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RALLY PORTUGAL will see the biggest ever gathering of FIA World Rally champions as they come together to celebrate 50 years of the series. Title-winning drivers, co-drivers and team managers will all honour the World Rally Championship’s 50th season during Rally de Portugal weekend, this year’s fourth round. Champions of the past attending include Walter Rohrl, Ari Vatanen, Carlos Sainz, Marcus Gronholm, Miki Biasion and Petter Solberg, who in total have amassed 28 of the 49 titles. DM
THE TOYOTA Racing Series’ FT-60s have been officially homologated by the FIA as a Formula regional car and engine combination, allowing the New Zealand machines to be sent abroad to assist the W Series. The W Series agreeds to borrow the cars due to the tight turnarounds between its rounds on the Formula 1 schedule. The successful homologation means that the NZ FT-60s will used in two upcoming rounds of the W Series, the first at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain and the second at Suzuka in Japan later this year. DM
AUSTRALIAN YASSER Shahin has been announced as a GT World Challenge Asia driver, racing for the Audi Sport Asia Team X Works. The Asian Audi outfit has confirmed a two-car line-up for the GT World Challenge Asia which last took place in 2019 prior to the pandemic. The manufacturer’s official regional drivers Sandy Stuvik and Shaun Thong will lead the two Pro-Am crews. Aussie Shahin will pair up with Stuvik, while Thong will share his machine with David Pun. DM
GUS GREENSMITH is targeting his maiden World Rally Championship podium at the Rally de Portugal from May 19-22. The M-Sport Ford driver is familiar with the gravel surfaces of Portugal having competed there six times previously and is confident that he can eclipse his previous best finish of fourth. “I want to get on the podium,” said the Ford Puma Rally1 driver. “For me, that’s the only goal. I’m going to give it everything and go flat out from the start.” JN
AUSTRALIAN NICK Foster has been signed by Triple Eight to race alongside Prince Jefri Ibrahim in the 2022 GT World Challenge Asia. The former Australian Carrera Cup Series winner will join Ibrahim for the full GTWC Asia campaign in the Triple Eight JMR prepared Mercedes-AMG GT3. As such, Triple Eight JMR’s involvement now features two MercedesAMG GT3s at all six events. Sepang hosts the opening round of this year’s championship on May 20-22. DM
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MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA PUTS TARGA EVENTS ON HOLD
MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has decided to stop issuing permits for Targa style tarmac rally events for the foreseeable future after the deaths of four competitors at Targa Tasmania over the last two years. Tony Seymour was killed in the 2022 event when his car left the road near Mount Roland, causing the remaining days of Targa Tasmania to be run as a tour event. The most recent tragedy came after three competitors were killed in 2021, which prompted an in-depth investigation and the implementation of new safety recommendations. After a Motorsport Australia meeting, it has been determined that a Targa Review Panel will be appointed to investigate the latest incident and make further recommendations on the future of Targa style tarmac rallies. During that time, no permits will be issued by Motorsport Australia. The Review Panel will be Chaired by Garry Connelly AM, while Matthew Selley and Neal
Bates will also be members. Once the Review Panel has had its say, the new Motorsport Australia Risk and Safety Committee, which was established late last year, will assist the Board in making any decisions. Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca said the Board was left with little choice given the current circumstances. “First and foremost, we again extend our sympathies to the Seymour family during this tragic time and will remain on hand to support them, as well as the wider motorsport community,” Arocca said. “While many competitors acknowledge that motorsport is dangerous, we cannot accept that death is an outcome of competition as has been suggested to us. “There are far-reaching consequences following such incidents, whether it be for the first responders who attend, the volunteer officials that are part of the event or witness these incidents, as well as the enormous impact on family and friends. “There are also insurance and legal ramifications that impact the wider sport when incidents such as this occur. There are flow on effects that follow incidents such as these, widely impacting all aspects of motorsport, including licence costs and permit fees for all disciplines. “As the peak governing body for four-wheeled motorsport in this country, Motorsport Australia must do everything it can to prevent these
tragic incidents, and this will often mean having to make difficult decisions for the safety and sustainability of our sport. “At this current time, we are not in a position to establish the cause of this recent incident, and this may take some time. “We have spoken to key event organisers and informed them of this decision, and while they are understandably disappointed, we will continue to liaise with them as this process continues.” Tour events will continue, after passing a risk assessment process. Any tour event must follow all road rules and signs that apply on a route, even if the road is closed for the event. Other competitive Targa style events are also run under an alternative sanctioning body, including the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA). AASA Business Manager Stephen Whyte said the body would continue to sanction tarmac rallies due to fundamental differences in the format of its events. “Firstly, I pass on my condolences to the family members of those who have passed,” Whyte told Auto Action. “We will continue on with our current plan our current program but we are always learning from everything that’s happening in the sport. “The style of our tarmac rallies is quite different to TARGA Tasmania – we have shorter events, different roads and lower speeds. “We know that our protocols and policies are strong and we’ve got a great relationship with our insurer, they’ve got the utmost confidence in us to continue providing a safe platform to conduct events.” Josh Nevett
NO MCLAUGHLIN FOR BATHURST OJEDA A WILDCARD
AS EXPECTED, Dick Johnson Racing has announced that Scott McLaughlin will not return for the Bathurst 1000 this year, locking in its co-drivers for the 2022 edition of the ‘Great Race.’ There was talk of three-time Supercars champion and current IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin returning to pair up with one of the main drivers, or even as a Wildcard with his former Bathurst 1000 winning co-driver Alex Premat, however both have been extinguished. Tony D’Alberto and Alex Davison have been retained for the 2022 Bathurst 1000. The co-driver pairings remain the same with Alex Davison to partner his brother Will, and D’Alberto to race alongside Anton De Pasquale. Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) Executive Chairman and co-owner Ryan Story is delighted to keep the stability within the team, locking down D’Alberto and Davison for another year he believes can only be a good thing. “To have Tony and Alex co-driving with
us again in the Great Race, the Bathurst 1000, is exciting for the Shell V-Power Racing Team after their excellent results in 2021, with a just missed podium,” Story said. For D’Alberto, it will be his seventh consecutive season with DJR, his best finish coming in 2017 when he finished third with Fabian Coulthard. D’Alberto is thrilled to jump back in the Mustang with De Pasquale. “I’m very excited to be Anton’s co-driver at the Bathurst 1000 and build on the relationship and momentum we had in last year’s race,” he said. “Anton, Will and the team are showing their speed again with their on-track performances so far this year and it’s exciting to be part of one of the teams to beat. For Davison it will be the second straight year he has joined the team, however has paired up with younger brother Will on five previous occasions yielding a best finish of fourth in 2014. Alex Davison expressed his delight to once again race for DJR in the legendary #17. “I’m elated to return as Will’s co-driver for this year’s Bathurst 1000 and continue building on the performance we had in 2021,” Davison said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to race in the iconic Shell V-Power colours and for such an iconic race team in DJR. I can’t wait to get to the Mountain and bid for the Bathurst 1000 title.” Dan McCarthy
WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI United have locked in Jayden Ojeda for two Wildcard appearances, the first one at Winton Motor Raceway and the second three weeks later in Darwin. Winton Raceway is WAU’s test track and Ojeda had his first proper test in the ZB machine last weekend and this weekend simply wants to put his best foot forward. “I’m probably a bit lucky in the fact that we start at Winton,” Ojeda said to AA. “Obviously our Wildcard test track is at Winton so you can kind of get a bit of a taste before I go there racing. “I just want to do the best that I can – its about taking it all in and learning as much as I can. “Whether results do or don’t come, as long as I get the most out of it and put my best foot forward that’s what is important to me. Whatever comes from it, comes from it. “I don’t have targets for top 10, top 15 or anything.” At one stage the two-time Bathurst 1000 was linked with a possible WAU Super2 start, however that did not come to fruition, instead a Wildcard program occurred. “I’ve known Bruce Stewart for a while,” Ojeda said. “He’s always flirted with the idea of having me in a Walkinshaw car but ultimately it didn’t work out in Super2 and there were no hard feelings around that. Eventually we put together this wildcard program. Ojeda was pleased with how the test at Winton went. “Just getting used to the characteristics of it obviously compared to my Super2 Nissan from last year and the Triple Eight MSR car that I drove last year as well. “We didn’t really stumble into any problems. More just throwing things at the car, building my database of how the car responds to changes. Dan McCarthy
