TONY QUINN TO QUINNFINITY AND BEYOND
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SUPERCARS’ NEW SEASON – THE BATTLE FOR THE TITLE STARTS NOW!
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JOHN BOWE will return to Ford equipment for this year’s edition of the Bathurst 6 Hour, driving a Ranger Liftingbacked FG Falcon GT. The 67-year-old veteran racer will partner with the car’s regular steerer Aaron McGill for the April 15-17 event, which has attracted 70 entries. Bowe has found himself in Holden entries in his last few 6 Hour starts but this time he will steer one of the last production GT Falcon’s to compete in a national motorsport event. JN
THE AUSTRALIAN Top Fuel Championship has announced a final revised calendar for Season One after an interrupted start to the campaign. Sydney hosted the first round back in January, but the series has been shrouded in uncertainty since. However, the recently announced opening of the West Australian border has opened the door for an event to be held at Perth Motorplex from April 8-9, scheduled as the third round after a visit to Sunset Strip Raceway in March. JN
THE GRAND Opening of the new Eastern Creek Speedway scheduled has been postponed due to unprecedented rainfall in Sydney. The newly constructed replacement for Sydney Speedway was set to open in January, but construction delays and now a weather enforced postponement will not see the venue host speedway action until March 12. Situated near Sydney Dragway and Sydney Motorsport Park, the new Eastern Creek Speedway will stage approximately 35 speedway events per season commencing in September and concluding in June each year. JN
FORMER GT racer Ryan How is looking to return to motorsport this year and S5000 looks likely to be his next challenge after a successful test day at Winton Raceway last week. How made waves as a teenager in the Trophy class of the then-Australian GT Championship (now GT World Challenge Australia), taking victory in the first six races of 2019. Now the 20-year-old is targeting an S5000 berth later this year after completing a test program in Tim Macrow Racing’s UCS Group #23 car. JN
FOURTH-GENERATION racer James Simpson will join the Trans Am Series grid at Mount Panorama. Simpson, who has plied his trade in the Queensland Excel Series over the last three years, has gotten his hands on a brand-new Dodge Challenger and will debut at the third round in April. Behind him is a wealth of experience – Simpson’s father Michael raced in V8 Supercars and a number of other categories, grandfather Ian won numerous titles in Formula Vee, while great grandfather Cyril was a motorcycle racer. JN
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HERNE SOLID FOUNDATIONS NATHAN HERNE was content coming away from Sydney Motorsport Park second in the standings after making the change from Dream Racing to Garry Rogers Motorsport. Despite now racing for the Bathurst 1000 winning team in a Ford Mustang, a machine that is setup completely differently to the Dodge Challenger that he used to race. Herne said that, although he has changed from Dodge to Ford, the change is in setup not the car model. “There’s no real difference between the makes and models in Trans Am; they are a silhouette car so Dodge, Camaro and Mustang are all the same,” he told Auto Action. “But there’s a lot of difference between GRM and Dream Racing Australia in the car set up. The car is just completely the opposite of what I’ve been used to. “This handles a lot like a Supercar – it likes to turn in real hard, it gets straight to the corner, but it doesn’t like to accelerate out. “It’s built around Owen Kelly and Marcos Ambrose – they’ve built the set-up from the ground up, so it’s a bit different for me coming into someone else’s setup from where I’ve come from. “It’s something I’ve got to get used to, but we’re working towards it – we’ve got good pace in the car.
