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DE PASQUALE TO FRONT GROVES’ CHARGE ANTON DE PASQUALE will be fronting Grove Racing’s Bathurst 12 Hour assault in February. The current DJR driver, with personal Grove sponsorship, will team up with his Ford Supercars rival in a Porsche GT3R in the Pro-Am class. De Pasquale has raced in the enduro twice, but is yet to finish, while Grove Racing is aiming for a sixth class win at Mount Panorama. De Pasquale will be joined by Stephen and Brenton Grove at Bathurst after racing in the 2023 Dubai 24 Hour.
PREMIAIR TO PUSH FOR 12 HOUR WIN PREMIAIR RACING will expand its reach into the GT3 world by joining forces with Schumacher Motorsport for the Bathurst 12 Hour. The longtime drag-racing team and new Supercars outfit, will race a Audi R8 LMS Evo at the February 3-5 event. A full driver roster is yet to be announced, but car owner Brad Schumacher will play a major role. With the support of Fuchs, PremiAir Racing hopes it will be “battling for outright honours” at Mount Panorama and add the enduro to its growing CV.
PIRES PRIMED FOR “EMOTIONAL” 12 HOUR SERGIO PIRES will be lining up for an “emotional” Bathurst 12 Hour with Tigani Motorsport and Valmont Racing, which has assembled an experienced team for the big race. A quartet of drivers will steer the Silver Class #44 Mercedes led by S5000 race winner Aaron Cameron, GT racer Duvashen Padayachee, plus owners Marcel Zalloua and Pires. It will be a big moment for Pires, who was worried Bathurst may not happen after a brutal Adelaide shunt. “Initially I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do the 12 hour, but the incident has made me even hungrier,” he said.
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ROSSI LEADS BMW BATHURST SUPER SQUAD MOTORCYCLE RACING superstar Valentino Rossi will be coming to Mount Panorama as part of a BMW factory super-squad at next month’s LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour. Seven-time MotoGP world champion Rossi will be driving a factory Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 alongside highly accomplished GT racers Maxime Martin and Augusto Farms Junior. The trio will naturally be racing a striking yellow and blue M4 GT3 with the trademark #46 on the door. But the star power of Rossi is just one part of a wider BMW blitzkrieg of Bathurst with a second factory Team WRT entry. The #36 BMW could also be one of the top contenders with 2018 12 Hour winner Dries Vanthoor, 2022 DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde and Belgian rising star Charles Weerts at the wheel. But all eyes will be on car #46 as ‘The Doctor’ inspects Mount Panorama for the first time. Although Rossi is best known for his work on two wheels, winning 115 Grands Prix, he is no stranger to four wheels. The 42-year-old spent his first year away from the MotoGP world since his 125cc debut in 1996 racing in the GT World Challenge Europe season for Team WRT. Rossi finished 21st in the championship with a best result of fifth at Paul Ricard and Misano. During the mid 2000s the Italian flirted with Formula 1 across multiple tests with Ferrari and even impressed Michael Schumacher as he looked at the possibility of a shock switch. Despite completing a pre-season test in 2006 and well over 1000km in an F1 car, Rossi continued to race in MotoGP. Outside of motorcycle racing, Rossi’s great passion growing up was rallying and he competed in three WRC rallies, while was a regular entrant at the Monza Rally Show where he once defeated Colin McRae.