BOYS SUPERCARS DRIVE STARTS WITH WILDCARD JORDAN BOYS hopes two strong Supercars Championship Wildcards will get his name on the lips of team owners as he tries to secure a spot on the Supercars Championship grid for 2023. A three-time Super2 race winner, Boys previously finished third in the 2020 second-tier series, however for 2022 he elected to run a two round Wildcard program in Supercars instead. Boys will race a ZB Commodore at both Winton Raceway and The Bend Motorsport Park, fielded by front-running Super2 operation Image Racing, the team with which he contested the majority of his Super2 career. The Albury-born racer has not set a target ahead of this weekend’s Supercars racing at Winton – he just wants to be competitive on both days of action. “I haven’t put a finishing position expectation on it,” Boys said to Auto Action. “I want to be in the thick of the field and showing that I belong. “If I can come out of the weekend and say there was not one session where I was out of my depths, and at all times, I was in it being competitive, I’ll be really happy. “I’m not putting it out there that I need to be in the top 10 or anything crazy like that. It’s just if I can come away from the weekend and be comfortable at all times, I’d be stoked.” Boys has recently signed to contest the Bathurst 1000 with Brad Jones Racing as he did in 2020. As for a main game drive, Boys hopes that the Wildcard will help lead to conversations. “Definitely, that’s where I want to be and that’s where
I’m pushing really, really hard to be,” he said. “I’m not ruling anything out for next year. “The main game is where I want to be and that’s what I’m trying to put together over these two Wildcards: to show what I can do and then and then try and have my name on people’s lips. “If I can do a good job in the Wildcards that’s where this conversation starts. It’s too early for me to really think about, – I just need to think about these wildcards and do a really good job and that’ll set me up for a drive or no drive.” Last week Boys took part in a pre-event test at the country Victoria venue and explained how crucial it was to drive the car before the round. “It was really, really crucial, because when I jumped in, it took me a bit,” Boys told AUTO ACTION. “I guess it’s just muscle memory. I know where to brake in the Super2 VF; in the ZB you’re pushing past that by a good distance – it’s the aero and the soft tyre and supersoft tyre as well.” Dan McCarthy
BATHURST IS THE GOAT TRACK AMERICAN ACE RATES MT PANORAMA AHEAD OF INDIANAPOLIS By Paul Gover, News Editor Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi says Bathurst is the toughest racetrack on the planet. After a dismal Wildcard start at the Bathurst 1000 in 2019, where he struggled to come to grips with driving a Supercars Commodore, the American ace puts Australia’s showcase circuit ahead of the Indianapolis oval, Daytona, Sebring, the classic Nurburgring and even a string of grand prix circuits. Asked by veteran F1 reporter Tom Clarkson to name the world’s most challenging circuit for his Beyond the Grid podcast, Rossi has no hesitation: “It’s Bathurst,” he says. “I think you have the speeds of a very fast road course with the confines of a street circuit. And the most elevation changes you will ever see on a racetrack. “I think Bathurst ticks all the boxes from the challenging standpoint. It’s very hard to get it right there.” Rossi and fellow IndyCar racer James Hinchliffe came to Bathurst in a WAU Wildcard entry, thanks to the team’s connection to its part-owner Michael Andretti. After crashing their Commodore during testing at Winton, Rossi finished 18th and two laps down with Hinchliffe. “We got our butts kicked, it’s plain and simple,” Rossi says. “I loved the experience, I think that race is amazing. I think the Supercars are awesome.” So, is he planning a second swing at The Great Race? “Michael asked if I would go back and do it again and it was a ‘Hard No’ unless I get to do, kinda, the Bathurst 12-Hour first. “For me, I would only consider doing it again if I got to go back in a GT3 car, learn the track first of all, and have some sort of confidence. And then go back there with a car and kind-of adapt that.”
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Rossi has plenty of reasons for his lacklustre debut in Supercars, right back to the basics. “One, I had never at this point driven anything with a roof. And, number two, I had never raced anything where you had to, like, heel-and-toe shift. I had never right-foot-braked a race-car. I had to learn all of that, at Bathurst, which is probably one of the more challenging tracks on the planet. In a very short time, with very limited practice. “To learn both of those things on a weekend, and qualify in the rain, was a big, big task. A big learning curve!” Rossi is speaking to Clarkson in an interview that also sheds new light on Andretti Autosports and its owner Michael Andretti. “Andretti Autosport is the largest motorsport organisation in the world. And I think that he has success in every category that he competes in. And I think that speaks for itself,” he says of Andretti. But he also remembers his Supercars experience at Bathurst. “If I didn’t have access to timing and scoring I would be like ’That was the best weekend of my life’. But I did. And I struggled with it immensely. “It was an amazing experience to be able to say ‘Yes, I did the Bathurst 1000’, but it was certainly a humbling experience at the same time.”
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AUSTRALIAN WILL Power has revealed the striking livery which he will run in this year’s Indianapolis 500. The 2018 500 winner will race a Team Penske machine for the 14th straight year and again his machine will be backed by Verizon. The colourful livery is orange at the front, red across the middle, with both the rear-right and rear-left corners a dark purple shade. The Indy 500 takes place on May 29. DM
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THE AUSSIE contingent had mixed fortunes in the opening round of the Italian F4 Championship, at Imola. James Wharton scored a podium, the Prema team driver managing three top 10 finishes to sit fifth in the standings. R-ace GP steerer Marcos Flack struggled to make an impact. Flack’s best finish for the weekend was 19th in Race 1, while he failed to finish in the final encounter. JN
AARON LOVE’S tough start to life in Porsche Carrera Cup France continued at Spa, although the series rookie managed his best race finish so far. Love started from seventh in Race 1 and moved up a couple of spots before suffering a puncture which ended his race. From 14th on the grid in the final race the Western Australian started strong again, moving up to P6 by the end of the first lap. He didn’t quite have the speed to maintain the rage, falling back to P8 by the chequered flag. JN
FORMER W Series driver Caitlin Wood had a successful weekend in the Nurburgring 24 Hours qualifiers, recording a podium. Driving an Adrenaline Motorsport BMW 330i Racing, Wood finished second in the night race and P4 in the second race on Sunday in the VT2 class as she pushes towards a berth in the famous endurance race. A double podium was on the cards, but an extra pitstop on the Sunday ended those hopes. JN
TOMMY SMITH was unable to follow up his podium at Oulton Park in the GB3 Championship, running at the rear of the field in Round 2 at Silverstone. Smith finished 14th, 16th and 12th in the three races at the iconic British circuit, leaving him 19th in the standings after the completion of two rounds. The Douglas Motorsport driver will look to reverse his form at Donington Park, where the next round will be held from May 28-29. JN
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CHRISTIAN MANSELL has stayed within arm’s length of top spot in the Euroformula Open Championship by registering a pair of podium finishes at Circuit de Pau-Ville. Competing with Motopark, the young Aussie (pictured above and right) starred in the second meeting of the season, finishing second in both races in France. Starting third on the grid for the first 26-lap encounter, Mansell made a clean getaway to move into second past his teammate Vladislav Lomko at Turn 1. Set on taking the top spot on the podium, Mansell then pushed to challenge the race leader before the Safety Car neutralised proceedings and he was forced to settle for second. The teenager from Newcastle started from third again in Race 2, falling back to fourth in the opening exchanges before pouncing on an error from polesitter Oliver Goethe to jump to second. Mansell again played the hunter, fiercely
pursuing Lomko for the lead – however he was unable to make a move stick on the narrow circuit. A fourth podium finish in five races leaves Mansell second in the standings, 19 points behind Goethe. “Another great weekend for us, and plenty of important points picked up once more to keep us in the title fight although it’s still early days,” Mansell said. “Pau is a very tricky track, so it was a challenging start to the weekend trying to get used to it. Our pace throughout was really strong though, and we were up in the fight for pole both times which was the key to a good weekend. “It’s basically impossible to overtake here. A good start in race one was the main thing and it put us in a great place. After that we could just chill and get into the zone to get the car home for a podium finish. “It was a similar story on Sunday with a good qualifying session. We missed out on
the front row but attacked into the first corner and took advantage of some mistakes to get up to second place. “It’s a really good weekend for us, and hopefully we’ll take that positive momentum into Paul Ricard next.” Mansell is back out on track in France at Circuit Paul Ricard from May 21-22. Josh Nevett
STREET FIGHTER HUGH BARTER extended his lead in the French F4 Championship with a dominant round at Circuit de Pau-Ville. Barter added a third victory to his season tally in the first race of the second round, before completing a consistent weekend with another podium in Race 3. An opening lap move kicked off the round in style for Barter, who surged into the lead and never looked back. Japanese polesitter Souta Arao could do little as his Australian rival quickly established a gap and was then forced to defend for second. Arao was up to the task, showing himself and Barter to be the pacesetters
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of the field, before displaying resilience to challenge Barter for the lead late in the piece to no avail. Another chapter was written in the battle between the two title contenders in Race 2, as Arao crashed out of the reversegrid affair leaving Barter to extend his advantage. The Aussie finished fifth to bank more valuable points, Arao left to rue his situation. The latter struck back in Race 3 though, beating Barter off the line to take his first victory of the season around the narrow Pau street circuit. After an enthralling see-saw round of
French F4 action, Barter emerged with a 35-point lead in over Arao in the standings. “A victory and a podium, not a bad weekend at all,” Barter said. “Managed to score some good points.” Barter will have to continue to bolster his margin, as he will miss two rounds of the French series to complete his double duties in the Spanish F4 Championship. Josh Nevett
Barter (68) heads Arao (330)and Nomura (15) Motorsport around theImage: historic Pau street Images circuit.