“We’ve learned a lot this weekend and so have I from being around all these experienced heads.” As a result of the radical difference in setup, Herne was pleased to come out of the round second in the standings. Herne expressed surprise at how much the quality of the field has risen over the off season and is sure that consistency will win the title in 2022. “You just have to look at the qualifying pace – if I qualified 0.02 seconds slower, I would have been back three spots. Last year .02 of a second slower I would have been dead safe,” he recalled. “It’s great to see, we’re starting to get to that point, now in Trans Am; we’re starting to max out our cars.” “We’ll find during this year it’s definitely going to be consistency that wins the championship. “There are so many guys at that the front at the moment that can win, it’s just going to be damage control with points and making sure you finish at the front every weekend. “I’ve learned the hard way that
championships aren’t won first weekend. I’m big enough and ugly enough to deal with that. “I always want to go out there and win, and I’m frustrated when I don’t, but I think I can walk out with a smile now thinking I got good Image: ARG/Kalisz championship points and if I’m disappointed with a third place, we’re going pretty well and looking good for the championship for this year.” Dan McCarthy
HERNE TO RUN SELECTED S5000 ROUNDS GARRY ROGERS Motorsport team owner Barry Rogers has confirmed to Auto Action that Herne will run in selected rounds of S5000, and is likely to contest the full Tasman Series at the end of the year. “We will also be running Nathan Herne and potentially a couple of others in selected S5000 Championship races,” Rogers told AA “From Nathan’s point of view, those races that don’t clash with his Trans Am racing. “The obvious ones are the Grand Prix, Darwin and Gold Coast. “The Gold Coast event is part of the Tasman Series, so most likely he will run through the whole Tasman Series, although one of those races will clash with Trans Am, but it’s a non-championship round.” Dan McCarthy
SCHEDULE SET FOR SHANNONS OPENER THE SCHEDULE is set for the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships at Phillip Island, with a packed weekend of racing in store. Three full days of motorsport will commence the Shannons season from March 18-20 with on-track action from seven categories set to feature – the TCR Australia Series, Trans Am Series, GT World Challenge Australia, S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, Radical Australia Cup, Formula Ford and National Sports Sedan Series. Josh Buchan will enter the weekend as the TCR leader, however he will face stiff competition from a host of drivers including Fabian Coulthard who has extended his deal with Stan to include the upcoming round. Michael Clemente will make his return to the category after missing Race Tasmania with Carl Cox Motorsport backing. There will be two practice sessions on Friday for the TCR machines, before qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday at 4:10pm AEDT. Two further 16-lap races will be held on Sunday at 1:05pm and 4:10pm, respectively. A pair of Tim’s, Brook and Macrow, journey to Phillip Island heading the Trans Am and S5000 categories, respectively. Trans Am and its big V8 bruisers will get their chance to race at 2:55pm on Saturday after getting acquainted with the seaside circuit on Friday. A pair of 13-lap races awaits Trans Am on Sunday, at 11:20am and 2:55pm respectively. Image: MTR Images
Image: ARG/Kalisz The S5000 open wheelers have been afforded similar practice conditions on Friday but will take on two 15-lap races on Saturday, at 12pm and 3:30pm. One full day later, S5000s will take to the track for their final encounter at 3:30pm on Sunday. GT World Challenge Australia competitors will be taking to the track for the first time this season. SRO Motorsports Group founder and CEO Stephane Patel will be in attendance for the GT opener, which will see new specification Audi’s debut in the series and Triple Eight Race Engineering return with Shane van Gisbergen behind the wheel. The GTs will practice and qualify on Friday, completing a pair of one-hour
races at 1:45pm on Saturday and the same time on Sunday. Formula Ford has a trio of 10-lap races, two on Saturday and a final clash on Sunday. The Radicals will also race three times – one 14-lap race on Saturday before two races totally 44 laps on Sunday. Three 11-lap races are set for Sports Sedans with the same split across the days. In between the competitive action the track will remain active – Safety Car rides and Hot Wheels stunt shows are scheduled across the three days. Stan Sport will cover the event live and on-demand from 11:20am on both Saturday March 19 and Sunday March 20. Josh Nevett
NATIONALS RECOVERIES TO GET A BOOST THE RACE to keep the Motorsport Australia Championship on track will soon see a Supercars-style, permanent recovery team dispatched to the ARG/MA-run national championship series. It follows recent criticism over long delays to recover damaged and abandoned cars, leading to excessive Safety Car periods and a series of Red Flag stoppages at national events. Support will come from a global manufacturer soon to be confirmed but believed to be Nissan, supplying a ‘Nissan Navara Warrior.’ Motorsport Australia is about to announce a permanent recovery vehicle package that includes a permanent, professional and welltrained team of experts.
