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THE SCHEDULE for the Shannons Nationals and SpeedSeries round at Sydney Motorsport Park has been revealed and contains multiple races under lights on Saturday night. The event takes place from May 27-29 and both Friday and Saturday’s proceedings will run long into the night, with action on track both days well after 7pm AEST. The action-packed schedule at SMP features eight national categories including the TCR Australia Series, S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, the everpopular Touring Car Masters and Trans Am Series. DM
DAVISON DROUGHTBREAKER SHROUDED IN CONTROVERSY
Image: Ross Gibb Photography
SUNENERGY1 RACING will be on the Bathurst 12 Hour grid in 2022, fielding a current-specification Mercedes AMG GT3 which will be driven by multiple international steerers. The Kenny Habul-owned team will attack the May 13-15 race with support from Triple Eight Race Engineering, looking to go one better than its runners-up result from 2018. Habul has asssembled Martin Konrad, Luca Stolz and Jules Gounon to join him behind the wheel. JN
M MOTORSPORT and Vantage Racing will unleash a KTM X-BOW GT2 on Mount Panorama at the Bathurst 12 Hour this May, the first of its kind to race at The Mountain. The 600hp X-BOW GT2 will be driven by David Crampton, Trent Harrison, Glenn Wood and his brother, Porsche Carrera Cup racer Dale in the invitational class, pitted up against several MARC Cars Australia entries. JN
THE ONE-make Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series has been added to the Bathurst 12 Hour support card. The event is less than a month away, set to take place from May 13-15 and will be the first of two rounds that the Toyotas will race at The Mountain this year. Races 4, 5 and 6 of the 2022 series are scheduled during the 12 Hour and inaugural Australia Toyota 86 Racing Series winner Will Brown will race as a guest-driver. DM
THE MOTORSPORT Australia 2022 Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships Round 3 is scheduled for Phillip Island from May 14-15 with an expected entry in excess of 220 cars. The round will feature all the usual categories including Circuit Excels, Formula Ford and Formula Ford 1600, Formula Vee, Historic Touring Cars, HQ Holdens, Improved Production Cars, MG and Invited British Sports Cars, Porsche 944 Challenge, Saloon Cars, Sports Cars and Sports Sedans. JN
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AFTER OVER five years of close calls, Will Davison finally broke his win drought dating back to 2016 in the Supercars Championship, although the victory came in controversial circumstances. The Shell V-Power Racing driver went head-to-head with Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters in Race 11, the pair battling hard after the latter took the lead early. Pitting on lap 24 the #17 Ford Mustang made up significant ground on Water’s Monster machine which pitted one lap later, bringing the two together for a tussle on Waters’ out lap. The battle reached its climax at the final corner, where Davison attempted to dive down the inside. The pair made contact mid corner before Waters ran wide across the kerb and track boundaries, re entering in the lead of the race.
That led to a radio protest from Davison and, shortly after, a 5s penalty was handed to Waters for an ‘unsafe re-entry’. Waters went on to spend all 46 laps at the front, crossing the line first 1.409s clear at Wanneroo Raceway – however it meant little as Davison was pronounced victor. The penalised driver was livid with the decision. “First of all, I wouldn’t have been out there if I didn’t get doored, but I’m all for hard racing, I love that part of it,” Waters said. “I have been racing for years, everyone has been doing that and no one has ever got a penalty for it, I’m the first one.” Likewise, Tickford Racing boss Tim Edwards did not mince in his words in assessing the call. “It’s bullshit. Clearly Will [Davison] drove him off the track,” he said.
“We’re always going to have a difference of opinion, but there’s two sides to that. He should not have got a five-second penalty, it’s bullshit.” As expected, Davison had a completely different take on the incident. “It was black and white,” he began. “Back in the day we all used to do that, if someone passes you just get off the brakes and run the extra speed in and know you could run around the back of the kerb which isn’t classified as the racetrack. “It was good racing though. I saw, when he cleared the brake and sort-of turned in with big speed, I knew what he was trying to do, and you would try, but the rule was pretty clear here a few years ago. “It was weird. You don’t you don’t want to cross the line in second spot, but I feel like I put a good aggressive move on and deserved the position.” Josh Nevett
TICKFORD IMPROVING BUT STILL A LONG WAY OFF AFTER ROUNDING out a solid weekend for Tickford Racing in Perth with a podium in the final encounter, James Courtney gave a blunt assessment of where his team sits in the Supercars pecking order. It’s been a slow start to 2022 for Tickford, with the team notching up just one podium before heading across the Nullabor. However, Wanneroo Raceway produced a top three result for both Courtney and Cameron Waters, suggesting the team has made gains. Jake Kostecki was also considerably faster, running amongst the top 10 before copping a shunt from his cousin Brodie Kostecki in Race 12. Courtney confirmed that the team was heading in the right direction. “As a team, I think we’re lifting, trying to get that consistency and I think we are achieving that,” he said. “We were fast at the Grand Prix but had things go wrong; we should have had a podium one of the days and obviously that didn’t happen, but it’s good to get the podium here. “It was good that we were there legitimately on speed and strategy. “We have made an improvement in car speed all around. All three cars were in the top 10 for each qualifying and had really good results. Jake had a cracking day apart
Image: Motorsport Images from that last one where his cousin took him out. “That’s confidence boosting for us as a team, there’s good morale in the team at the moment.” However, there’s still a long way to go for Tickford to challenge the series frontrunners. The squad sits third in the Teams’ Championship, behind Triple Eight Race Engineering and Shell V-Power Racing, and Courtney admitted that the margin to those two teams was significant. “We’re still nowhere near what these guys are able to achieve,” Courtney conceded. “I wouldn’t say we’re catching them. Their