He has also driven a NASCAR, but is now solely focusing on GT racing, where he is honoured to be a BMW M factory driver. “I am very proud to become an offical BMW M works driver and it is a great opportunity,” Rossi said. “Last night I started racing seriously in cars and I finished my first season with WRT Team with whom I got on very well and I am very happy it chose BMW M Motorsport as a new partner. “I have already had a chance to test the BMW M4 GT3 and the feeling with the car is very good. “I think we could be competitive.” With the prospect of the 2023 Bathurst 12 Hour being the most watched in its history with as at least some of Rossi’s worldwide legion of fans tuning in, event director Shane Rudzis cannot wait to welcome ‘The Doctor’ to The Mountain. “Valentino Rossi is one of the biggest names in world motorsport and we are proud the Bathurst 12 Hour will be his first experience of Mount Panorama,” he said. “Valentino has an enormous Australian fanbase and we are prepared for a significant increase in attention as a result of his entry. “It is one of the most significant driver announcements in Bathurst 12 Hour history.” Thomas Miles
BATHURST 12 HOUR WINNER TO TAKE ON DAYTONA 24 AUSSIE INTERCONTINENTAL GT Pro Am winner, and 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour victor Kenny Habul (right) has been confirmed as the 61st and last Daytona 24 entry. It’s expected that he’ll then back up in the Bathurst 12 Hour to defend his 2022 title, as well as kick start his sensational Pro Am intercontinental GT title defence, after sealing it with a class win at the Gulf 12 Hour. In 2022 he took the #75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to a resounding 12 Hour win alongside Jules Gounon, Martin Konrad and Luca Stolz, giving him the launch pad to take his third Pro Am title. It’s not uncommon for drivers to back up with the two events, with 23 drivers attempting the feat in 2020, which included IndyCar and NZ legend Scott Dixon making his Bathurst 12 Hour debut after winning that years Daytona outright with Aussie Ryan Briscoe. After initially being capped at 60 before Habul’s entry, It’s fitting that the 61st Daytona will include 61 entries, with Habul’s best performance coming in the 59th Daytona 24 with a GTD class P2 driving alongside Raffaele Marciello, Stolz and Mikael Grenier.
Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES “Having 61 cars for the 61st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona seems only natural,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “After we previously announced a 60-car capacity for the field last month, and knowing that we received more than 70 entries, our IMSA team regrouped and eventually determined that we could accommodate one more entry to match our field size from last year.” The GTD class will be the largest represented field at Daytona with 25 entries, with the race to also feature the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) hybrid-powered prototype class, which will feature nine entries from four manufacturers.
The green flag drops on January 28 at the Daytona International Speedway, with two other Aussies in 2022 class GT winner Matt Campbell (driving a Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport), and Ryan Briscoe driving an Acura NSX GT3 with WRT. Earl Bamber, Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon, and Brendon Hartley, make up the strong Kiwi contingent. Habul finished 29th overall, and fourth in the GTD class alongside Italian Marciello at the 2022 edition, with Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque taking the overall win in an DPi Acura ARX-05 – the final appearance of the DPi category in a Daytona 24. TW Neal
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TRIPLE EIGHT CHASING MORE BATHURST SUCCESS TRIPLE EIGHT Race Engineering will push for back-toback LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour victories next month in red, with its Supercars stars leading the charge. The team’s #888 Mercedes AMG GT3 PRO will be racing around Mount Panorama in Supercheap Auto colours reminiscent of the 2022 Bathurst 1000 wildcard livery. The Holden ZB Commodore, also carrying #888, finished P8 in the Great Race and the Mercedes version hopes to score an even better result. At last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, Triple Eight went all the way with Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon, Martin Konrad and Luca Stolz at the wheel, adding 2022 to its 2017 glory. Joining them on the podium were teammates Shane van Gisbergen, Broc Feeney and Prince Jefri Ibrahim, who finished third and will be back again. Supercars stars van Gisbergen and Feeney will once again join forces with Mercedes AMG performance driver Maxmilian Gotz. The trio will be the only Triple Eight car to race at the 12 Hour, but with the team winning the latest 1000, 12 Hour and GT races at Mount Panorama, it looms as one of the top contenders. Boosted by a breakthrough Supercars win at the Adelaide 500 and victory at the Bathurst International GT race, Feeney is excited to take on The Mountain. “Any day you get to drive at Bathurst is a good day, let alone in these cars,” he said. “It’s really cool to have the top teams and drivers from