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTRALIA Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Garry O’Brien, Geoffrey Harris, Bob Watson, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn. FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell PHOTOGRAPHERS AUSTRALIA Daniel Kalsz, Mark Horsburgh, Ross Gibb, Rebecca Hind, Mick Oliver, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Rhys Vandersyde, Richard Hathaway, MTR Images, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter, autopics.com.au
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THERE’S ROOM FOR EVERYBODY
MIAMI PUT on a great show for its first Formula One Grand Prix and it was remarkable how such a big city got completely geared up for this event, something the sport had never seen in the United States, even though last year’s weekend in Austin marked the beginning of this increase of popularity of Formula One in such a big market. There’s no doubt Americans know how to put a big show together and they only know one way of doing things – they go big on everything! Having the race right next to the Miami Dolphins stadium guaranteed everyone in town knew how to get in and out of the circuit; the stadium itself served as base for offices, catering, paddock club, media facilities and so on and, of course, everyone that was someone and within a few hours’ flying time from Miami was there on Saturday and, especially, Sunday. And it was this big influx of A-listers and other not so famous VIP’s that showed one of the biggest limitations of the set-up the Miami promoters put together: their Paddock is the narrowest of the season, even narrower
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F1 INSIDER than the one in Imola two weeks earlier, so there was virtually a road block, making it hard for the teams to work, especially in the last two hours before the race – not the kind of environment multimillionaire sports people or businessman want to be part of when they go to an event. Another limitation was that teams couldn’t function as a single unit (which it’s ideal) because their cabins in the Paddock were so small, they couldn’t even fit guests at the same time. The poor boys and girls from the hospitality units amassed miles walking back and forth from the kitchens, which were inside the stadium. Engineering offices were also scattered so, from a physical side, this was a punishing Grand Prix for all involved. Not least, of course, for the drivers – most of them were
completely knackered at the end of the race. The combination of the heat and humidity in Miami in May, together with the tight nature of the circuit made it quite demanding for the drivers, with extreme concentration required to avoid the walls also playing a part in their fatigue. But it was the very poor quality of the surface – let’s not call it tarmac, because it wasn’t really that sort of surface they had to deal with – that got deserved criticism from the drivers. That and the very aggressive kerbs on the chicane that will, in all likelihood, be changed for next year, with another solution required to slow the cars before the longest straight of the circuit. A lot was being made of the show Miami put together and of how European promoters would have to raise their game to stay
in Formula One, but the cooler heads in the sport agreed there’s room for everybody. Miami had a large number of high-profile guests, yes, but apart from David Beckman and Anthony Parker, they were all Americans and foreign TV commentators were really struggling to know who was who, so I presume the same was happening to those watching the broadcast from home. In Monaco, you get a completely different crowd in the stands and in the Paddock Club; a different group of people at Monza, Suzuka, Singapore, Barcelona or Silverstone and, quite frankly, Formula One needs this mix of fans and VIP’s to attract as large an audience as possible. Yes, Miami was different and that’s part of the reason that made it good – if all Formula One events were like this, life would be unbearable for those working hard on the ground and you’d struggle to keep some very valuable personnel if you were a Team Principal. Variety of events is the key, so let’s not go all ‘showbiz’ from now on, just because that set-up worked well in Miami ...
WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE? Full coverage of all the Supercars and support race action from Winton, news and coverage of the Formula 1 races from Spain and the magic Monaco GP’s, all the colour and action from the Indy 500, WRC coverage from Portugal, full coverage of the Shannons Motorsport Australia round from SMP-including TCR, TCM, Trans AM, GT3 Cup Challenge and heaps more AutoActionMagazine
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Panoramic 2012 Safety Car finish. Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon’s Ganassi Dallara DW12 Hondas in front of Tony Kanaan’s DW12 Chev.
Last year he was a surprise victor. At 46 years of age, he had a one-off drive with the burgeoning Meyer Shank Racing squad ... that win led to a full-time drive this year. A team on the rise, Meyer Shank made its Indy debut in 2017. its first full-time IndyCar campaign was in 2020, and this year is running two cars – former Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud is a massive asset to the team. This year, Castroneves seeks to become the first five-time 500 race winner. Currently level on four wins with AJ Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser, his Indy offensive didn’t start well. He crashed exiting pit lane on the first day of testing, sustaining heavy damage to his Dallara, and was forced to sit out the following day’s running too. At Indy, the recent form has been with Honda who have powered the last two 500 victors. However, it is clear that Chevrolet has made progress with its engine during this last off-season – the first four 2022 races went Chev’s way (and last weekend’s rain-fest at Indy’s road course wasn’t about engine power!), so the engine contest at Indy looks like being intriguing. “I continue to be impressed with the rebound by Chevrolet this season,” said longtime IndyCar writer Paul Kelly. “Let’s not sugar-coat it: Honda was superior in the last two seasons, winning the championship and Indianapolis 500 both years. Honda won 10 races to Chevy’s six in 2021, but Chevy has re-emerged as a Race Day force in 2022. “It will be interesting to see how Chevy’s resurgence looks at Indy, where it powered only two of the first nine starters in the 500 last year and only one of the first 12 starters in 2020. “The power pendulum appears to have swung back toward Detroit in the last 12 months, and I would be stunned if Honda – still a formidable and reliable rival for Chevy – locks down the front of the starting grid in a similar fashion this year.” Chip Ganassi Racing has had a fantastic decade. Since 2012 it has won five IndyCar Series – Scott Dixon 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020
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Scott McLaughlin ran the iconic Pennzoil livery last year – the young kiwi (and ex-Supercars champ) is now a race winner and championship contender ... Below: Double champion Josef Newgarden is yet to win at Indy, but already has two wins under his belt this year.
and Alex Palou in 2021 – but at Indy things have been a bit lean since Dario Franchitti’s victory a decade ago. That was the year the current 2.2-litre V6 twin-turbo engine package debuted. This year, the team’s Dallara IR18 Hondas are being driven by Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Kanaan. While it may be a lengthy winless drought, it’s not through lack of speed. Last year Dixon took his fourth pole.