speed, consistency and ability to come back if they have a bad session is something that we as a group need to work on. We still have a lot of little things that we need to tidy up not only with us functioning as a team, but also with the car, with the car build, the way the car is prepped. “At the moment we have to be the best of the rest and keep chipping away – hopefully we can get to challenge these guys on more of a regular basis.” Waters sits as the highest ranked after the Perth round in fourth position, while Courtney has moved into the top 10. Thomas Randle and Jake Kostecki are 21st and 24th, respectively. Josh Nevett
HOLDEN CELEBRATES 600 RACE VICTORIES SHANE VAN Gisbergen’s first win in the Supercars Championship at Wanneroo Raceway was a special one for all involved, as it marked the 600th for Holden as a manufacturer. Holden is the first brand to achieve the milestone in Australia, with the first win coming back in 1969 when Norm Beechey drove a Holden HK Monaro GTS327 to victory at Surfers Paradise Motor Racing Circuit. Extending his championship lead with a triumph under lights on Saturday night, van Gisbergen further wrote his name into the history books as the man to take win 600. Speaking post-race, the Triple Eight Race Engineering steering was proud
to represent Holden in its last year of Supercars competition. “Although Holden won’t be around next year it’s cool to have it (the milestone) for General Motors and for us to represent Holden is still pretty cool,” van Gisbergen said. In Holden headquarters, Holden and Chevrolet Racing Australia and New Zealand General Manager Chris Payne expressed his pride in the achievements of the Holden brand. “Holden Motorsport has a long and proud heritage in Australasia, dating back to the late 1960’s,” Payne said. “The win this evening by Shane van Gisbergen gives Holden Motorsport
the honour of being the first brand to achieve 600 race wins, which in itself is a remarkable accomplishment. “This momentous achievement is a nod to the fans, sponsors, teams and drivers who have helped make it all possible over more than 50-years of racing.” Heading into the Perth SuperNight weekend, recent history suggested that Holden may struggle to clinch its 600th win at Wanneroo, as the manufacturer had not won there since 2016. It took the supreme form of van Gisbergen to break that hoodoo, the Kiwi taking his first Supercars win at the Perth circuit in the process. Triple Eight Race Engineering Team
Principal Jamie Whincup was thrilled to be a part of Holden’s decorated history. “It’s a fantastic achievement and we’re excited to have played a part in this incredible milestone,” Whincup said. “We have enjoyed a successful partnership with Holden Motorsport for over a decade and look forward to being a part of many more future successes with GM. The achievement comes just in time, as Commodore’s will make way for the allnew Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Supercar in 2023. “It’s fitting to achieve this milestone in the final season of Holden Motorsport in the Championship,” Payne said. Josh Nevett
“Hopefully it’s a good show to watch. When you’re following, it’s cool seeing all the sparks come out of the brakes and then into the corner you can see discs glowing, some at the front and some at the rear so you can see
what kind of bias people run. “It’s quite interesting to watch that but maybe I overthink it ...” Waters, who spends his summers driving Sprintcars under lights, was in his element on Saturday night and hopes to see more SuperNight events on the Supercars calendar in the future. “I’ve got no issues with the lighting,” Waters said. “It’s cool to be racing under lights. I do a lot of it with Speedway and I think we should do more of it. “It was probably a little bit darker in spots compared to SMP, but it is what it is at the end of the day and you just drive to what you can see. “There are a few times where off line you can’t see marbles as well but you drive through it and you get pickup and you realize what you’ve done so you don’t do it next lap.” Waters finished third behind van Gisbergen and Anton De Pasquale in Race 10, equalling his best finish of the 2022 season. Josh Nevett
BRIGHT FUTURE FOR RACES UNDER LIGHTS THE FEEDBACK from drivers on the nighttime racing experience at Wanneroo Raceway this time around was mostly positive, with Cameron Waters encouraging the Supercars Championship to schedule more races under lights. The Perth SuperNight is the second event so far to feature racing after dark following the Sydney SuperNight season opener, both providing a unique spectacle for the fans. Questions over the adequacy of Wanneroo’s artificial lighting were present pre-event, but race winner Shane van Gisbergen expressed the view that the venue had met the challenge of hosting a night event. “It’s much better than 2019,” van Gisbergen said. “They’ve done a really good job here. “It’s pretty difficult in some spots, I’d
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Image: Motorsport Images probably just like to see the kerbs done a bit better. Turn 4 you can’t see – it’s a white kerb at the start and it’s covered in rubber. Same for the last corner – it’s black, so you can’t really see the kerbs.
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BATHURST 6 HOUR:
NO NEED FOR PARITY DEBATE MARC CARS Australia founder and renowned car builder Ryan McLeod believes that calls for parity in the Bathurst 6 Hour are missing the mark. At the wheel of a newly prepared BMW M2 Competition, Cameron Hill and Tom Sargent took the outright win in a thrilling edition of the endurance production car race this year, beating out fancied BMW M3 and M4 rivals. In a race that has been dominated by the M3 and M4 BMW variants over the last few years, the superior performance of the M2 has caused some to fear an ‘arms race’ in which all the top teams purchase the newer, smaller and lighter model. One of the solutions posed has been to cap the performance of the M2, however McLeod insists that such an intervention would be against the spirit of the race.