around the world coming back to Australia, and getting the chance to go head-to-head with them around one of the best race tracks in the world will be next level. “It’s definitely an adjustment switching between the right-hand drive supercar and the left-hand drive GT car, but once you’ve got your eye in and you’ve tuned in your spatial awareness, it’s so much fun. “The AMG GT3 is a weapon and our Supercheap Auto livery is going to look incredible on track. I can’t wait to do our part to try to repeat the Mercedes-AMG podium lockout we had in 2022.” Supercheap Auto managing director Benjamin Ward said it was a thrill to back the Triple Eight car at a global event. “We’re excited to be partnering with Triple Eight Race Engineering in the 2023 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour event,” he said. “The once-around-the-clock race is a spectacular event with the worlds’ best drivers on track and great entertainment off-track. “This announcement is an extension of our partnership with Triple Eight and also the Bathurst community, both of which we’re very proud to support. “We can’t wait to get back to the mountain in February and make Bathurst SUPER.” The 2023 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will take place from February 3-5. Thomas Miles
LOWNDES LEADING SPECIAL CAR BATHURST LEGEND Craig Lowndes will be racing around The Mountain at the upcoming 12 Hour for more reasons than just winning. The seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner will be the face of the Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT3 alongside Supercars driver Alex Davison, Geoff Emery and Scott Taylor. The quartet team up for a second straight year and will step up to the GT3 category after they scored a Class C win in 2022. Although the Porsche will be one to watch on track, it will be having an even greater impact off the track. After raising more than $67,000 for charity, the STM Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia team will be back for more racing for an important cause. Around 24,000 Australian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and over 3,500 are predicted to pass away from the disease. In addition to racing for success, the team will be completing fundraising opportunities from donation points at the venue and at the town-to-track activation on Thursday. Online portals will also be available. With the super popular Lowndes behind the wheel, the entry is guaranteed to generate widespread attention and the two-time Bathurst 12 Hour winner is determined to make a big difference on and off the track in a car that is close to his heart. “I am excited to be heading back to Mount Panorama with good mates for a great cause,” he said. “Prostate Cancer has unfortunately impacted my family. “So running a car in support of PCFA is a chance for us to have the conversation about getting checked, raising funds and having a red hot go at the podium.” The cause is also one that Davison deeply cares about, with his father and
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RED BULL F1 TO ROAR AT BATHURST MOUNT PANORAMA will be shaken by the sound of a screaming V8 F1 car, with Red Bull to complete demonstration runs at the Bathurst 12 Hour. The car Red Bull will take to Bathurst will be one of its best ever, the RB7 – which took 18 of 19 possible poles as Sebastian Vettel cruised to the 2011 F1 world title with Aussie teammate Mark Webber. Driver details are yet to be confirmed, but the dream scenario of Aussie F1 star and Red Bull reserve Daniel Ricciardo flying around Mount Panorama in an F1 car could happen ....
BIG 12 HOUR SUPPORTS FIELD THE 2023 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour will be a busy weekend of action with two loaded support categories locked in. With the Combined Sedans series returning and Formula Ford 1600 racers arriving, more than 100 cars will line fill the supports paddock at Mount Panorama. A 55-car field of Combined Sedans brings a variety of ‘tin-tops’ to Bathurst from Fords to Fiats. In the category’s 60th anniversary, a 52-car field will race in Formula Ford 1600, which showcases many eras from a 1971 Elfin 600 to a 2010 Stealth S3.