With six IndyCar titles Dixon is desperate to add to his sole 2008 Indy win. Since then he has started on pole three times, but things just haven’t gone his way. Towards the end of his career, the 41-year-old still has the drive, motivation and pace to win another Indy 500. He was quickest on the first open test day showing he will again be a contender. Despite being the reigning series winner, Palou is still after his first oval win. What a place Indy would be to do it! Palou finished second last year after leading as late as lap 198 before being overhauled ... so it’s not through lack of oval racing prowess. Castroneves believes that his experience over Palou proved crucial to his victory but doesn’t feel he could overhaul him again. “Clearly, he’s getting more experience all the time. I’m glad I got him when I did,” he said. This year the young Spaniard is feeling a lot more confident. “We were really good at the Speedway test,” Palou said after finishing seventh on the overall speed chart. “Really good, really comfortable – a lot better than we did at the same test last year.” His team-mate, former F1 driver Marcus
Ericsson, also lacks oval racing experience, but he believes he made large gains at Texas earlier in the year. “I’m very confident,” he said. “I’ve been working a lot on trying to improve my oval strength and Texas was a good result for me and my confidence; and that’s something I’m bringing into the month of May. “We have an extremely strong organisation right now, especially with Tony (Kanaan) joining the team. It’s a privilege to be teammates with all these great drivers.” Yes, once again, former 500 winner Kanaan joins the team for the 500 and will doubtless prove a useful asset and 500 victory dark horse. Another is Jimmie Johnson – the NASCAR star shone on his oval debut earlier in the year. The Indy 500 is steeped in tradition and as American as Apple Pie but it’s a truly international race. 1995 was the first year that more than 50% of competitors hailed from countries other than the US. In the last decade and a half there have been only two American Indy 500 winners – Ryan Hunter-Reay and, most recently in 2016, Alexander Rossi. Both won with
Left: Helio Castroneves and Palou in close company during 2021’s race. Below left: Adrenalin-pumping pitstop for Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet at Indy 500 in 2021 Below: Politically incorrect as it is, weren’t Marlboro’s colours wonderful! Roger Penske and Helio Castroneves with the winning 2002 Dallara Chev and Borg Warner Trophy.
Andretti Autosport, a team that hasn’t won since. Rossi’s 2016 victory was something special. As a rookie he outsmarted the opposition to win the 100th edition of the race. The last two seasons and 500s haven’t gone to plan, so while not a favourite, rule him out at your peril. On his day Andretti’s Colton Herta is unstoppable – his win in appalling conditions last weekend was epic. The youngster is fast but prone to mistakes – his day at the 500 could go either way! Their Andretti Indy 500 rookie teammate is 10-time F1 podium finisher Romain Grosjean.
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The Frenchman has shown great pace in his only two oval races to date, but failed to finish strongly. Utterly fearless he will be as much of a contender as Herta. Last year there were only two rookies – this year there are seven, from diverse backgrounds and experience. While Grosjean is the headliner, a couple of Formula 2 Championship front-runners will debut – Christian Lundgaard and 2020 series runner-up
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Callum Ilott, who is being coached by Hunter-Reay. The three youngsters who have risen through American feeder series, David Malukas, Devlin De Francesco and Kyle Kirkwood, all thus have oval experience,. while lots of eyes will be on our final rookie, seven-time NASCAR champion Johnson. Arrow McLaren SP is in hot form after a lacklustre start to the season. Pato O’Ward took victory in Alabama. When he is happy, the team and car perform strongly. He was third on the 500’s final lap last year and finished fourth. Like Palou, he has more experience this time around. Despite showing great qualifying pace this year, his team-mate, Felix Rosenqvist, has had wretched luck in races – but it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through with McLaren and again proves his mettle. Former race winner Juan Pablo Montoya is aboard the third McLaren and will be looking to improve on his ninth-place finish last year. Other entrants include runner-up finishers Marco Andretti and JR.Hildebrand. Two-time winner Takuma Sato always lifts his game during the Indy 500 week as does veteran Graham Rahal.
Other notables to keep an eye on include the Ed Carpenter Racing trio of Carpenter, Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay. With exactly 33 cars entering this year, qualifying has been altered by adding an additional session. The top 12 drivers go into a shootout, before the fastest six progress to a second, final qualifying shootout. The winner of that will start the 500 from pole. Last year the Indy 500 speed record was broken – Castroneves won in 2h 37m with an average of 306.885kp/h. Quite what the victor of the inaugural 1911 Indy 500, Ray Harroun would have made of this would be fascinating. He, and Cyrus Patsche, who relieved him for 35 laps, took 6h 42m for a race average of 120.060kp/h aboard their Marmon Model 32 based Wasp, so named for its wasp-like tail. Of all the major motor races in the world, the Indianapolis 500 has the widest range of potential winners – and potential surprise endings. The track is unique and thus even current championship form can go out the window. The Auto Action office picks for the top five are Newgarden, McLaughlin, Palou, O’Ward and Scott Dixon. But absolutely anything can happen at Indy ... Gentlemen, start your engines! Stan Sport will have full coverage of all the Indianapolis 500 action with the race live, starting at Sun, 29 May at 2:00am – or you can watch the race later on demand on Stan Sport.
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SPEEDWAY NEWS
MAT MAKES 10K PAY DAY WITH A cool $10,000 cold hard cash up for the winner of the Ian Boettcher Classic for Super Sedans, hosted at the at Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway, a total of 36 competitors came from far and wide as the on track action proved to be a hard fought affair over the two nights of competition. The opening night started well for Steve Jordan as he went on to claim the Preliminary 25-lap A Main over the well-travelled Tasmanian duo of Corey Smith and Callum Harper with reigning Australian champion Mat Pascoe separating the Apple Islanders in third. After the 12 qualifying heats, dashes and top eight pole shuffle were run and done, Harper and Jordan shared the front row of the top 24 competitors going into the uniquely numbered 36-lap feature race. At the drop of the green Harper would use his momentum around the topside to take the lead with Jordan in pursuit, followed by the talented New Zealand wheel twister in Michael Kendall. While the field jockeyed for position over the opening laps, at times three wide as they argued over the prime realestate, Harper would make the most of clear track ahead and open a handy break. Zak Hudson became the first of the retirees as he pulled to the infield, just four laps into the race and, two laps furhter on, Harper would encounter the first of lapped traffic. With 10-laps in the books the lights would go yellow for the first time as Jordan’s fairytale run would come to an end with power steering issues, rolling to a halt on the back straight. For the restart, the leader would solely occupy the front row while the rest of the field lined up two-by-two behind. Harper led the charge with Kendall, Pascoe and Victoria’s Michael Nicola entering the top four. Things would remain in that order until Rockhampton’s Michael Larsen brought on the second yellow stoppage with 22 laps
Australia #1 Matty Pascoe broke the lap record en route to a $10k win .... Photo: Declan Brownsey remaining, lucky not to roll over as he tipped the RK8 into the Turn 4 wall. Callum again jumped to a handy lead as the field battled, Pascoe would climb to second and was on a mission to close on the leader. Kendall remained third while Darren Kane advanced to fourth, relegating Nicola to fifth. Over the next few laps, Pascoe would gain the distance required and diced with Harper. All eyes were fixated on the lead duo as they traded blows, racing door to door through traffic, Pascoe eventually gaining the upper hand and hitting the lead with a dozen laps remaining. However Harper would continue to throw out the return challenge until Kendall brought on the red lights after rubbing wheels with his Ian Boettcher Race Parts supported teammate Kane, rolling over
and out of the race in Turn 2 while holding down third place. With eleven to run Pascoe would make the most of clear tack, leading while a determined Kane moved to second. Harper and Pascoe continued the high-speed dogfight as Mitchell Gee moved into the top four. Pascoe was on a mission, breaking into the 12 second barrier, smashing a 12.989 on lap 27 just prior to another stoppage as Michael Hally spun on the back chute. With seven laps remaining, the contenders were all at the pointy end with 14 national titles shared amongst the leading half dozen cars. At the green, Pascoe charged to the front for the next three laps until the yellows blazed again after Hayden Brims, Zac and Ty Pascoe tangled further back in the field, ending their runs.