“I don’t think it’s right to start a parity debate – cars are eligible based on a formula that’s applied equally to all the manufacturers,” McLeod told Auto Action. “The classes are divided up as such. If your intention is to go there and try and win the race, start with the Eligibility List, get the right car, do the right modifications to it. “The integrity of the rules and the intention of the rules needs to be protected because I think this is the last great frontier of noncookie-cutter type car racing.” There has been a rolling balance of power in Australian production car racing for decades now, with BMW taking up the mantle as the leading marque in recent years. BMW machines have won every 6 Hour so far, but before them when the Bathurst 12 Hour was a production car race (prior to 2011),
cars such as the Mitsubishi Evo had stints as the go-to weapon. McLeod is not bothered that the M2 may become the next ‘must-have’ car for a few reasons, the first being that all teams knew the model was an option heading into the event. “Part of the tactics of the race is to pick the most suitable car,” McLeod said. Another reason for McLeod’s take on the debate stems from his involvement in the event. McLeod built Ford Mustangs racing in the A2 class at the 6 Hour. One was piloted by his sons Nick and Cameron alongside Aaron Cameron who finished second in class, but McLeod also built the class winning Mustang raced by Tony Quinn and Grant Denyer.
Those cars were not in contention for outright honours, which that does not bother the passionate family racer, who feels more focus should be placed on class results rather than the first car to cross the finish line. “People keep escalating their efforts to win and that’s normal, but you need the class structure to be solid,” he explained. “I think that’s the nature of the race and that’s what it needs to make sure it retains. This is a race for the people. “Each class needs to have its own set of trophies, its own level of importance; it needs to be represented in the TV coverage. However, I do think it’s a bit rich that you take your Suzuki Swift to go and race at Bathurst and you pay the same entry fee as they do in the primary class.” Josh Nevett
DRIVERS WANT S5000 RETURN SEVERAL DRIVERS who competed at the Australian Grand Prix in the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship have expressed interest in a return. The Australian Grand Prix saw a record 16 S5000s take to the track and included a quartet of S5000 rookies – a good sign for the growth of the series. One of these rookies was Formula Ford driver Conor Somers. Somers finished all three races and scored the most points of the four rookies. For him it was a very big learning curve, one he greatly enjoyed – and he says he would love to return at some point in the near future. “I’d definitely love to continue in the category,” Somers told Auto Action. “It’s such a great category, I loved it, but we’ll just have to wait and see what we end up doing. “Obviously Formula Ford is the main focus at the moment, but I’d definitely not say no to more S5000 rounds that’s for sure!” AA asked Somers whether he would compete in the S5000 Tasman Series which commences late in the year when many
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championships are wrapping up around the nation. “More miles in cars would definitely not hurt,” he said. “Being behind the wheel of anything is good. “It probably puts you a step above the rest of the competition when you come into the start of the next Formula Ford season if you’ve already had that racing under your belt during the offseason, so 100%.” With just a handful of people working on the car that weekend Somers exceeded his expectations. “We definitely pushed a bit higher up than what we thought we were going to do,” he said. “I was pleased to be the lead rookie, I’d only driven the car twice (prior) which was probably the least running out of the whole category.” Somers even claimed the inverted grid pole position after qualifying in 12th position, although the race did not go as planned, turned around on the opening lap. Zane Goddard entered the series on a tworound deal with Team BRM commencing at
Image: Kalisz/ARG Phillip Island and concluding at the AGP. The Tickford Racing co-driver enjoyed the experience and would also like to return later in the year. “I’m not 100% sure (if I’ll return) to be honest. It mainly comes down to budget,” Goddard said to AA. “We’ll wait and see; obviously we’ll keep talking to Mark Rundle from BRM. I enjoyed racing in those two rounds; it helps keep me sharp for the second half of this year. “If I could do more that would be great, but we’ll just wait and see and play it by ear.”
James Davison made his S5000 race debut after appearing in the truncated 2020 AGP weekend. The six-time Indy 500 starter had a weekend to forget and sounds less likely to return. “I really have a lot of time for the Roger’s family and Chris Lambden, and everyone involved in creating and promoting this great formula,” he said to AA. “As ever, it all depends on forthcoming sponsors. It’s no secret my prime career and life is over in America. We’ll see. Never say never.” Dan McCarthy
AUSTRALIAN TCR RIGHTS EXTENDED UNTIL 2028 THE FUTURE of the TCR Australia Series has been secured, with Motorsport Australia and World Sporting Consulting Ltd (WSC) agreeing to a five-year extension of the TCR rights in Australia. TCR rights were already held in Australia until the end of 2023, so the announcement of this extension means that the category will stay down under until at least the end of 2028. WSC owns the global rights to both TCR and ETCR, categories which have had worldwide success. Motorsport Australia is the current rights holder for TCR in Australia, while the Australian Racing Group (ARG) holds a separate Commercial Rights Agreement with Motorsport Australia to run and promote the category. WSC Ltd CEO Marcello Lotti was proud to confirm the extension of the rights with Motorsport Australia. “It’s with great pleasure that we have extended the agreement with Motorsport Australia for a further five years. Ever since it started back in 2019, TCR Australia has showed its great potential, and the series has not stopped growing since then,” Lotti said. “Now TCR Australia has become one of the most competitive TCR series around the globe and one of the most attractive for Australian teams and fans alike. “We are confident that the category will benefit from this five-year extension to grow even further in the coming seasons.”