Image: MARK HORSBURGH Australian Formula 2 champion Richard Davison having battled the illness. “Last year was a great experience driving with good friends and for a really worthy cause that has touched us all,” Alex said. “It was easy to agree to come back and the step into the Mercedes AMG takes it to another level. “Ultimately we’re out there to have a good time and do everything possible to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. “If we can do that and enjoy the weekend as well then it will be very worthwhile.” CEO of Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia Anne Savage said the Bathurst 12 Hour campaign makes an immense impact. “Beyond the funds raised in 2022, the STM team helped us raise awareness of prostate cancer among hundreds of thousands of supporters in Australia and worldwide, driving action to save lives. “We are incredibly grateful to Scott Taylor for his generosity and leadership and to Craig and Lara Lowndes for their tireless and heartfelt support of our mission. “These guys are champions on and off the track and we can’t wait to hit the circuit in support of this truly first class motor-racing crew.” Thomas Miles
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CONTENDER COMING BACK AFTER JUST falling short last year, Craft-Bamboo Racing returns to Mount Panorama to chase glory at the LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour. The Hong Kong based team will race a MercedesAMG GT3 in the outright Pro class in its sixth attempt at the Bathurst enduro. Last year Maro Engel, Daniel Juncadella and Kevin Tse, came within eight seconds of glory. Its 2023 drivers are yet to be confirmed. “The Bathurst 12 Hour has a special place in our hearts (and) we will have to be sharp to have a chance at victory,” said team director Darryl O’Young.
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EXCEL RACING GOES NATIONWIDE IN A FIRST for Australian motorsport, Hyundai Excel racers can drive in a national competition in 2023. The Excel Racing National Series will be held across a three round season at Queensland Raceway (June 2-4), Sydney Motorsport Park (October 13-14) and Calder Park (November 24-26). The aim of the championship is to put the top Excel racers against one another at some of the most well-known tracks in the country. It will run as part of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series after being state level events previously.
MORE SPEEDSERIES ON YOUR SCREEN AN ENHANCED television package is coming for the unified SpeedSeries brand across the Nine Network and Stan Sport in 2023. After a strong 2022 season of viewership, a new viewing package will be put in place for the expanded eight-round 2023 season. Nine Network offer a 30% increase in viewing time, with an extra three hours of live HD viewing, while extended highlights replays will also be available. With over 1.5 million people watching SpeedSeries on the Nine Network across 2022, a bigger 2023 calendar promises to deliver another record year.
AUSTRALIA EXTENDS F1 CONTRACT AS WESTACOTT STEPS ASIDE
THE AUSTRALIAN Grand Prix will take place in Victoria until 2037, after the AGPC extended its contract with Formula 1 by two years. Victoria was already locked in to host the F1 Grand Prix until 2035 after a new, 10-year agreement was signed in June, but within months an extension has been announced. Australia has the right to ‘at least four’ season openers over the period of the contract, a clause that prompted the extension. Under the original deal, the first race of the 2024 and 2025 Formula 1 seasons was set to be held in Melbourne, but plans for the former have now changed due to a scheduling clash with Islamic holy month Ramadan. With Ramadan running from March 10 to April 9 in 2024, it is expected that year’s season will now start in Saudi Arabia earlier than that window “out of respect for Ramadan”. If that proves to be the case, it will likely mean F1’s earliest start date since 2005 when lights went out at Albert Park on March 6. As a result, Australia was stripped of
its right to host the 2024 season opener and has extended its deal for a further two seasons to ensure it can hold the first race four times. The contract extension means that Victoria will get the chance to celebrate its 40th anniversary of hosting the event since it crossed the border from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996. However, the change also means the destination of the Formula 1 season opener is set to rotate between three tracks throughout the next decade. Australia’s almost exclusive hold on Round 1 appears a thing of the past, with the likes of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia appearing to receive the honour at least once on rotation. News of changes to Australia’s F1 contract comes after Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott (above) announced he will not extend his contract beyond 2023. Westacott has been the AGPC CEO since February 2011 but will not seek another term following the conclusion of his current contract, which runs until June 30, 2023. He will depart with a lasting legacy as
the AGPC’s longest-serving CEO, having overseen 15 Formula 1 Australian Grands Prix and Australian Motorcycle Grands Prix at Melbourne and Phillip Island, respectively, after joining the AGPC as General Manager of Operations in 2006. During his tenure, Westacott has witnessed plenty of historic-making moments on track, as well as the recent track modifications and resurfacing at Albert Park. Notably, Westacott was at the helm when the 2020 Grand Prix was dramatically called off due to COVID-19. The departing CEO expressed pride and gratitude when reflecting on his 16 years at the AGPC. “It’s been a source of immense pride to be able to work for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation for so many years and to work so closely with the wonderful AGPC team and all those involved in our major events industry, including those at Formula One and MotoGP,” Westacott said. “Thirty events, a few cancellations along the way, and record-breaking crowds in 2022 have all provided special moments.”