With three laps remaining, the field bunched into Indian File and Pascoe would power home, finding the shortest passage to the chequered flag, resetting another new lap record with a 12.951 and grabbing the $10,000 winner’s purse. Kane, Harper and Gee would round out the podium. Next came Justin Randall, Dusty Higgs, while Nicola fell back to seventh followed by Tassie pilots David Nichols and Smith. Gavin Northfield, Hally, Andrew White, Dion Bennett, Tyson Moon and Rod Enman squared off the finishers. Randall, White, Jordan, Smith, Sean Black, Mat Pascoe, Zac Pascoe, Hally, Kane, Higgs, Nicola and Harper each shared a heat race victory while Hudson claimed the 15-lap B Main with White, Hally, Ty Pascoe, Doyle and Bennett also advancing to the feature event Paris Charles .
MCCARTHY UNTOUCHED IN SA FINALE THE MURRAY Machining & Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway brought down the final curtain on their 2021/22 Speedway season – and from a large field of 26 Wingless Sprints it would be Jack McCarthy continuing his strong run of form, leading all 20 laps of the A-Main along with winning both of his heat races. Second across the line was Harley Alexander, who recorded a career best result while local racer Brett Ireland completed the podium. Anthony Tapley, Ryan Alexander, Rory Button, Michael Spoljaric, Brent Fox, Rylan Furler, Hayden Vickers, James Rodda, Jesse Alexander, Ross Miller, Tahleesha Mayes, Kahn Aston,and Bronson Mauro rounded out the top 16. Veteran racer Carey Weston claimed the final round of the Street Stock Track Championship with Nigel Reichstein second and Craig Buchanan taking the final podium step for the 20-lap final, Keith Moore and Ben Whitehead rounding out the top five.
T13 Tasmanian Rodney Basset fights for the SA AMCA Title with V99 Justin Richardson. Photo: Terry Scriven The Junior Sedans were spilt into New and Top Stars for their heat races before being combined for their feature event. The top five to the line were Lucas Warnett, Lachlan Brown, Diesel Fallon, Riley Greig and Henry Brumfield. The competitor who travelled the
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furthest to be here found the shortest way to the finish line with Tasmanian Rodney Basset setting a new AMCA National 20 lap Track Record of 5:05.553 in the final. Shannon Hilder, John Stumann and Darren McCarthy rounded out the podium.
SUNLINE SHINES FOR RODNEY BASSETT
The following night, Bassett would find the fastest way to the finish line to claim the National Karate South Australian AMCA Nationals Championship at Waikerie’s Sunline Speedway.
Sharing the trophies was Justin Richardson, Shannon Hilder and Thomas Walkom. The Victorians dominated the 12-lap heat races with Ritchardson, Darren McCarthy and Hilder claiming a win apiece. In the supporting classes, the podiums would result in; Nick Hall continued his dominance in the V6 Sprints over Renee Pfieler and Jordan Grillett. Teenage sensation Mitchell Rigney claimed the Super Sedan feature from Neville Nitschke and Sarah Pope. The Modlites podium went to Jacob Carlier, Dylan Richter and Anthony Grillett. Tony Hardy found himself the meat in a Mildura Sandwich as Peter McCarthy claimed the Modified Sedan final with Trev Logan third. The Junior Sedans Top Stars / New Stars combined Feature was claimed by Lucas Warnett with Lachlan Brown and Diesel Fallon, the first New Star home was Evan McAlister in sixth. Paris Charles
NATIONALS WRAP
GARY’S
NATIONAL
EVENT
CALENDAR
Image: B Team Rally Media
CLEAN SWEEP IN TRYING MARYSVILLE STAGES RAIN AND cold conditions faced the big field for the Sheen Panel Service Ringwood Marysville Stages, the third round of the Till Hino Victorian Rally Championship, which was won by Adrian Stratford and Kain Manning on May 7. It was their third outing in the Subaru Impreza WRX (pictured above) after a campaign in a 2WD Ford Fiesta last season, and they clean swept the sevenstage event by 6mins 1.0s ahead of Glen Raymond and Kate Catford in the non-turbo Subaru Impreza RS. Luke Sytema and Tracey Dewhurst survived a couple of off road excursions in their classic Ford Escort RS1800.
The VRC comprised 130km of competitive distance where Stratford won the three stages to take out heat one ahead of Richard Galley and Claire Buccini (Mitsubishi EVO 8) with two stage seconds and seventh. Third were Warren Lee and David Lethlean (EVO 9) after a fourth and two thirds. Stratford continued his unrelenting pace to net the four stages of heat two ahead of Raymond and Sytema and Galley. The latter finished fourth overall ahead of Lee, Kevin Millard and Andrew Daniell (Datsun 1600), and Wayne Stewart and Lucas Zinsstag (WRX). Behind eight placed Danny Traverso and Jason Page (EVO 8) there was a tie for ninth with Ian Martin/Steve Young (WRX STi Spec
C) and Tom West/Stephen Dunbar (Hyundai Excel). Nathan Quinn and Ray Winwood-Smith (Mazda RX2) were sixth for much of the rally until dramas on stage six relegated them to a final 17th place. In conjunction with the VCR, it was round three of the Victorian Club Rally Series, run over 115km of competition on a combination of five daylight and evening stages. The winners were James and Mark Leoncini (Toyota Corolla AE71) by 2mins 47s over Steven Porter/Tony Robinson (Mazda RX7) and Ben and Cathy Hayes (Datsun 1600) who were split by 19s. Garry O’Brien
FINALLY! THE LAST ROUND THE FINAL round victory, in the Whiteline Tarmac Rallysprint Series, on April 21, went to Lance Arundel and Luke Job (pictured). They also won the series ahead of Tim Blake and Peter Akers, and David Isaacs and Paul Pritchard, second and third respectively. With cancellations and delays caused by weather, Covid and construction of the new Speedway, the North Shore Sporting Car Club could have walked away. But Director Brett Middleton and his hard-working volunteers got the fourth round underway with 77 entries competing under threatening skies. Arundel (Subaru Impreza WRX) made a conservative start, third on the first run behind Blake (WRX), and Isaacs (Mitsubishi EVO 9). Run 2 also went to Blake, by just 0.08s from Arundel, who was starting to hit his straps. Third were Josh and Matt Redhead (EVO 5), and then Andrew Best and Jayme Rowland (Ford Focus). Arundel took fastest time on Run 3, from Redhead, then Isaacs, Josh Muggleton and
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Image: Bruce Moxon Blake Stokes, and Justin Lewis and Nadia Toffetti, both crews in Toyota Yaris GRs. Arundel was fastest again on Run 4, with Redhead second again from Blake and Isaacs. The final run went to Redhead from Arundel. With each crew’s best three runs counted, Arundel had enough in hand to take the win, but by just 1.3s. Blake and Akers might have been able to make an impression, but their car went into ‘limp-home’ mode on the final
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run, leaving them 12.8s adrift of second placed Redhead. It was interesting that the best times got progressively faster over the night, despite the track surface getting cooler. Best of the 2WD runners was Dean Muddle and Logan Waterhouse (Honda Civic), from Josh Buchan and Reece Harradine (Hyundai i30n). First Junior driver was Jake and Dallas Beattie (WRX). Bruce Moxon