Image: Kalisz/ARG The Australian TCR series was launched in 2019, with Will Brown taking the inaugural title in a Hyundai i30 N TCR. Seven rounds are scheduled for the 2022 season, with cars from seven manufacturers gracing the grid. ARG CEO Matt Braid expressed pride in what his team had managed to achieve so far with the TCR Australia Series, despite the cancellation of the whole 2020 season due to Covid-19. “It has been fantastic for Australian Racing Group to partner with Motorsport Australia and WSC in the launch and development of TCR competition in Australia,” Braid said. “Despite the COVID challenges of the last two years, TCR Australia has grown to become a highly competitive and exciting category that appeals to local motorsport fans and the global TCR fanbase thanks to the support and professionalism of the teams, drivers and our commercial partners. “TCR Australia’s on-track entertainment is second-to-none with big name drivers and young up and coming stars driving marketrelevant race cars around the best tracks in the country, and we look forward working with Eugene and Marcello and their respective teams at Motorsport Australia and WSC to continue the fantastic growth of the Series.” Josh Nevett
TOYOTA EXTENDS COMMITMENT TO 86 SERIES THE TOYOTA Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series will continue for at least another four years, with Toyota committing to the national development category until 2026. The current Toyota 86 machine will serve as the platform for the race car until 2024, when the next generation car (due in Australia as a road car later this year) will freshen up the grid. In addition to the injection of a new car, Toyota will introduce its ‘scholarship series’ from 2023, giving less experienced young drivers access to one-make Toyota 86 races at up to five state-level racing events run by Motorsport Australia in south-east Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Drivers who show talent in the scholarship program will be invited to an evaluation day where they can compete for the chance to steer the invited drivers GR86 in a round of the main series the following year. Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo expressed his pride in the achievements of the TGRA 86 Series so far and was confident that the newly announced changes would see the category grow into the future. “As we have seen over the past six years, the TGRA 86 Series has proven immensely
popular with aspiring race drivers and those with a passion for motorsport and we have seen many of our alumni go on to drive at the highest levels, such as Broc Feeney and Will Brown, who are both driving for Supercars teams this year,” Naidoo said. “At the same time, we have grown a legion of fans that delight at the close wheel to wheel action that plays out on some of Australia’s most iconic race circuits. “With the all-new, more powerful and more agile GR86 set to make its racing debut in the 2024 series, we expect the excitement to be further dialled up, giving drivers and motorsport fans plenty of thrilling racing action for years to come.” The TGRA 86 Series has supported the Supercars Championship over recent years, giving up and coming racers access to a national audience. With one round already in the books in 2022, the TGRA 86 Series is set to take on Mount Panorama as part of the support program for the Bathurst 12 Hour from May 13-15. Following that, the TGRA 86 Series heads to Townsville (QLD), Sandown in Melbourne and then back to Bathurst for the final round of the 2022 season. Josh Nevett
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NATIONALS WRAP
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QRDC LONG WAIT OVER IT BECAME a long wait for the first QR Drivers Championship meeting on April 9 after the intended first round was a washout. Therefore the one day/ nighter QRDC second round was eagerly anticipated, with six categories racing. REPLICA TOURERS ALTHOUGH HOLDEN drivers won each of the three races staged on three different layouts, it was Brandon Madden in his Ford Falcon AU who topped the points. The first race was on the Sprint Circuit where Stephen Coe (Commodore VE) won comfortably from Rex Scoles (VE), Lindsay Kearns (Ford Mustang) and Madden. Onto the Clubman circuit for Race 2 and Coe was again well out in front. Leo Meiers (VE) was second with Madden next ahead of Tom Arndt (BMW 330CI), Brian Smallwood (Toyota 86) and Tony Rowe (Mazda RX7). With no Coe in the last on the National course, Meiers cleared out. Madden was second ahead of Rowe, Jordan Walker (VE) and Smallwood. QLD TOURING CARS BACK FROM a two-year break, Chris Sharples (Holden Monaro – pictured top) picked up where he left off and took the overall victory. He had some intense dices with Chris Brown (Holden Commodore) who finished second overall while third went to Stuart Walker (Commodore VE). Brown led the first race before an early miscue which left Matt Haak (VZ) in front until Lee Gravolin (Monaro) went ahead of the last lap. Haak led Race 2 until he dropped out, and left Sharples to edge out Brown by 0.002s. Peter Bray (Commodore) was next ahead of Walker and Gary Lange (BMW E46). Brown turned the tables in Races 3 and 4 as did Walker on Bray while Robert Bellinger (BMW E46 M3) was fifth in both. Class B honours went to David Yanko (Commodore) over Ben Malpass (E36 Coupe) while Sam Allen (BMW) topped Class C over Hudson James (Commodore). EXCEL CUP JARROD HUGHES dominated the
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opening round where he qualified fastest and won all four races comfortably ahead of 34 rivals. Second place was a different matter and at the end of the meeting it went to Jack Wood over Ben Gomersall and Bradi Owens. Ryan Gray was the runner-up in first race where 0.6s covered him and the eventual top place getters. Wood was second in the next two, narrowly over Gomersall and Owen respectively before Ryan O’Sullivan beat them in the last after a DNF in Race 2, and seventh in Race 3. AUSTRALIAN TRANS-AM FORD MUSTANG driver Anthony Tenkate won all the races and finished the meeting ahead of Alwyn Bishop (Plymouth Duster) and Ian Palmer (Plymouth AAR Cuda). Behind the 6.0 litre cars, Ron Prefontaine (Mustang), Simon Trapp (Mustang) and Len Balme (Mercury Cougar) were the best of the 5.0 litres. Russell Wright (Mustang) was a close second in Race 1 and was chasing Tenkate in the second on a wet track when Tenkate spun, and Wright had nowhere to go but into the green Ford. Tenkate was able to continue the meeting, but Wright suffered too much damage. Prefontaine was fourth overall ahead of Dan Fleming (Mustang) and Peter Schulte (AMC Javelin). QR SPORTS & SEDANS THE NATIONAL and Clubman circuits were used, and it made no difference to Lachlan Gardner who won all four races in his MARC Cars Mazda V8. Grant Draney (Chev Monte Carlo) was second in the first two races ahead of Steven Marek (Nissan Skyline GTR) before the latter reversed those positions in the next two outings. Brett Mitchell (OzTruck Maloo) was fourth four times while fifth was shared around between Coleby Cowham (Ford Mustang) in the first, then James Campbell (Mini Cooper), Ken Samway (Mazda MX5) and Matt Feldman (Mitsubishi EVO 5).