The fully-equipped vehicle will travel to all major Motorsport Australia Nationals events and will be set up similar to the Ford Ranger Raptor which is a permanent presence at Supercars championship events. The Raptor was the spearhead of a plan to speed up the process of recovering vehicles and dramatically reducing the time that the Supercars contenders spend behind the Safety Car. The Ford workhorse and its permanent crew are used as a high-impact and highlyeffective recovery team that is deployed quickly once the field is under the control of the Safety Car with a mission to recover race cars that have stopped on course or have ended up in a gravel trap or runoff area. A similar approach is used in other high-
profile international championships, including IndyCar in the USA. The new development comes as good news following the controversial comments by Auto Action’s regular columnist, Luke West, in his Revved Up column in our last issue. West highlighted the shortcomings of the recent Race Tasmania event where a string of SpeedSeries events were declared early because slow clean-up work did not allow the completion of the scheduled number of racing laps. While West believes the Australian Racing Group categories have huge growth potential, thanks to their market relevance popularity with race fans, he highlighted the shortcomings at Race Tasmania as a viewer of the impressive new Stan broadcast package.
His first target was the lacklustre standard of driving that led to a big string of incidents at Symmons Plains, following a similarly disappointing effort by the supporting classes at the Bathurst 1000 last December. In addition to the Safety Car interventions, he highlighted the troubled recovery efforts as many people watching on Stan and Nine Gem saw more action by the recovery team as they attempted to drag cars off the track with antiquated equipment rather than viewing the headline races. While Auto Action applauds the many hundreds of volunteers around the county, without who there would be no racing, it is an important initiative by MA to help speed up recoveries and keep racing going. Bruce Williams
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WILLIAMS TARGETS BAHRAIN POINTS FINISHES WEST AUSTRALIAN CALAN WILLIAMS IS TARGETING TWO POINTS FINISHES IN HIS MAIDEN FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND AT BAHRAIN.
IN 2022 Calan Williams has made the step up after two seasons in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. Last year he scored a podium finish at Circuit Paul Ricard in France and went onto finish 19th in the title race. However, he caught the attention of Trident MotorSport, and in the off season inked a deal to race with the F3 Teams’ champions to race in F2. Williams had a productive test at the Bahrain International Circuit last week,
notably finishing as the second fastest driver on Day 1. The opening round takes place in Bahrain and Williams has targeted a point scoring finish in both of the weekend’s encounters. “I think at the first round, realistically, I can definitely score points,” Williams said to Auto Action. “If I could score points in both races at Bahrain, I’d be really happy. “If I score points in one race, I’d be happy and if I don’t score points, I’d not be happy – but it’d not be the end of the world because this year that’s not my main focus, it’s my secondary focus. “It’s mostly about development, so for me this year, I have to learn as much about the car as possible because this is quite a big step. “Obviously I’m going to perform as strongly as I can – perhaps my goals will change and by the end of the year I’ll be trying to get podiums every race. “It depends purely on how quickly I progress with this car, so we’ll see, but if I score points in both races in Bahrain, I’ll be very happy!”
Despite Trident’s success in the third-tier (F3) championship they are yet to win a race in FIA Formula 2 – however last year Bent Viscaal came close with two second place finishes. Williams believes it will not be long before the Italian team tastes success in F2. “The team is very, very professional, very structured,” Williams explained. “Obviously, they won the Formula 3 teams championship last year and that same infrastructure is also within their Formula 2 team. “I think it’s a really good indicator of what can be achieved with them. “Something that’s also really good is that the team manager Giacomo Ricci actually used to race in GP2 himself, so he has a lot of experience as well and a lot of the way the team works builds upon his experience. “It’s a team built on actual experience in the series and I think that’s a really strong attribute to have within a team and that’s one reason I’m so excited to work with them.” Dan McCarthy
WHO CAN FOLLOW PIASTRI?
