported into Australia by International Karting Distributors.This was the brand's debut

one key area what helps us maintain our strong position in the market place. "The relationship with the factory is also a big thing; we've been with CRG since 1989 and over that time we've built a good working relationship.

in the series, but with eight competitors using this impressive looking machinery they will be sure to make an impact throughout 2011. The CRG team had seven entries - as did one of the world's most iconic brands Tony Kart, which is the reigning Trans-West Manufacturers Challenge Winning Team. Launched into Australia less than 12 months ago,the DR Kart team is certainly taking the fight to the bigger marques.The BRM and Intrepid brands also had four entries each. Australia's lone chassis representative against the European invasion was the country's most successful brand. Arrow, with two entries. FA Kart(Fernando Alonso), Gillard and MS Kart also had two entries a piece while single entries were received by drivers using Birel, Force One,Lenzo, PCR and Swiss Hutless.

where we are actually able to tailor the karts for the market. We're constantly working with the factory on evolutions to suit our classes here in Australia, they are things that can only be done once you have a very strong working relationship.

"The trackside support is also a key area, it is very important to show the support to your customers. If you continue to support them, more times than not they will return the favour by supporting you as a long term customer." 87

MODEL BEHAVIOUR

Petit Le Mans North America has its own small-scale Le Mans thing going on,but here in Australia Apex Replicas has the realpetitLe Mans deal with itsjustreleased models oflast year's24 Hour-winning AudiRIO, By BRUCE MOXON

RE you a bit of geek? I am,and this got me real excited. How about a Hot Wheels car with a builtin video camera? So you can record it going along its track, doing loops and jumps,then download the footage onto your computer and play it back! There's also a small screen built into the car's floor for instant playback. You can clip the car to a skateboard or pushbike and record that too (there's a mount provided).The car has 512mb of onboard memory,enough for 1218 minutes of video footage. It's not real high definition, though, but for the money... Serious. This is just about the ultimate geek toy. More on the Hot Wheels Video Racer next month. Apex Replicas has inked a new pricing deal with Minichamps, which is good news for all who like Formula 1 models,for starters. How does a recommended retail price of $110 sound fora 1/18 88

Mark Webber Red Bull?The new Minichamps pricing puts Australia at about the same price as the USA, which is not before time.The price disparity between us and the American market has been a bugbear for buyers, sellers and shops, and has led to a bit of cross-Pacific trade over the years. Models in 1/43 scale should be a bit over $50 each, recommended retail - again, a much more realistic price. Apex has just been announced as the local distributor for Spark Models. Have a look at the picture of the Le Mans-winning RIO from 2010.The Audis weren't as fast as the Peugeots, but the Joest team pushed the French cars hard enough that they all failed within a few hours of each other.The German team went on to a crushing 1 -2-3 result as the French surrendered. The R10 will be here around the end of May (just in time for this year's Le Mans).The 1/18 will retail for about $175 and the 1/43 for about nil motorsport news

;Audis 20i0Le Mans winner and Classic Carlectables'range of last year's V8 Supercars are now on sale.

www.mnews.com.au

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$65. Just have to keep mine away from my Peugeot road car, which might also surrender! There's quite a bit happening at Blante at the moment. Last Issue we mentioned Biante's upcoming Jack Brabham/ Stirling MossTorana L34from the 1976 Bathurst 1000, which you can see here. But Biante is offering another Holden touring car that also failed to start the Great Race - and likewise in spectacular fashion. I'm talking about the 1997 Holden Young Lions car, as driven (in practice and qualifying, anyway) by Mark Noske and Jason Bargwanna. Sensationally, Bargs put the car on provisional pole on Friday

and had been looking good for a decent result, up until the Sunday morning warm-up. when he destroyed the machine against the wall at Forrest's Elbow. The unusual red, silver and white looked good then, and the model captures that look nicely. The VS/VR mould is very attractive and this car is one for the Holden fans. Meanwhile, things are a bit quiet at Classic Carlectables. There are no new 1/18 releases planned for the next two months or so while they gear up for a big second half of the year. CEO Peter Thompson told me they had a couple of big announcements coming up, but nothing in the shortterm. 1..^

Lionised: Ciassic Carlectables' '97 Holden Young Lions Bathurst Commodore as it was before it contacted the wall in the race warmup. 90

motorsport news

Peter BrocR |

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Bathurst legends: The ill-fated Jack Brabham/Stirling Moss‘comeback’ Torana L34 from the'76 Bathurst 1000 has been done in 1/43 by Biante.