VSRS SCORES NEW SERIES SPONSOR
AUSSIE RACING CARS GO TRANS TASMAN THE BATTERY World Aussie Racing Cars Series will race on both sides of the Tasman in 2023. Its 2023 season will be held across six rounds including four Supercars support slots at Newcastle, Tasmania, Darwin and Townsville. It opens at Newcastle in March before going to Queensland Raceway, which is followed by a Supercars triple header. The season finishes in a big way with a trip to New Zealand for the season finale at Highlands Motorsport Park as part of the venue’s 10th birthday celebrations in November.
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THE VICTORIAN State Race Series (VSRS) has named 888 Capital Group Home Loans as its naming rights partner for 2023. Since 888 began sponsoring the VSRS five years ago, the partnership between the two parties has strengthened and grown. Initially, 888 solely sponsored the Improved Production category, before extending its support to Hyundai Excel and Porsche 944 racing. Now, 888, which specialises in home and business loans, will have its brand attached to all the numerous categories that fall under the VSRS banner in a naming rights deal that is the first of its kind for the VSRS. “The logic behind it was sharing the love around the grassroots motorsport paddock, instead of just supporting one or two categories,” 888 Home Loans representative Cameron McKinnon told Auto Action. “This sponsorship will go towards paying for many of the costs incurred by the series.” McKinnon has a personal appreciation of state-level
motorsport, having previously competed in the Improved Production category. “I was up in the top 10 in Improved Production around 10 years ago,” he said. “In the last few years, I’ve started to dabble the toe back in it and I’m rebuilding a Datsun 1600. “It was a quick little car, but it was all done with wrecker parts, this time I’m trying to build it for the last time.” The VSRS boasted a five-round calendar in 2022, including events at Sandown Raceway, Winton Raceway and Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. JN
AUSSIE ICON ENTERS INTERNATIONAL DRAG RACING HALL OF FAME AUSTRALIAN DRAG racing icon Graeme Cowin will be inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in March. Cowin’s induction into the class of ’23 will make him just the third Australian to be receive the honour, with current Top Fuel Australia team owner Jim Read (2010), and John ‘Stomper’ Winterburn (2021) having previously been honoured. From Mount Vernon, NSW, Cowin began his racing career in 1973 when he and his wife tipped everything they had into purchasing his famed ‘Psycho’ nitro-fuelled drag car, and is now considered as a real pioneer for the sport in Australia. After starting out in Nitro Funny Car and then Top Fuel racing, Cowin raced in both Australia and the US, primarily racing Top Fuel in Australia in the latter part of his career, and he also came runnerup in America in the 1987 NHRA Winternationals (Funny Cars).