THE OTHER Aussie in F2 this year is Jack Doohan (above) who finished as runner-up in F3 last year and is a real contender for the title with UNI Virtuosi. Doohan contested the final two rounds of F2 in 2021 with Campos and turned heads. He finished in the top five in just his second race and at Abu Dhabi qualified second on the grid. For 2022 he has switched to the front-running UNI Virtuosi squad. In the last several seasons Guanyu Zhou, Callum Ilott and Luca Ghiotto have all taken wins with the team – in fact since joining the series in 2019 the outfit has always finished as the Teams Championship runner-up. The Formula 2 Championship is quite open this year, however AA sees three obvious candidates for the title outside of Doohan. Reigning Formula 3 champion Denis Hauger moves straight into the recently dominant Prema Racing squad and will be expected to deliver consistent race wins n the red Italian machines. New Zealander Liam Lawson was mightily quick throughout testing and moves to Carlin, a team which has fought for the title with Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda and, more recently, Dan Ticktum. Another major threat is Theo Pourchaire. The Sauber junior is just 18-years-old and last year won the feature race at Monaco and went on to finish fifth in the title. With another year with ART Grand Prix (the team with which George Russell and Nyck De Vries won the title), it is hard to look past this Frenchman as a title contender. Dan McCarthy
Images: Motorsport Images
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ANZAC DAY IN ST. PETERSBURG AUSSIES AND KIWIS DOMINATE INDYCAR OPENER
While Aussie Will Power joined ‘our’ Kiwi Scott McLaughlin on the Indycar podium (centre), Matt Brabham (left and bottom of page) took a maximum in winning the IndyLights race after yet another Aussie, Hunter McElrea, went out while leading. Images: Motorsport Images
By Paul Gover, News Editor SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN led a very different Anzac Day parade on the streets of St. Petersburg in Florida. He took the flag for his first IndyCar win and his success was repeated by comeback kid, Matt Brabham, in the Indy Lights supporting race. It was a landmark event for McLaughlin, whose passport shows him as a Kiwi but whose successes in Supercars make him - like Russell Crowe and many others - an adopted Aussie. In the main event, true blue Will Power added another podium to his IndyCar resume when he finished third, with Kiwi Scott Dixon a solid eighth under Kiwi colours. Back in Indy Lights, Hunter McElrea - of Kiwi parentage but actually born in the US, and raised on the Gold Coast by his Porsche team boss father Andy - took pole position but threw away a win when he crashed out of the lead. “It’s all about going back to what I know. I knew I could do it. It’s all about belief,” says McLaughlin. “To anyone out there, you can do whatever you want. You just have to have belief in yourself and get it done.” His trademark style from Supercars, where he preferred to qualify on pole, grab the lead and ignore anyone behind, was on display for the first time in IndyCar racing. “I had a great start, got into it, got into a rhythm, and away we went,” McLaughlin says. His win has cemented his standing at Team Penske, where the team has been trimmed to three cars after the departure of Simon Pagenaud, and Roger ’The Captain’ Penske was one of the first to hug him in pitlane. “He was the one who calmed me down last year. He’s the one who said that it’s a long story and not a short one. To pay back that faith and prove the trust he put in me is a very proud moment,” McLaughlin says of Penske. But a lot more work went into the win, from giant off-season hours on the simulator to a
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series of golfing strategy meetings with his new engineer, Ben Bretzman. McLaughlin looked confident from the start of the IndyCar weekend and reported his own feelings. “I knew I could do it. Last night I had a great sleep because I just said to myself ‘You know, I’ve done this before, I just did it with a roof on my head’,” says McLaughlin. “It was just a phenomenal weekend. Perseverance; you just don’t give up, you don’t doubt yourself.” Power also persevered through a race where he was on the wrong strategy, and an early caution period, after qualifying second for a Team Penske front-row lockout. “I was really happy with third. Just a good solid day,” he says. Dixon was also on the three-stop strategy and also paid the price. “Definitely a rough day. Not sure why we went with the strategy that we did; it kind of put us in a big hole. “The car felt really good. So, definitely a bummer and not where the car should have finished,” says Dixon. In the Indy Lights encounter, Hunter McElrea looked odds-on for victory after taking pole position and the early lead before his crash. “No words really for how gutted I am,” he says. “I want to say sorry to all my backers,
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investors, sponsors and Andretti Autosport for not rewarding them with a win. “Dominated all weekend, and the race was no different till I made a mistake behind lapped traffic that was just silly. Ended up crashing into the fence, race over. “Although I didn’t get the result, I’m happy to show my speed in my debut, and many positives to take. Looking forward to the bounce back!” But his misfortune worked for Matt Brabham, although his Andretti Autosport team mate needed a late break to do a ‘Bradberry’. He was second when the race leader, Christian Rasmussen, ran out of fuel. Ironically, Rasmussen - like McElrea and Brabham - was part of the Andretti Autosport team. The win was the first Indy Lights victory for Brabham since May 9, 2014, when he scored at Indianapolis. The break of 2851 days helped put more shine on his success. “It’s unbelievable. I’m speechless. I’m pretty emotional“, Brabham, who celebrated with his father Geoff, says. “I just got lucky. I was pushing. I was doing everything I could. “I tagged the wall a few times, probably more than I should have. I’m just very lucky, and I’m so happy. I knew I was going to finish. It was just if I stuck it in the wall.”