Tenkate leads Bishop and Palmer in a close Trans-Am contest.
HQ HOLDENS IT WAS tough going for Brandon Madden to score three race wins, which was sufficient for him to take the overall honours ahead of Scott Andriske and Jake Madden. There was only a tenth in Brandon Madden’s first win, where he beat Andriske, and only slightly more in the second over Joe Andriske. The third was slightly more comfortable at 0.7s, this time over Scott Andriske. Then in the last Jake Madden was able to pip Scott Andriske and Ben Simpson while Brandon Madden was fourth. Simpson finished fourth for the meeting ahead of Joe Andriske. 2L COUPES THERE WAS tight competition in the all-Toyota 86 field with three different winners. However Hayden Hume won two of the four races after he qualified fastest by 0.06s from Rossi Johnson. Hume took the overall first round result over Ryan Casha and Jack Westbury who each had a race win. Johnson finished fourth, with a best result of third in the last, ahead of Ryan Hadden and rookie Zoe Woods. SUPERKARTS THE WIN in the last race gave Steve Cloake overall victory in his 250cc Stockman after a third and a second. Russell Jamieson (250 PVP) lapped the field in Race 1 and comfortably won the
second on a slightly wet track. But he was an early retirement from the last when the front cylinder wouldn’t clear, which left Cloake dicing with Kane Otway (250 Anderson) who eventually retired when a seat bracket broke. Third overall was Peter Nuske (125 Rotax Light Peter Woodgate Racing) ahead of Nick Marshall (125 TAG Heavy Arrow). Otway finish fifth overall due to a fourth and third in the earlier races. Andrew Cain (Arrow) challenged Marshall for class honours and was seventh overall. In 85cc Gearbox, Lindsey Jamieson (Goldkart) was beaten by less than a tenth in Race 2 by his nephew Chryss (Goldkart) but had a better finish result overall. Garry O’Brien
Brandon Maddon took three wins in HQs
BIKES Bagnaia’s lead over Quartararo was never more than a few tenths, while (far left) Aleix Espargaro’s late move on Millar netted a podium.
Images: Motorsport Images
IMPECCABLE PECCO Report: Dan McCarthy FRANCESCO BAGNAIA was unflappable in Jerez, undeterred by constant pressure from Fabio Quartararo, to take his first MotoGP win of the season and get his 2022 title challenge back on track. While Bagnaia took the win, his Aussie teammate Jack Miller was pushed back from third to fifth in the closing stages of the race, coming off third-best in a dog-fight against Spaniards Aleix Espargaro and Marc Marquez. All weekend long Ducati’s Bagnaia and reigning MotoGP champion Quartararo were the class of the field. The pair took off in the early laps, and the intensity was high with neither making a single error. Quartararo’s pressure was relentless, within 1s for much of the race. The Yamaha rider was never close enough to make a move (despite honing in on the closing laps), and that was due to the incredible consistency of Bagnaia. Espargaro and Marquez’s fight began on the opening lap when they sat behind both Miller and Takaaki Nakagami. Marquez was aggressive on the opening lap into the final turn, forcing his way past Nakagami to claim fourth. The Japanese
rider was off line and this also allowed Espargaro through. After only a couple of laps, the leading pair had taken off into the distance and continued to increase the margin throughout the race. Miller’s attention turned to the Spainard’s behind as the fight for third commenced. Up front, in the closing laps, Quartararo trimmed the lead down to under 0.4s but it was not enough. Bagnaia held on by just 0.285s at the line. Quartararo finished second to extend his championship lead from Aprilia’s Espargaro, who was 10.5s further back. Aleix Espargaro took his third podium of the season, nipping by both Marquez and Miller in one move. Up the inside of Miller he also got by Marquez who made a miraculous save after almost losing the Honda.. From there, Espargaro put his head down and powered away. Behind, the Miller and Marquez scrap continued. The battle for fourth went down to the final lap with the factory Honda man risking it all, diving up the inside of Miller at Turn 8 in spectacular style – he made it stick and held on to fourth.
Miller was fifth ahead of Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir who drifted into late contention for a podium, but couldn’t find a move on the men in front. Nakagami eventually crossed the line in seventh, 4s clear of former championship leader Enea Bastianini, rookie Marco Bezzecchi and KTM’s Brad Binder. Joint championship leader coming into the round Alex Rins’ had a shocker, after qualifying in 14th, the Team Suzuki man made a trip through the gravel after he lost the front end and finished outside the points in 19th. The other Aussie, Remy Gardner, was just behind, in 20th. Both Pramac Racing riders crashed, Jorge Martin on lap 1 and Johann Zarco a few laps later. STANDINGS 1 Quartararo 89 2 Espargaro 82 3 Bastianini 69 4 Rins 69 5 Bagnaia 56 6 Mir 56 7 Zarco 51 8 Binder 48 9 Marquez 44 10 Oliveira 43
FABIO IS BACK ONE WEEK earlier, at Portimao, very few would have predicted a Fabio Quartararo victory, let alone a dominant display. The reigning World Champion had only scored one top five finish leading into the round but, as many of his title rivals finished down the field, he leapt into the lead of the championship. It was a mixed day for the Aussies. Jack Miller crashed out of a fight for the podium, while Remy Gardner scored his best result to date in 14th. With six laps to go, Miller was challenging Joan Mir for third. On the brakes into Turn 1, Miller’s front-end let go, the Queenslander fell, taking out an innocent Mir with him. Quartararo cruised across the line 5.4s clear of fellow Frenchman Zarco who held off Aleix Espargaro in the closing stages. Alex Rins was arguably the rider of the day, coming home in fourth position after starting outside of the top 20. Home hero, Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira clinched a top five finish ahead of brothers Marc and Alex Marquez.