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS CAR CLUB, Junior Development Program Day 2, Mid Murray Motorplex SA – May 21 South Eastern Automobile Club, Trials Series Rd01, Mt Gambier Forests SA – May 21 Tasmania Off Road Series Rd03, Symmons Plains – May 21 Roll Racing Brisbane #5, Qld Raceway QLD – May 21 Grip Attack - Race your mates, Lakeside Park QLD – May 21 Queensland Rally Short Course Rally Series Rd02, TBA QLD – May 21 Supercars Winton SuperSprint, Winton VIC – May 21-22 V8 SuperUtes Rd03, Winton SuperSprint, Winton VIC – May 21-22 National Sports Sedans Series Rd02, Winton SuperSprint, Winton VIC – May 21-22 Aussie Racing Cars Rd05, Winton SuperSprint, Winton VIC – May 21-22 Central Coast Car Club (Gladstone) Bitumen Motorkhana/ Khanacross, Benaraby NSW – May 21-22 South Australian Motor Racing Championships Rd02, The Bend SA – May 21-22 Australian Formula Ford Championship Rd03, Winton SuperSprint Winton VIC – May 21-22 Australian Rally Championship Rd02, Forest Rally WA – May 21-22 West Australian Rally Championship Rd02, Forest Rally WA – May 21-22 Baskerville 1000, Baskerville TAS – May 21-22 North Queensland Off Road Rd02 7hr Enduro, Charters Towers QLD – May 21-22 Ipswich West Moreton Auto Club, Autocross Rd02, Willowbank QLD – May 22 Southern Districts Car Club, Khanacross Rd03, Mid Murray Motorplex SA – May 22 WA Sporting Car Club, Speed Event Series Rd05, Point 2 Point, Wanneroo WA – May 22 MG Car Club Newcastle, Motorkhana Dirt Mk3, Ringwood Park NSW – May 22 TCR Australia Rd04, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 Touring Car Masters Rd02, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 Trans Am Series Rd04, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 S5000 Australian Drivers Championship Rd04, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 GT World Challenge Rd03, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 Radical Cup Rd03, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 Porsche Sprint Challenge Rd01, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 Production Cars Rd01, Shannons Championships, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – May 27-29 Queensland Circuit Racing Championships Rd02, Morgan Park QLD – May 27-29 QR Drivers Championship Rd03, Qld Raceway QLD – May 28 500 Car Club of Tasmania, Backwards Basky Hillclimb #3, Baskerville TAS – May 28 Townsville City Autosports Club, Hillclimb Rd02, Mt Stuart QLD – May 28 Motor Culture - Cars & Culture - Track Edition, Lakeside Park QLD – May 28 NSW Khanacross Series Rd03, Armidale NSW – May 28-29 Hervey Bay Motor Sports Association, Khanacross Rd03, 300 Gympie Rd, Tinana QLD – May 28-29 Australian Tarmac Rally Series Rd02, Snowy River Sprint, Lakes Entrance VIC – May 28-29 West Australian State Championships, Wanneroo WA – May 28-29 45th Historic Winton, Winton VIC – May 28-29 Raleigh Motorsports Association, Rallycross Club Day, Raleigh Raceway NSW – May 29 North Australian Motor Sport Club Championships Rd02, Hidden Valley NT – May 29 Central Australian Rally Sports Club, Motorkhana, Finke Desert Race Complex, Alice Springs NT, May 29 Limestone Coast Off Road Club, Khanacross Rd03, Curtis Boyd’s SA – May 29 Walkerville All Cars Club, Khanacross, Walky Park SA – May 29 MG Car Club Newcastle, Hillclimb, Ringwood Park NSW – May 29 Euro Day - Show n’n Shine & Track Challenge, Lakeside Park QLD – May 29
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NATIONALS WRAP
LUKE ERCEG ON HIS OWN A NARROW outright and ProLite win went to Luke Erceg (ProLite ECE Honey Badger/ Nissan) in the Symons-Clark Logistics Richard Bennett Memorial Enduro at Parilla on April 30- May 1 and set his SA Multi Club Series campaign off to a good start. Matt and Gary Curtis with Brad Cheer (GCR Rhino/Nissan) had started day two from first with nearly 20s over Erceg (right) who started fourth. But when the flag fell Curtis was just over 20s down after a big charge from Erceg. Queenslander Chris and Cooper Western (Pro Buggy Rush Buggy/Chev) slotted into third but 4mins behind the winner. Pro Buggys filled the next two spots. Brenton and Matthew Gallasch (Southern Cross/ Chev) battled hard with Western and finished not far behind. Kevy, Jackson and Sarah Nott (Element Prodigy/Chev) were on the lead pace throughout with fifth a good effort. There was a gap back to sixth-placed David Hall and Corey Hayworth (Murphy/Nissan) who had a big moment in the prologue and comfortably ran inside the top five on day one. Victorians Josh Gaskin and Evan Lampard (Southern Cross/Honda) were next home well clear of Lachlan, Hannah and Roydn Bailey (SXS Pro Can-Am Maverick). Ninth went to Chris and Colin Johnson (Custom/Nissan) who had a trouble free run and a buffer back to Nick and Alexander Burt (Extreme 2WD Rush Truck/Chev) who rounded out the top 10. Aaron and Jordan James (Alumi Craft/Ford Ecoboost) were the top qualifiers and led from the start until a broken rod on the first lap of Section 2. Daryl Nissen and Andrew Harness (SORE/Nissan) qualified second but failed to make the start with a bad oil leak.
Image: David Batchelor Looking menacing on Saturday, Andrew Fitzgerald and Maddy Barrett (Element Prodigy/Chev) and came home just behind Curtis. However it all went wrong on lap two of Sunday’s eight lapper with power steering failure.
Simon and Lucy Tucker (Tickner Ratbagz/ Toyota) took out Super 1650 after Darren and Lewis Oliver (Tiny Built GSXR3/Suzuki) couldn’t maintain the scorching pace they showed in Section 1 – although still a promising debut.
Michael Shipton and Paul Chorlton (Ford Ranger/Chev) outran Millie Vanderwoude and David Schultz in the L98-powered Holden Colorado for Performance 2WD honours. David Batchelor
MAHON MAKES IT THREE FROM FOUR THE OUTRIGHT points leader of the Eziup and Go Victorian Hillclimb Championship, David Mahon (pictured), made it three FTDs this season when he topped the times at Bryant Park’s fourth round on April 24. In each of his four runs of the PIARCrun event, the Hayabusa-powered Dallara F394 driver was fastest and went quicker with each effort. Ultimately his best in the up to 1.3 litre Formula Libre on
the Figure 8 layout was a 52.62s run. Second and third places went to 1.32.0lt F/L cars with Wim Janssen (Wimp 003) besting class points front runner Mike Barker (Hayward 06) with a 55.29s flyer on the final run. Bruce and Peter Minahan shared the Formula Libre up to 1.3lt F/L Suzukipowered Hayward 07 for fourth and fifth with the former quicker than his brother. Class rivals Ewen Moile (Ramblebee
Mk8) and David Casey (Casey TH109R) were next. Eighth outright and the best placed tin top was Jordan James in his 4WD Sports Sedans Mitsubishi EVO 4. He finished ahead of the two leading up to 1.6lt Sports Cars Clubmans in Steven Buffinton (Westfield) and Colin Newitt (Locost). There were 85 competitors with Hugh Feggan (Porsche 996 GT3) was the top
Production Sports and 11th ahead of James McNiven (Toyota Celica Sports Sedan), Warren Heath (Improved Production Ford Laser Sport), Dale Hocking (Dalrick Clubman) and Damien Pennycuick in his Nissan Skyline, the first of the Non Logbooked Cars. The closest class contest was in Historic Other where Keith Charman (GD) edged out Robert Wilson (Peregrine) by 0.02s. Garry O’Brien
Image: Otway Edge Photography
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TAYLOR TAKES MAIDEN NATIONAL OFF ROAD VICTORY RYAN TAYLOR (above) scored a memorable win in the 2022 Pooncarie Desert Dash, his maiden victory in national off-road competition. The win elevates Taylor to the top of the Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship standings, after previous lead Josh Howells failed to finish at Pooncarie. With the assistance of navigator Kye Floyd, Taylor defeated Shane and Zane Elphinstone by 40s in the New South Wales event. “No words can describe the feeling we’ve got right now,” Taylor said. “Just elated and all the hard work that goes into coming to these events, we’ve been doing this for years and to finally get one under the belt is awesome.” Elphinstone was thrilled to finish runner-up. “This is perfect actually, it was a pretty good run from what we’ve done, so it’s good,” Elphinstone said.