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN will be an IndyCar champion. The only question is how long it will take him to claim the crown. ScottyMac proved at St. Pete that he has everything he needs, from one-lap speed to composure under pressure. His win in St. Petersburg looked like so, so many of his successes in Supercars. He rolled out of the pits with a quick car and a confident team, was fastest through practice, then converted for pole position. In the race, he was calm and confident. Through the final laps he refused to be threatened or unsettled, even though it was reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou right behind him. McLaughlin’s only big weakness last year was qualifying speed and he has now found it. Analysing the St. Pete weekend there is an interesting parallel. Alex Palou won the first race of his second season, at St. Petersburg, then raced on to become the 2021 IndyCar champion. Scott McLaughlin has won the first race of his second season, at St. Petersburg . . . Paul Gover
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MEL’S RACING DIARYPart 2
MEL’S EXCEL ON TRACK THEN STRIPPED BARE
THE HYUNDAI EXCEL RACING SEASON IN QLD IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING, AND MELINDA PRICE IS BACK WITH THE SECOND INSTALMENT OF HER ‘RETURN TO RACING DIARY’ AFTER HITTING THE TRACK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER NEARLY RACE-READY MACHINE
PART 2 of the journey begins with my long (seems like forever) awaited opportunity to drive my own race car for the very first time. I feel a huge sense of pride and independence as I tow my very own race car for the first time. Finally, driver coach Josh Hunt and I are off to Queensland Raceway. I’m glad the car park is nearly empty as we arrive – reversing a trailer is one of the many skills I still need to master. ‘The buggy’ is in the shed and ready for its’ first shakedown. By the time I get out on track, filled with excitement, to begin the bonding experience between my car and I, the heavens have opened and it’s raining … Josh and I get one session in each before torrential rain pours down on QR and the track is closed. The buggy is packed back up onto the trailer in the pouring rain and, in a huge anticlimax, we drive home drenched. On the bright side, 10 laps were completed, and nothing fell off … so far so good. The following week there is a test day at Morgan Park, a track I’ve never driven on, and one I need to learn well as its where many of the rounds in the 2022 championship will be held. It’s a 3-hour drive from the Gold Coast
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and I’m super keen not to miss a second on track after last week, so full of excitement we load up early and decide to head there the night before. Up bright and early the next morning, I’m the first one there … one by one the other race cars begin to arrive, and the vast majority of them my fellow Excel competitors! The Queensland series is arguably one of the most competitive in the country, and
many of the big players from the recent years are here. Well at least by the end of the day we should have some idea where we stand in terms of pace! Josh is the first to hit the track in ‘The Buggy’, as always setting an outstanding lap time to which I spend the rest of the day aspiring to match, and also providing valuable technical feedback on the car to set me off in the right direction.