CLASH OF THE TITANS Report: Dan McCarthy DESPITE JONATHAN Rea winning two of the three World Superbike races in Assen, the round will be remembered for the crash between he and reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu. In the opening round of the season, Alvaro Bautista returned to Ducati on a mission, taking two of the three race wins. However Round 2 saw the three protagonists step the level up another notch in the Netherlands and come to blows in the final encounter. Nothing could separate the top three in the opening race of the weekend in what was a WSBK classic (pictured). Rea led for much of the race, occasionally swapping top spot with both Bautista and Razgatlioglu.
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Rea made his final decisive move for the lead on Lap 16 at Turn 1 on Razgatlioglu. On the same lap, Bautista made his move on Razgatlioglu for second place. As the 21-lap race reached its conclusion, Bautista closed in on Rea, looking to make a racewinning move at the final chicane, but could not get by. Rea held on for the win. Andrea Locatelli finished in fourth ahead of former MotoGP rider Iker Lecuona. The Superpole Race saw Rea take victory, his 100th with Kawasaki, after pinching second on the final lap of the race at Turn 8. From fifth on the grid, Bautista fought his way to the front, but could not hold on to the lead. The Spaniard was even demoted to third behind Razgatlioglu for exceeding track limits on the final lap. Once again, Locatelli and factory Honda
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rider Lecuona rounded out the top five. In Race 2, the inevitable finally occurred – a crash Image: Motorsport Images between the title contenders. causing both to crash and retire from the Razgatlioglu made a good start from race. second on the grid and moved into the lead This allowed Bautista to cruise to his of the race early on. third win of the season ahead of Locatelli The trio swapped places throughout the and Lecuona who scored his first WSBK opening laps, however it was clear that podium. Yamaha rider Razgatlioglu was trying to STANDINGS break away. 1 Bautista 109 In doing so the Turkish rider ran wide 2 Rea 91 at Turn 1 on Lap 6 but remained on track. 3 Razgatlioglu 64 Rea came through Turn 1 shortly after and 4 Locatelli 55 the pair collided on the exit of the corner, 5 Lecuona 50
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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 4 Wanneroo Raceway
It was just ‘one of those weekends’ for Team Cooldrive, outside the top 10 both days ... the team asking Feeney to let his teammate by on lap 17. Three laps later Brown was first of the leaders to pit, taking on left-side tyres – it paid off. J Kostecki pitted a lap later to cover, however a slightly slow stop saw Brown take effectively fourth place. The next lap it was B Kostecki’s turn to pit ahead of his good mate De Pasquale and Courtney. Kostecki filed back in at the head of the pack while De Pasquale also jumped J Kostecki in the compulsory pit stop sequence. At the end of lap 24, Davison pitted with a 1.7s deficit to Waters who pitted on the following lap. Incredibly with a fast stop and great out lap Davison was right on the tail of the Tickford driver when he re-joined. Still vulnerable on cold tyres Waters defended a Davison dive-bomb into Turn 7. The pair made door-to-door contact around the turn and Waters ran wide and around the kerb on the outside of the track to keep momentum up and in doing so held position. This was frowned upon by the stewards, who handed Waters a much-disputed 5s post-race penalty. At the end of lap 29, using an alternate strategy, van Gisbergen took on three new tyres while Brad Jones Racing driver Heimgartner took on four. Lap 30 saw an incredibly slow stop for Reynolds who as a result plummeted down the field. The following lap, Feeney, like his teammate SVG, was fitted with three new tyres aimed at moving forward late on. Sitting in fourth position and beginning to hound his teammate for a podium, Brown’s race came to a sudden halt on the run up the hill – his Erebus Commodore had no power. As a result the Safety Car was called, and while this benefitted the likes of Heimgartner, SVG and Feeney who had pitted late, it was a further blow for a furious Waters. The race restarted with seven laps to go and saw the men who took on more than two tyres surge forward in a frantic end to the race. Although Waters crossed the line first, it was Davison who was awarded the race win by 2s from his teammate De Pasquale. Heimgartner was seventh on the restart but made clean and decisive moves to finish third and claim his first podium with BJR. The five second penalty demoted Waters to fourth, while championship leader van Gisbergen moved up from 10th to fifth in the closing laps, limiting the damage in his title fight. While one Erebus driver retired late on Kostecki has little to fight with and fell from third to sixth. Courtney and Feeney both moved up a place late on when Jake Kostecki ran wide at Turn 1. J Kostecki finished in ninth ahead of Hazelwood.
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RACE 12 – SVG DOES IT AGAIN ALTHOUGH SVG started from pole, it was Davison who led into Turn 1. It was actually Reynolds who made the best start, from fourth, swooping around the outside into second place. This however did not last long, an unforced error at Turn 6 allowing SVG into the lead. The race settled into a groove early on with Davison pulling out a small margin in the opening laps. Reynolds could not keep up with the top two and, by the end of lap 9, was 4s behind SVG. The former Bathurst 1000 winner was however beginning to pull away from Brown and Courtney. At the end of lap 12 Courtney elected to peel off early to gain track position early, and in clear air he was able to conserve his tyres.