“It takes me a little while to get into a groove and when you have a couple hundred kilometres under your belt. It’s just easier.” Pro-buggy pairing Matt Hanson and Nigel Pendlebury (pictured, right) completed the overall podium, a mighty achievement considering it was the first race Hanson finished since 2019. “It’s good to get seat time, good to get a finish and ending up third, it’s been a good weekend,” Hanson said. Lachlan Bailey was victorious on debut in the SXS class alongside Rodyn Bailey, a surprising result in the words of the driver. “Definitely wasn’t expecting to win,” Bailey said. “I think we got a bit lucky, but that’s racing I suppose.” Greg Campbell was second in class and Nic Hicks rounded out the SXS podium,
despite leading for much of Sunday. In the Extreme 2WD class Brent Smoothy and Rheece Burgess came out on top, leading Beau Robinson and Shane Hutt. Mel and Melissa Brandle were deserved winners in the pro-lite class over Ally Howells and Sarah Corrigan. James Tyrrell was first in Sportslite and 17th overall, as many competitors across the categories failed to finish the tough New South Wales event.
AMOS RETURNS FOR THIRD ROUND WIN THE THIRD round of the Queensland Hillclimb Series at Mt Cotton produced its third driver/team combination to pull the fastest time with Dean Amos (pictured, right) the quickest, on May 7-8. Usually a regular in the MG Car Club Queensland series, it was first visit there this year for Amos and his Nicholson McLaren V8-engined Gould GR55B. It took until his sixth and final run flyer of 37.05s to unseat Dean Tighe from the top spot. Just before Tighe (supercharged Hayabusa Empire Wrath) had set the benchmark at 37.21s.
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Image: Peter Buchanan Over 1.3 litre Formula Libre cars finished in the top four spots with Brett Bull (Van Diemen RF03K/supercharged Kawasaki) third ahead of Warwick Hutchinson (OMS 28
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The Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship now takes the iconic Finke Desert Race, set for June 11-13. Josh Nevett
RPV03/Rotary turbo) by 0.31s. The next four positions were taken by Up to 1.3lt F/L cars with the best being Jim Milliner (OMS 2000M), ahead of Doug Daniels (Nutec), Neil Lewis (Fly-001), and Mitchell Allwood (Energy Firecat). Ninth and 10th went to the Up to 2.0lt Sports Sedans, as they battled to be the best of the tin tops. Tyson Cowie (Ford Escort) won out over Gavin Taylor (Volkswagen Golf) 0.01s as their times swapped continually. They were fractionally quicker than Stephen Edwards (GS Yamaha R6 F/L), while 12th went to Ken Graham (Over 2.0lt Improved Production Datsun 1600 SSS) ahead of James Heymer (Farrell Supersports/Sports 1300) and Jeff Daniels (Escort Sports Sedan). Not that it counted but Amos produced his quickest effort in the end-of-day Top Six where his 36.86s was good enough to down Tighe, Bull, Hutchinson, Milliner and Cowie. Garry O’Brien
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VICTORIAN STATE RACE - PHILLIP ISLAND Adam Poole (Monaro) dominated Improved Production.
Images: Revved Photography
ISLAND SHOWDOWN SPORTS CARS A WET Qualifying session didn’t go to plan, but Ben Schoots still managed to extend his series lead, easing his Sin R1 home to wins in both races. Behind Schoots, the podium positions in both races were filled by Jamie Lovett (Porsche 991.1 Cup) and Andrew Hall (Porsche 991.2 Cup). Jacob Li (Porsche 991.1 Cup) challenged the podium early in the feature race until a coming together with Hall forced him into the fence and out of the race. Three strong second places earned Matthew Holmes the overall Formula Ford win. Report: Steven Devries WITH A mixture of conditions across the weekend, 12 categories packed into the 3rd round schedule of the Victorian State Race Series at Phillip Island. The highlight was a new outright track record set by Tim Slade in a Brabham BT62 (pictured top of page) while running with the MG & Invited British Sports Cars. FORMULA FORD JORDYN SINNI revelled in Saturday’s changeable conditions to take Race 1 over Matthew Holmes and Bailey Collins. Sinni repeated proceedings in Race 2, with the top six cars covered by 1.5 seconds at the flag. He couldn’t make it a clean sweep, with Matthew Hillyer, Holmes and Kobi Williams pushing him down to fourth in the third race, giving Holmes the round win. In Kent Class, Richard Davison and Brendon Jones tied on points for overall round honours. IMPROVED PRODUCTION AFTER MISSING last round, Adam Poole restored normal service at the head of the Improved Production field. A clean sweep of wins was complemented by lapping within four-tenths of the IPRA lap record. Jarrod Tonks (Holden Commodore), Paul Cruse (Nissan Silvia) and Luke Grech-Cumbo (HSV Senator) shared the remaining podium positions across the three races – Cruse edging Grech-Cumbo for thitd for the round by a single point.
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SPORTS SEDANS WHEN TROUBLE struck Dean Camm and Francois Habib, Greg Lynch was there to capitalise and take his first ever win in the category on Saturday afternoon ahead of John Ippolito and Stuart Eustice. Habib doubled down on Sunday taking his maiden win in Race 2 and saluting again in Race 3. Overall, Eustice’s consistency delivered him overall round honours while title challenger Dean Camm left the round with no points scored. CIRCUIT EXCELS THERE WAS pack racing-a-plenty in the Excels all weekend, with Ryan Phillips winning the opening two races and Hugo Simpson taking the third race. The results left Phillips with the most points for the round ahead of a three-way tie between Simpson, Ethan Grigg-Gault, and Harry Tomkins. FORMULA VEE REEF MCCARTHY enjoyed an easy win on Saturday afternoon ahead of Heath Collinson but had to work harder on Sunday, splitting Sunday’s two races with Collinson, who’s results were enough to keep him atop the points table. First-year driver Andre Curin showed experience beyond his two rounds in the car, giving Nic Jones a run for his money for the final podium position in Race 1 and going one spot better in the next two races to record an excellent trio of race results.
PORSCHE 944s JAMIE WESTAWAY and Cam Beller staged an epic dual right to the line in Race 1, with the nod going to Westaway by .02s, with a distant gap to Adam Brewer in third. The first races’ result would be identically repeated in Race 2, but more was still to come in the third. Contact between Beller and Westaway on lap 1 mixed up the order and left Brewer to slowly edge away from Lyndon Watson to take his first win, with the veteran Richard Howe joining them on the podium. SALOON CARS SHAUN JAMIESON swapped allegiances to Ford for the round but still found himself at the front of the field. He was under attack from the returning Jacob Prestipino who took out Race 1, but who finished fourth in Race 2 after showing plenty of sideway antics. Prestipino charged onto the back of Jamieson after just one lap of the feature race, but he could never find a way through. The pair finished well clear of an unchallenged Sutherland in third. MG & INVITED BRITISH ROBIN BAILEY was uncontested in Race 1, from Jason Holmes and Keith Ondarchie, but an engine misfire in Race 2 put an end to Bailey’s weekend. Holmes was elevated to the lead and win ahead of Gary Bulmer and Michael Tratham. The same three drivers filled the same podium positions in Race 3, with Tratham staging a last corner pass on the final lap over Chris Gidney.