Let’s note that, at this stage, the buggy is pretty much as I picked it up… it doesn’t have the new control Supashock suspension it needs for 2022, just an old and tired set of XYZ’s; it doesn’t have the brake pads I’ll be racing on in 2022; the engine is an unknown, and the tyres are unbuffed and over three years old … so let’s find out what the starting point is compared to the guns! I spent my first session learning track and car and just soaking it all in and was clearly far too conservative given the difference in lap times between me and the rest ... it’s been a long time since I raced (a car) in a super competitive environment, and I’m sure I have a motherly sense of protection about driving my own car as well (financially driven in the most part I’m sure by the cost to fix it if something goes wrong). However, this is a super competitive category, with the young guns of today aspiring to make it to Supercars or overseas – and I need to pull my finger out quick smart! As the day goes by, I start to get my head around this fantastic and challenging track and settle into the drivers’ seat. It’s obvious from the data that you really need to push
Out with the old and in with the new (driver excluded) ... While the old tired engine is clear of the engine bay, Mel took the opportunity to give things a tidy up. It’s a hands-on racing experience this time around for Melinda Price as ‘The Buggy’ receives its race-ready transformation… Body deadner begone! Removal of the body deadner makes for some weight saving but it’s hell on a girl’s nails! Thanks to Woody at FATAZ Competition Engines, ‘The Buggy’ has a new powerplant. New wheels are nice – a big thanks to Grant at Trans Am Engineering. Fitting the new lightweight dash was a big job but worth while – it all adds up in the end.
these cars hard to get the most out of them, and my lap times are improving every session. As the chequered flag drops on my first proper test day, it’s deemed a huge success and we are all super excited about the performance of the car and the engine, considering the whole package is as I bought it. Now that we have a benchmark and know some of the strengths and weaknesses of the car, on the drive home we begin to compile the (long) list of things we now need to do to the car to turn it into a weapon.
There is control suspension for 2022, so it’s out with the XYZ’s and in with the new Supashocks to start with. The brakes also need a refresh and the correct race pads need to be ordered. The car tips the scales a bit on the heavy side, so weight reduction is the next project. I’ve already taken the sound deadener out from inside the car, which has left the interior looking no good and we can’t have that, so off I go to colour match the paint and respray the inside of the car again to bring it up to scratch.
To reduce the weight of the car further a new fibreglass lightweight dash is available, which means that the old heavier dash can be removed, along with the heating and cooling systems which account for a lot of weight – so I order one of those which should arrive in a couple of weeks. As exciting as all of this is, every call I make seems to cost me hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, and I’m freaking out as I watch my (to date) tiny race budget dwindle away. I’m always on the hunt in the background for new sponsors and, since Castrol signed up, some more partners have come onboard including King Springs. I’ve known Mark (King) since the 90s when we were both racing in GTP, and as an advocate for females in motorsport, he was happy to offer some support. A big thankyou is also deserved by another long-term friend in Bruce Williams, for the opportunity to share my adventure with you through this fabulous magazine. Meanwhile … the new engine is ready and waiting to go in at Fataz Competition Engines, so the buggy heads up there for the next piece of the puzzle. This is where the buggy will live for the next few weeks while the new engine goes in, and we prepare the car for the arrival of the new lightweight dash. The old dash is out after much hard work, along with all the associated extra weight in heating and cooling etc. The windscreen has also been removed and we eagerly await the arrival of the new dash which is enroute from Far North Queensland.
Good intentions and planning can’t stop the problems of the real world sometimes (outside of motorsport) impacting on my racing plans. There had been a delay in being able to pick the car up initially due to lockdown in Melbourne, and then I couldn’t get it across the border to Queensland due to Covid border restrictions for a while, and now the next bump in the road is about to present itself. What seems to be a universal problem for most businesses these days – freight. The new dash left over 10 days ago and hasn’t made an appearance yet. I finally manage to track it down with the (massively short-staffed due to Covid) freight company and end up driving to Brisbane to pick it up myself – but this has delayed the whole project by weeks. Anyway, we press on, and the dash was finally installed. One job is finished and next box to tick is to fit the Fataz engine, along with a multitude of associated new components including a radiator, starter motor, hoses and, thanks to Bryan at Exhaust Innovations, I have a whole new exhaust system. After some finishing touches, we can head to the track for some much-needed testing with all the new bits – that’s if we can find a racetrack in Queensland that isn’t under water at the moment following the devastating Queensland floods of the last week. It’s now March, the first race is in just over 3 weeks, and I haven’t driven the car yet with all the new bits ... the pressure is starting to build!
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SPEEDWAY NEWS
Images: Richard Hathaway and James Cochrane.