James Courtney had his best weekend of the year – two sevenths and a second place. SVG was on the attack, he closed in on Davison but could not find a way past, as a result he dropped back to cool his tyres once more. On lap 24 SVG closed back up on Davison and elected to pit on the very next lap to undercut the DJR driver. When Davison came in a lap later to cover, his crew performed another lightning stop, and he re-joined ahead of SVG and alongside effective leader Courtney. On much warmer tyres on the run up the hill Courtney held firm and held position. Lap 29 saw Davison come under threat once again from SVG; he defended into Turn 6 but allowed SVG to get the run into Turn 7. Davison was not done. He harassed SVG for several laps, to no avail, and allowed Courtney to gap the pair by 1.7s.
After a quiet Saturday, Will Davison tweaked the car and ramped up the aggression – to good effect ...
Heimgartner showed promising pace in the BJR car, in among the stars in the dry.
Dave Reynolds continued Groves’ good run with a pair of top 10s, including fourth on Saturday.
With 10 laps remaining SVG was unaware that Courtney had completed his compulsory pit stop – once he was updated, he put the hammer down and quickly caught the Tickford team car. As he did to Davison, SVG sailed by out of Turn 6 to take the lead, just seconds before the Safety Car was called for Jacobson, who had come to a stop at Turn 4. Only two laps remained when the green flag was waved once more. SVG set the fastest lap of the race on the final tour and earned himself an additional five bonus points along with the 100 for winning. Courtney held both Davison and De Pasquale, on much fresher tyres, at bay to score his first podium of the season. Brown pinched fifth from Reynolds on the final lap of the race with Waters just 0.25s further back. There was a fierce battle for eighth place late on – Hazelwood stayed out of trouble and finished on top, ahead of Heimgartner and Slade. Feeney was lucky to avoid a late race Kostecki crash in which cousins Brodie and Jake collided. Brodie dived up the inside of Jake and hit the side of his cousin on the penultimate lap. Jake got stuck in the gravel, while Brodie was able to continue, although he finished outside the top 20. Feeney finished 11th, beating reigning Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth to the line by 0.042s. A disastrous round for Chaz Mostert concluded with a 19th place finish.
Elbows out at Turn 1 – Hazelwood (35) and Feeney (88) ... QUALIFYING RACE 10 Pos Driver Time 1 Anton De Pasquale 0:53.5982*S 2 Cameron Waters 0:00.1082 3 Shane van Gisbergen 0:00.2364 4 Brodie Kostecki 0:00.2472 5 David Reynolds 0:00.4141 6 James Courtney 0:00.5652 7 Andre Heimgartner 0:00.6619 8 Broc Feeney 0:00.7365 9 Thomas Randle 0:00.7510 10 William Brown 0:00.8253 11 Todd Hazelwood 0:00.2627 12 Will Davison 0:00.2946 13 Tim Slade 0:00.3026 14 Jack Le Brocq 0:00.3073 15 Scott Pye 0:00.3182 16 Mark Winterbottom 0:00.4306 17 Garry Jacobson 0:00.5894 18 Jake Kostecki 0:00.6409 19 Macauley Jones 0:00.6423 20 Chris Pither 0:00.7303 21 Jack Smith 0:00.6147 22 Bryce Fullwood 0:00.6278 23 Chaz Mostert 0:00.6513 24 Lee Holdsworth 0:00.8189 25 Nick Percat 0:00.8373 QUALIFYING RACE 11
So the question remains: there were challengers ... but can anyone beat SVG over a weekend?
RESULTS RACE 10 46LAPS (110KMS) Pos Drivers 1 Shane van Gisbergen 2 Anton De Pasquale 3 Cameron Waters 4 David Reynolds 5 Broc Feeney 6 Will Davison 7 James Courtney 8 Brodie Kostecki 9 Todd Hazelwood 10 Andre Heimgartner 11 Lee Holdsworth 12 Thomas Randle 13 Tim Slade 14 Mark Winterbottom 15 Macauley Jones 16 Jack Le Brocq 17 William Brown 18 Garry Jacobson 19 Scott Pye 20 Jake Kostecki 21 Nick Percat 22 Chaz Mostert 23 Jack Smith 24 Chris Pither NC Bryce Fullwood
Laps 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 32
Race time 42:58.7302 43:01.0379 43:06.0482 43:11.0842 43:12.7900 43:14.6984 43:20.4595 43:21.2971 43:21.6059 43:25.1140 43:28.4453 43:30.6176 43:30.9287 43:31.3756 43:32.2031 43:33.9162 43:35.0993 43:35.4000 43:35.8322 43:36.6999 43:39.5231 43:39.9190 43:41.1285 43:42.7695 30:16.7631