BMW E30s ALEX JORY continued his great series to date, taking two wins and a third place to secure the round ahead of Jesse Bryan and Brian Bourke. Bryan took the second race win when E30s and Improved Production shared a grid on Sunday morning in a close finish with Geoff Bowles, with Jory not too far behind. HQ HOLDENS STEVE BANKS couldn’t convert his first ever pole position into a win in Race 1, with Andrew Magilton marching away to a big win in tricky conditions ahead of Gavin Ross and Andrew McLeod. McLeod kept Magilton in close touch for the remaining races with Steve Banks (Race 2) and Perry Bekkers (Race 3) posting third-place finishes. HISTORIC TOURING CARS DARREN COLLINS (Chev Camaro) and Glenn Miles (Valiant Charger) engaged in three-race duel that resulted in Collins prevailing in all three. Third placings were shared between Peter Meuleman (Ford Mustang), William Trengrove (Ford Falcon Rallye Sprint) and Wayne Rogerson (Mazda RX2 Coupe). .
Stuart Eustice, here heading Ippolito’s HSV Clubsport, took overall Sports Sedan points.
Ben Schoots still managed to extend his series lead, in the Sin R1
BATHURST 12 HOUR SUPPORTS
Le Brocq heads Humfrey and the Sedan pack.
CLEAN SWEEP FOR LE BROCQ AT THE wheel of Warren Millett’s ex-Techno Holden Commodore VE Supercar, Jack Le Brocq won the three races in the Duggan Family Hotels Combined Sedans at Bathurst. The category featured V8 Touring Cars, Spaceframe and Chassis Sports Sedans along with cars from Improved Production and Production Touring ranks. Le Brocq also took out V8TCs, while Ryan Humfrey was second overall in his Chassis Chev-powered Falcon XE, and Stuart Inwood placed third in his Spaceframe Chev Corvette. At the first corner of race one Birol Cetin (Camaro) was hit by Phil Ryan (Datsun 280ZX/LS2) but the race stayed green. Pole sitter Steve Lacey (Chev Camaro) was out early when his engine shut down and that did bring out the Safety Car. Brad Shiels who led for half the race in Joe Said’s turbocharged twin rotary Fiat 124 lost almost a lap when he stopped on track with an isolator switch issue. Paul Boschert (Corvette/Dodge) led for a lap, lost brakes and finished fourth behind Humfrey and Inwood who started 14th. Firth was Darren Currie (Marc V8 Mazda) who pipped Jordan Cox (Suzuki Swift GTi turbo). Fog delayed Race 2 which eventually went green but only for a brief period. Cox spun out at McPhillamy Park, and Currie tagged the wall in avoiding the loose Suzuki. Le Brocq was the leader from Humfrey while Boschert passed Inwood for third. Donaldson was next, from Elliott, Fercher, Boyle, Jarred Danaher (V8TC Ford Falcon FG) and Shiels who picked up 11 spots. Lacey went from the back to 23rd while Cetin in the other Camaro was 29th. Le Brocq led throughout the final race which finished behind a Safety Car after Allen Nash (Commodore VE) went off at the Chase. Second went to Humfrey with Inwood third after he recovered from a hairy moment at the first corner, avoiding Boschert’s Corvette which broke a front upright. Shiels progressed to second before a right rear tyre failure. From outside of 20th Lacey charged through to third before the engine shutdown again. Cox went from the rear of the grid to 13th and then the gearbox blew. Donaldson was fourth in front of Fercher, Danaher, Michael King (Mitsubishi EVO 8), Elliott, Cetin and Greg Boyle (Nissan Skyline GTR R32). Garry O’Brien
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Images: MTR Images
FORMER CHAMP BEST OVERALL AT BATHURST MT PANORAMA was the venue for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series’ second outing where Races 4 and 5 went to Zach Bates, and the sixth to Toyota guest driver Will Brown. Bates (leading, inset image above), who was the pole sitter, led from Race 4 from start to finish. David Schulz would have joined him on the front row but was penalised for impeding in qualifying and would start further back. In his stead Lachlan Gibbon joined Bates on the front row and held second until he was passed by Brown. There was a Safety Car period when Connor Roberts stopped on the circuit, after which Bates was able to hold off Brown for
the win. Third went to Gibbons ahead of Jobe Stewart, Schulz, Bailey Sweeny, Ryan Casha, Chris Pither the other guest driver, Hayden Jackson and Luke Pink. In race 7, Bates again led all the way, initially ahead of Brown who would be displaced by Stewart at Griffin Bend on the second lap – and almost immediately Gibbons was through as well. A crash in the run from the Dipper to Forrest Elbow by Lachlan Bloxsom on the third tour brought out the Safety Car and made for a one-lap dash to the flag. Bates held on ahead of Gibbons who had displaced Stewart in the Chase before the cautionary period. They were followed
by Brown, Bailey Sweeny, Casha, Schulz, Pither, Jackson and Clay Richards. Former 86 series champion Brown (above) took out the last race after a great dice between the top five through much of the race. Brown won ahead of Casha, Stewart and Gibbons. Early race leader Bates was taken by Gibbons firstly, then Brown before he dropped back to fifth. Bates resurged on the fourth lap but was wide at Murrays Corner and ran off into the sand trap. That meant a local yellow flag and the race going one lap short. Sweeney finished fifth ahead of Pink, Richards, Harrison Gray, Rossi Johnson and Pither in tenth. Garry O’Brien
ANDERSON BEATS SERIES LEADER JOSH ANDERSON became the third overall victor after he took out Round 4 of the Battery World Aussie Racing Car Series at Mt Panorama. He overcame Tom Hayman in two of the three races (changed from the usual four) to beat the series leader while Anderson’s teammate Reece Chapman was third overall. In the opener, Hayman (Mustang) and Anderson (Mustang) swapped the lead before pole man Joel Heinrich (Cruze) bought into the scrap and led until passed by Hayman on the final lap. Craig Woods (Mustang) was fourth throughout and ahead of Kody Garland (Mustang) who bunkered at Murrays Corner on the final lap as he battled Matt Forbes-Wilson (Camaro). Forbes-Wilson held onto fifth as he just
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Anderson heads Hayman. MTR Images Andre Heimgartner has a new pipped Lachlan Ward home (Camaro). at BJR and Then takes over theThe last race also went down to the wire followed Chapman, clear R&JofBatteries an engrossing number 8 car. as Anderson took the lead off Hayman at dice where Courtney Prince (Mustang) Griffin Bend only to lose out to his rival on finished eighth ahead of Kyle Ensbey Conrod Straight. Anderson had a better run (Mustang) and Adam Clark (Camaro). out of the Chase, and they were side-byA one-lap charge to the flag produced side into the final corner where Anderson a thrilling finish to the second race where was able to prevail. Anderson and Chapman pulled off a oneThe battle for third was equally tight with two result after they passed leader Ensbey Chapman able to hold on, just in front of and Hayman on Conrod Straight. Ward and Woods. Next was Bowler ahead Ensbey led the reverse top 10 second of Prince, Clark, Ensbey and Osborn. encounter when the Safety Car was called There was a Safety Car on the opening after Craig Thompson (Mustang) and lap. Grant Thompson had a drama off Garland had contact out of the Cutting. the start and nosed the wall and pitted to Ensbey crossed the line third but incurred remove the Mustang’s front clip. Heinrich a 5s penalty and dropped to 13th. Bowler (Cruze) was hit and turned around on took third from Hayman, Heinrich, Ward, Mountain Straight, and Jeff Watters Adam Clarke (Camaro), Ryder Quinn (Euro (Altima) was hit and had wall contact at GT), Woods and Brett Osborn (Camaro). Sulman Park. Garry O’Brien
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