KENDRICK CLAIMS WIN #8 THE PERTH Motorplex fired into action with the running of The Mr Sprintcar Alf Barbagallo 77, a race created to honour the 6-time Western Australian Champion and the inaugural round winner of World Series Sprintcars at the Claremont Speedway in 1987. With 20 Sprintcars assembled in the pit area, 19 of them had their targets set firmly on Jason Kendrick, who to this point had won an impressive seven rounds as they entered the 13th round of the 2021-22 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series. The marathon 35-lap main event would see Dayne Kingshott claim Pole Position, continuing his strong run after setting the quickest time in Time Trials and the Pole Shootout. Alongside was Daniel Harding. As the lights blazed green Kingshott led but, further back in the field, all hell broke loose when Trent Pigdon tagged the rear of the Kendrick entry, sling shotting the W19 violently into the wall (pictured right), and bouncing across the W26 entry of James Ingliss before coming to a stop on the back straight. Trent was assessed by the medical crew before being taken to hospital with a fractured right shoulder and possibly concussion. Ingliss had his car repaired during the stoppage and was able to take the complete restart. Again, Kingshott charged from the front. Harding settled in behind, while the mover was Callum Williamson, launching from sixth to third. Kendrick had also started his journey forward from eighth. With just six laps down the leaders began picking off the first of the lapped traffic, Rod Howe the first car to go down a lap. Williamson moved to second and Harding remained in striking distance. With 20 to go Williamson had a crack for the lead, showing his nose exiting Turn 4 – however Kingshott
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SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles held sway even when confronted by the spinning Ryan Lancaster. Thankfully Lancaster was able to regather and continue without hindering the leader – however Harding would divert his line, brushing the Turn 2 wall, allowing Kendrick into third. Kingshott stretched his lead and looked to be in command until he reached the back of slower traffic. With eight to go, he tried to negotiate his way through, only to tangle with Jaydee Dack and come to a stop. Dack would retire while Kingshott managed to re-join from the rear with a wounded car. Williamson led the Indian file restart, but Kendrick would swoop to the front and Harding followed him through to second. Williamson then had his hands full as Brad Maiolo and Taylor Milling entered the fray. Kendrick powered home to record his eighth feature victory of the season followed to the line by Harding and Milling. Maiolo was fourth from Kris Coyle, Williamson, Inglis, Shaun Bradford, Mitchell Wormall, Jason Pryde, Lancaster, Trevor Jolly, AJ Nash, and Kingshott, while Howe rounded out the field. In addition to Pigden and Dack, Jarrin Bielby, Matthew Cross and David Priolo in the Alf Barbagallo tribute car did not travel the journey.
Heat wins went to Kendrick and Bradford. The Mid Track Dash to Pryde and the Back Pack Dash claimed by Coyle. Tim Boujos made his mark on the Limited Sprintcars, taking the 15-lap feature, Craig Bottrell and Trystan Caley rounding out the podium. Kaiden Manders proved to be the fastest amongst a strong field of Speedcars – following him to the finish in The Pool Shop Group feature was Keenan Fleming and Tom Payet. Daran Humfrey found himself the meat in an Iwanow Sandwich as Blake claimed the win while the reigning WA champion in Matt was third in the 15-lap
Wingless Sprint main event. Brent Vosbergen proved unstoppable, leading the entire 30-lap journey for the Late Models. Joe Chalmers snared second after a thrilling battle with Jay Cardy who completed the podium. Jamie Oldfield, Michael Holmes, Jason Oldfield, Freddy Kinsella, Veronica McCann, Luke Halliday, Warren Minshull, Damian Hudson, Pat Van Brakel and Shaun Cubbage rounded out the finishers while failing to travel the journey was Nathan Richards, Warren Oldfield, Kodee Brown and Peter Mewett. Chalmers, Vosbergen, McCann and Holmes claimed the heats.