In 1993 he became the first Australian to break the five second barrier driving a Top Fuel Dragster, registering a 4.895 at 473.8Km/ph. Then, in 1995, Cowin captured the Australian Top Fuel Championship, and would go on to create the Outlaw Nitro Funny Car Series in 2013, which is a popular and successful series both here and for competitors across the ditch. Known as a person of both high integrity and creativity, Cowin was honoured with a spot in the Australian National Drag Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2013, and then the Australian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2018. Cowin continues to be a leader in the industry, with his knowledge and knowhow persuading him to open Rocket Industries, a leader in the performance parts and
equipment provider for drag racers in Australia. Cowin’s sons, Andrew and John Cowin, were also successful Top Fuel drag racers, having been championship winners in both America and Australia, and operated in Australian Top Fuel under the Rocket Industries name. The 33rd Hall of Fame Banquet will take place on March 9 in Gainesville, Florida, with the likes of John Force, Bunny Burkett, Shelly Anderson, and Bob Frey, also getting inducted into the prestigious collective. TW Neal
FORMULA FORD AUSTRALIA LAUNCH
SEVEN ROUND 2023 CALENDAR
IN 2023 the Australian Formula Ford Championship will again feature on the Supercars scene with a trip to the Tasmania SuperSprint, marking one of the highlights of its new seven-round calendar. Both the Formula Ford and the Australian FF1600 Championship kick into gear on March 24-26 at Queensland’s Morgan Park, followed by a round at the SMP. The third round of the season will then be on the Supercars support card at Symmons Plains in Tasmania on May 19-21. Formula Ford’s national exposure will continue when it takes part in the Winton SpeedSeries round on the June long weekend, where organisers are putting together a V8 themed festival. The championship then remains in Victoria with rounds at Sandown and Phillip Island, before crossing the border to South Australia to The Bend for the October season finale. The 2023 Australian FF1600 Championship will be confirmed at a later date with different options being considered and expressions of interest being requested. The 2023 calendar is slightly more balanced than 2022 with the only change being Tasmania replacing the second SMP round, with the seven rounds spread across four states. The Australian Formula Ford Championship continues to be one of the biggest talent factories in the national motorsport scene with a championship that bred the likes of Bathurst 1000 winners Chaz Mostert, Nick Percat, David Reynolds, Jamie Whincup, Will Davison, Garth Tander, Jason Bright, Steven Richards and Craig Lowndes, just to name a few. This reputation rang true once again in 2022 with
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some of its competitors going onto new pastures. In 2022 a late season push ensured Valentino Astuti was the latest talent to secure the crown at the SMP finale after a competitive battle with James Piszcyk. Whilst Astuti is still assessing his future, both Piszcyk and Cameron McLeod, who finished in the top three in the standings will not be returning with the former set to contest British F4 with Hitech GP, while McLeod will start his journey towards a Supercars career in the Dunlop Super3. Sixth place getter, 20 year-old Jordan Sinni, will be racing in Super2 for Eggleston Motorsport Fourth place finisher Ryder Quinn and fellow Formula Ford competitor Tom McLennan have ventured across the ditch to prepare for their upcoming New Zealand Toyota Racing Series (which starts this weekend), and also partake in the 67th NZ Grand Prix. Entries have yet to be confirmed for the 2023 season, with another big year of Formula Ford racing in store. The 2022 season included a Supercars support round at Winton where 2007 champion Tim Blanchard made a successful return. This year’s Tasmania SuperSprint will ensure the category continues to get the widespread coverage generated by the Fox Sports telecast, along with Stan’s SpeedSeries broadcast from Winton. 2023 AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR ROUND 1: 24-26 March Morgan Park Raceway QLD, (QLD State Championship) ROUND 2: 14-16 April Sydney Motorsport Park NSW (NSW State Championship) ROUND 3: 19-21 May Symmons Plains Tasmania, (Supercars Super Sprint) ROUND 4: 9-11 June Winton Motor Raceway VIC, (Speed Series) ROUND 5: 11-13 August Sandown Raceway VIC, (Victorian State Championship) ROUND 6: 22-24 September Phillip Island GP Circuit VIC, (Vic State Championship) ROUND 7: 13-15 October The Bend Motorsport Park SA, (SA State Championship)