Those ofus who follow Marcos Ambrose will be delighted to see thatIcon Modelsis again importing models ofhis 2011 ride,in 1/24scale. 92

motorsport news

MOTORSPORTIMAGE^^ Interestingly, I'm told they have nothing in their warehouse right now;they sell everything they can make. Just the way they'd like it, I'd say. But last month,the 1995 Bathurst 1000 pole-sitter hit the shops in 1/18 scale.The VR Commodore looked sensational and was fast, obviously.They had a rotten race, however, retiring with an engine failure after just 10 laps. The team car of Peter Brock and Tomas Mezera fared little better, being parked after 22 laps.There was a rumour at the time that in all the haste to get the cars ready for the race, somehow or other the team managed to forget to fill up the cars'oil tanks. No such problem with the Classic Carlectables version, however.These cars don't need oil, which means they can never www.mnews.com.au

develop a leak. Last month we unveiled Classic Carlectables'Courtney/ Luff Bathurst Jim Beam Falcon in its special'spilled drink'livery. This isn't the only 2010 V8 Supercar model release from Classic - we just didn't have the room last issue to show them all. So, here they are now. Lastly, those of us who follow Marcos Ambrose will be delighted to see that Icon Models is again importing models of his 2011 ride, in 1/24 scale. Marcos had a trbubled run at the first two races of the season, but was fourth in the Las Vegas race. His Ford Fusion is available in both main liveries - DeWalt and Stanley,for $110 or so, which has to be good value. We'll be showing them off in a future issue.

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ITH all the recent disasters we have seen - or been involved with over summer,it to puts a reality check on what we motor racing folk might consider a bad day. If anyone had said there would be major floods, earthquakes and tsunamis in our region like we have just witnessed, you would have been giving them a wide berth with their predictions. But, it's happened. It's been an extraordinary few months. With all these natural disasters taking place,fundraising has become a major activity for most of the major sporting codes, and there are rugby and cricket games being organised flat out. V8 Supercars is also playing a significant role to help

Christchurch, with contributions from ticket sales, which is great. One of the best things our category can do that other sporting codes are unable to do is get the fans up close with the teams and drivers.There is no better experience for a race fan than to be in the pit garage during a race or qualifying session, with a headset on, feeling the tension and pressure of what is happening live. In 2009, John McMellan (CEO of Wilson Security) organised for about 20 of his staff and their families, who had been affected by the Victorian bush fires, to come up to Winton and be with the team during the Friday practice sessions.They then had dinner with the team in the catering area. Like normal, we thought we

were hard done by because Fabian Coulthard had been blocked on his fast lap, or a red flag had interrupted a fuel run. But it wasn't until you took some time to talk to some of these people that you realised how special this small occasion was to them and their families. Just to get away from the problems and difficulties they faced for a small period of time can mean so much to them. It's easy to take for granted what most of the staff and personnel in the teams take as being normal, but to be able to get people so close to the action during a race meeting is a great tool, and many sporting codes just don't have that ability to get their fans right in the heart of a sporting game. Anyway,the recent ill feeling between Will Davison and Lee Holdsworth created quite a lot of mainstream media for those two, and the category in general,so it makes you wonder if we need a

Here's an idea for any new teams or drivers wanting to take a different commercial angle-go pick on one ofthe star drivers and give him a hard time.

few more feuds between some of the drivers and teams. People who are not really close to the sport still talk about Skaife, Ingall and Eastern Creek,so there are clearly headlines to be made if you want to have a dust-up with one of the top drivers.The only problem we face is that there are only 28 drivers, and at some point you will meet them on the next grid spot or during the course of a long race. Generally, when there is an issue the team owners or managers like things to be settled down quickly, as they don't want drivers with scores to settle on the track. Also, most teams are trying to create a sponsor-friendly type atmosphere,so the bad boy thing doesn't really fit with modern day race team philosophy. So here's an idea for any new teams or drivers wanting to take a different commercial angle - go pick on one of the star drivers and give him a hard time. You will have to be prepared for a lengthy battle, as the drivers at the top of our sport are tough men.Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander, and MarkWinterbottom like playing the game hard, so you will need to be ready to endure some good battles on and off the track! But you'll surely get plenty of coverage... QUICK QUIZ

Answers 7.Steve Johnson used to race in the Australian Sports Sedan Championship and the Australian Thundersports Series. 2.Johnson's best championship finish is fifth, in 2001. 3. Ryan Briscoe debuted for HRTin2006. 4.Jean Todt was the pioneer ofPeugeot's rallying and Dakar programs. 5.Allan Simonsen was Australia's GTchamp in 2007.

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