s2 t-1 t-1 s1 s3 s6 -t 1 t-4 s2 t-3 s13 t-3 – s2 s4 t-2 t-7 t-1 t-4 t-2 s4 s1 t-2 t-4 t-3
RESULTS RACE 11 46LAPS (110KMS)
Pos Driver Time 1 Will Davison 0:53.6293*S 2 Cameron Waters 0:00.0354 3 Jake Kostecki 0:00.0906 4 Brodie Kostecki 0:00.1239 5 Anton De Pasquale 0:00.1294 6 William Brown 0:00.1513 7 Todd Hazelwood 0:00.1610 8 David Reynolds 0:00.1629 9 James Courtney 0:00.2270 10 Andre Heimgartner 0:00.2362 11 Shane van Gisbergen 0:00.2389 12 Broc Feeney 0:00.3141 13 Chris Pither 0:00.3708 14 Garry Jacobson 0:00.3748 15 Jack Le Brocq 0:00.3925 16 Tim Slade 0:00.4184 17 Thomas Randle 0:00.4530 18 Bryce Fullwood 0:00.4742 19 Lee Holdsworth 0:00.4984 20 Scott Pye 0:00.5292 21 Chaz Mostert 0:00.5401 22 Mark Winterbottom 0:00.6248 23 Macauley Jones 0:00.7090 24 Jack Smith 0:00.7694 25 Nick Percat 0:01.0420
Pos Drivers 1 Will Davison 2 Anton De Pasquale 3 Andre Heimgartner 4 Cameron Waters 5 Shane van Gisbergen 6 Brodie Kostecki 7 James Courtney 8 Broc Feeney 9 Jake Kostecki 10 Todd Hazelwood 11 David Reynolds 12 Chaz Mostert 13 Tim Slade 14 Garry Jacobson 15 Chris Pither 16 Mark Winterbottom 17 Jack Le Brocq 18 Nick Percat 19 Macauley Jones 20 Thomas Randle 21 Lee Holdsworth NC Bryce Fullwood NC Jack Smith NC William Brown NC Scott Pye
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Laps 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 45 44 46 45 34 1
QUALIFYING RACE 12 Race time 01:41:34.0509 01:41:36.1493 01:41:36.5800 01:41:37.6418 01:41:38.3111 01:41:39.8375 01:41:40.7893 01:41:40.9855 01:41:41.4003 01:41:41.7498 01:41:42.0963 01:41:43.8912 01:41:45.1476 01:41:45.4831 01:41:45.5804 01:41:45.7425 01:41:46.5951 01:41:47.0443 01:41:47.2751 01:41:48.2913 01:41:51.3484 01:41:54.4173 01:40:50.5511 01:28:31.4549 1:03.0866
– s3 s7 t-2 s6 t-2 s2 s4 t-6 t-3 t-3 s9 s3 – t-1 s6 t-2 s7 s4 t-3 t-2 t-4 s1 t-18 t-5
Pos Driver 1 Shane van Gisbergen 2 Will Davison 3 Anton De Pasquale 4 David Reynolds 5 Broc Feeney 6 Cameron Waters 7 William Brown 8 James Courtney 9 Jake Kostecki 10 Andre Heimgartner 11 Brodie Kostecki 12 Garry Jacobson 13 Chris Pither 14 Thomas Randle 15 Mark Winterbottom 16 Todd Hazelwood 17 Tim Slade 18 Lee Holdsworth 19 Scott Pye 20 Macauley Jones 21 Bryce Fullwood 22 Jack Le Brocq 23 Jack Smith 24 Chaz Mostert 25 Nick Percat
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Time 0:53.4632*S 0:00.0545 0:00.1057 0:00.1648 0:00.1866 0:00.1945 0:00.2088 0:00.2208 0:00.2832 0:00.2886 0:00.3170 0:00.3245 0:00.3559 0:00.3631 0:00.3733 0:00.4379 0:00.4546 0:00.4654 0:00.4823 0:00.5384 0:00.5705 0:00.5764 0:00.7370 0:00.7952 0:00.9862
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RESULTS RACE 12 46LAPS (110KMS) Pos Drivers 1 Shane van Gisbergen 2 James Courtney 3 Will Davison 4 Anton De Pasquale 5 William Brown 6 David Reynolds 7 Cameron Waters 8 Todd Hazelwood 9 Andre Heimgartner 10 Tim Slade 11 Broc Feeney 12 Lee Holdsworth 13 Jack Le Brocq 14 Bryce Fullwood 15 Nick Percat 16 Macauley Jones 17 Chris Pither 18 Jack Smith 19 Chaz Mostert 20 Mark Winterbottom 21 Brodie Kostecki 22 Thomas Randle NC Jake Kostecki NC Garry Jacobson NC Scott Pye
Laps 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 45 44 39 DNS
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 04 Race time 46:06.4143 46:08.3273 46:08.6274 46:08.8903 46:10.6716 46:11.6517 46:11.9239 46:12.3862 46:12.8152 46:13.2482 46:14.0041 46:14.0462 46:14.4548 46:14.8237 46:15.6726 46:15.9111 46:16.3352 46:16.8049 46:16.8149 46:17.1766 47:15.2432 46:17.5786 44:19.0492 37:15.3934 –
– s6 t-1 t-1 s2 t-2 t-1 s8 s1 s7 t-6 s6 s9 s7 s10 s4 t-4 s5 s5 t-5 t-10 t-8 t-14 t-14
Pos Driver Points 1 Shane van Gisbergen 1087 2 Anton De Pasquale 923 3 Will Davison 876 4 Cameron Waters 751 5 Chaz Mostert 745 6 Broc Feeney 725 7 David Reynolds 709 8 Brodie Kostecki 709 9 Tim Slade 659 10 James Courtney 639 11 Todd Hazelwood 618 12 Mark Winterbottom 553 13 Andre Heimgartner 538 14 William Brown 532 15 Lee Holdsworth 530 16 Nick Percat 523 17 Macauley Jones 423 18 Scott Pye 411 19 Bryce Fullwood 382 20 Chris Pither 380 21 Thomas Randle 364 22 Garry Jacobson 357 23 Jack Le Brocq 354 24 Jake Kostecki 347 25 Jack Smith 344
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