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FRASER LOCKED IN AT TICKFORD RACING DECLAN FRASER will soon be confirmed as the replacement for Jake Kostecki at Tickford Racing after the team decided to end its relationship with Jake Kostecki following an incident at the Supercars Gala Awards dinner last month. While no announcement has come from the team itself, AUTO ACTION has learnt that Fraser was introduced to the team today (Tuesday) in a meetand-greet at Tickford’s Glenbarry Road, Campbellfield, operations centre. Until the issue with Kostecki arose, Fraser, the 2022 Super2 Champion, was without a regular Supercars drive this year. In addition to his series win, he also acquitted himself well at Bathurst
when driving with Craig Lowndes in the Triple Eight Supercheap Auto wildcard. Triple Eight Race Engineering boss Jamie Whincup told the assembled media at the Adelaide 500 that while Fraser was an important part of the team, they did not have a position for him and were open to him leaving should a good opportunity arise. “We have not signed him up for five or 10 years and we will not try and lock him or anything like that. Declan is a great kid, and we want him to do well.” Whincup said Supercheap Auto was reported as offering some sponsorship support to Fraser for a Supercars team looking to run him in 2023. While a consideration –
with Supercheap Auto having been part of Tickford’s program in the past - it’s likely that it will not be required, as the team currently has some support from rival retailer Autobarn. Fraser’s elevation to the ‘main game’ Supercar series follows reports that Kostecki was involved in a physical altercation with Scott Pye at the Supercars Gala Awards night presentation and was also heard blaming Tickford for his poor performances during the season. Tickford would not comment on the status of Kostecki’s contract with the team when contacted by AUTO ACTION on Monday of this week, but it is known that the team are very disappointed with
the actions of the driver, who is halfway through a two-year deal as the driver of the Tradie Mustang. In what has been a surprise externally, Zak Best was not considered for the drive after losing his Super2 seat with Tickford in 2023, following a successful season where he finished a luckless runner-up to Fraser. It is said Tickford is concerned about whether he is ready to take the next step in his career despite acknowledging his speed and driving talent. A pole winner during his wildcard run at The Bend, Tickford has retained him for the endurance races. Bruce Williams
BEETON JOINS BIG UAE F4 FIELD TEENAGER JACK Beeton has been announced as the fourth Australian on the UAE Formula 4 grid, as his compatriot James Wharton impressed in pre-season testing. Beeton is a late addition to the FIA UAE F4 field, which begins its five-round season on January 13. The young Aussie will drive for Pinnacle VAR, which is the result of a collaboration between Irish outfit Pinnacle Motorsport, and Dutch F3 and F3 squad Van Amersfoort Racing. Beeton has already jumped behind the wheel for his new team, finishing 35th and 34th in separate sessions at Monday night’s pre-season test. He and Indian Kai Daryanani are the only full-time drivers for the team, with Japan’s Hiyu Yamakoshi and Italy’s Brando Badoer sharing the third seat. Beeton arrives with some F4 experience already under his belt, as last year he got a taste at the Ferrari Driver Academy after being handpicked as one of just two drivers from the Asia Pacific and Oceania Selection program to attend the final at Maranello. Beeton cut a number of F4 laps and tests before, during, and after his experience with the FDA where, he was the second youngest of the six drivers at the final. In addition to the FDA final, he has had lots of karting success in Australia, most recently finishing fourth in the 2022 KA4 Junior class.
Now Beeton is ready to use the UAE F4 Series as the launch pad to ignite his international single-seater racing career. Vans Amersfoort Racing CEO Rob Niessink said Beeton is part of a “new chapter” for the team. “We are excited to set up the partnership with Pinnacle Motorsport. They have strongly established themselves, so joining forces will create an great opportunity to benefit from each other,” he said. “We are excited to continue working with Brando, Rafael and Niels, but also very much welcome Jack to the team. It is yet again another new chapter for us, and we look forward to getting back to racing soon.” Beeton joins fellow Australians Wharton, Jimmy Piszcyk and Noah Lisle on the 33-driver UAE F4 entry list, who all competed at Monday’s preseason test at Dubai Autodrome. Wharton turned some heads by finishing second in two of the three sessions held. The Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited driver started strong, being the only driver within seven tenths of a second of session 1 leader William McIntyre.