HOT HARPER RISES TO THE FIREBALL CHALLENGE THE SUPER Sedan Fireball Derby has long been regarded as a prestigious race in the staple of the South Australian Super Sedan scene but has been in hiatus over the last few seasons after the closure of Adelaide Motorsport Park at the end of the 2018 season. The South Australian Super Sedan Club has worked diligently to reintroduce the event and was able to do so recently at the Murray Machining and Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway, rebranded as the Super Sedan Fire Ball Challenge. Despite the name change and reducing the feature race from 40 to 30 laps, the event was well supported with competitors coming from far and wide. With the field divided into two groups for the six heat races, Tasmanian Callum Harper would claim pole position for the feature after remaining undefeated in his three heat races while Mick Nicola Jr, Kym Jury and Mitchell Rigney would also claim single 10lap heat wins. Sharing the front row with Harper was the reigning South Australian champion in Nicola Jr; the second row consisted of Tyson Moon and Jamie Collins, before the first of the South Aussies, in Kym Jury, would start from fifth position. At the drop of the green, Nicola Jr would pounce to lead as the rest of the field hustled for position. Moon and Collins touched in Turn 4, relegating Collins to fifth as Paul Blenkiron swooped into fourth. Blenkiron’s run would soon start to unravel and on lap 10 he would retire the S22 Penrite Dominator to the infield as the lead duo negotiated their way past the first of the
slower traffic in Danny Smith. The race proved frantic at the front as the lead duo negotiated further lapped traffic and, around the halfway mark, Harper would have his first crack at taking charge as Nicola Jr was hampered by Neville Nitschke. Nicola would continue to lead but, on the next lap, Harper would slide by to take the lead. Nicola battled back, at times getting up alongside of Harper ,but was unsuccessful in his quest to regain the lead. From this point forward Harper would take control of the race until the yellow lights would blaze when Mitchell Rigney spun in turn two. With the field stacked in Indian file, Harper would make the most of the clear track ahead and go on to find the fastest way to cover the remaining eight laps on his way to greeting the chequered flag and keeping his undefeated streak for evening in perfect shape aboard the Wyllie Tyles/Melbourne Performance Centre T22 Bandit. Nicola Jr held on for second with New South Welshman Tyson Moon having a lonely run for the most part as he crossed the line to round off the podium. Collins and Jury would finish as they started the journey, in fourth and fifth respectively, while the lapped cars of Nitschke, Rigney and Smith would round out the finishers. Shane Lambe was a late retiree, joining Blenkiron on the infield while Victorian Ash Bergmeier and local racer Sarah Pope failed to start the feature race after suffering mechanical issues in the earlier heat races. The main support class on the evening was the V6 Sprints, who were present for the running of the South Australian
Nick Hall – SA V6 Sprint Champion. Championship. After the two heats were run and done, Damien Eve and Nick Hall shared maximum points to line up on the front row for the 20-lap feature race – Eve would be awarded the prime position after claiming the top six pole shuffle. At the drop of the green, Eve made the best of his inside starting position to lead the field away, while further back in the field trouble soon presented for Toby McCarthy and John Pfeiler who would both retire on the opening lap. On the third lap, Hall pounced under Eve and took control of the race to go on and successfully defend his state mantle over Eve. Joining the duo on the podium was Chris Quinton. Darryl Barkla, Renee Pfeiler and Kym Simon rounded off the top half dozen. Whyalla’s Jordan Grillett failed to go the distance – after spinning twice in the race, he was sent to the infield by the Chief Steward, while the luckless John Mackenzie failed to start the feature after succumbing
to mechanical issues in the second heat. In the other feature events, Rhys Heinrich stood the tallest over 35 other Wingless Sprint competitors. The runner-up position went to the reigning South Australian Champion, Tyson Martin and Jack McCarthy was third. A trio of Victorians filled the Speedcar podium, Nick Parker leading home Andy Pearce and Matt Jackson. Brendan Zadow, Angus Hollis and Dean Cottrell proved the best of the Formula 500 division. The AMCA Nationals made a welcomed return, and it was Jake Armstrong, Darren ‘Plugga’ McCarthy and John Stumann sharing the winner’s circle. The experienced Craig Buchannan drove his BBS Bin Commodore to Victory Lane in the Street Stocks followed Drew Flatman and Aaron Tyler. Aaron Tranter was the strongest in the Junior Sedan feature; rounding off the podium was Ky McEwin and Lucas Warnett.
Tasmanian Callum Harper (Super Sedans) Images: Ray Ritter.
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