Wharton continued the fine pace throughout the day, rounding out the top five in the second session, before rising back up to second in the third. He was one of just seven drivers to break the 2:02s barrier, and the pace will give him plenty of confidence for the season opener. Lisle got as high as 14th during the day, while Piszcyk’s personal best was 24th as the Aussies gave it their all across the three busy and competitive sessions. The quartet of young Aussies will be in action in the opening round of the 2023 UAE F4 Series at Dubai this weekend on January 13-14. Thomas Miles
WALL RACING LAMBO RETURNING TO THE MOUNTAIN THE DISTINCTIVE Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan EVO will return to Mount Panorama to have another crack at the LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour. Car owner Adrian Deitz has joined forces with David Wall and Wall Racing for the fourth straight year in the red and white Italian beast. The pair will share driving duties with the man who steered Wall Racing to the 2022 TCR Australia championship, Tony D’Alberto, and another former Supercars driver in Grant Denyer. The Silver Class quartet hope to try and repeat its 2022 performance where they fought for the podium before being forced to settle for fifth. It’s a far rise after finishing P12 and five laps down in their maiden 12 hour in 2019, with a DNF the following year. In 2023 the Wall Racing team will be a renewed force with the Huracan having received an extensive “freshen up” over the summer. But in the truest sign the squad means business, a senior Lamborghini engineer will be on hand to offer expertise, flying directly from the 24 Hours of Daytona, which takes place three days before on-track action at Mount Panorama kicks off. Head of Lamborghini Motorsport Giorgio Sanna said the Italian brand is “proud” to be at Mount Panorama. “Lamborghini Squadra Corse is proud to support Wall Racing at the Bathurst 12 Hour with engineering support on site at the event, confirming our global assistance dedicated to all our customer teams,” said Sanna. “Good luck to Adrian, David, Tony and Grant for this iconic race.” Deitz said the presence of Lamborghini support at Mount Panorama will give the entire team a big boost. “Lamborghini is sending out a senior engineer, straight from Daytona, and we are incredibly grateful to have the
brand’s support for Australia’s best sportscar endurance race,” he said. “Having someone on the ground will be a huge benefit, not just for us drivers, but also the team. “We felt we made good steps with the car at the Bathurst International in November and we are looking forward to making more improvements in the 12 Hour.” A veteran of 151 Supercars races, Wall is bullish of what his well prepared squad can achieve. “I don’t feel we have ever been better prepared for a Bathurst 12 Hour,” said Wall. “The Huracan EVO is ready to go, and a short test beforehand will get the team and drivers ready for another big event. “And personally, it’s also great to be getting back in the car with Adrian, Tony and Grant. It’s one of the best races to be in.” A return to Bathurst brings back happy memories for D’Alberto as he returns to the scene of his tense TCR Australia championship glory for the first time since the Bathurst International. He said he already feels the buzz. “The 12 Hour is the best way to kick start the new racing season, and it’s great to have the chance to step back into the Lamborghini with Adrian and the Wall
Racing team,” said D’Alberto. “There’s a great sense of anticipation for this year’s race. It will be great to have the international teams and drivers back in the field with big crowds returning. “Wall Racing has been developing Adrian’s Lamborghini for a number of years now. I feel we have the car pretty sorted.” But the driver with most connection to the famous 6.213km circuit is Bathurst resident Denyer, who is determined to make the 2023 12 Hour one to remember. “I live in Bathurst, I’ve finished second in this race before and doing almost 300kmh around here in Adrian’s Lambo is one of life’s greatest ever experiences,” said Denyer. “This was the first major race I attended as a kid. We even slept in our Toyota Corolla in the pits. So this place means the world to me. It’s where I decided I wanted to be a racing driver.” The red and white Lamborghini will hit the track at Mount Panorama from February 3-5. Thomas Miles
STRONG GLOBAL FIELD TO DESCEND ON 12 HOUR A LARGE field is set to line up on the grid for the 2023 LIQUI-MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour next month when the world returns to Mount Panorama. The event, known as Australia’s greatest International Endurance Race, will live up to its name with cars coming from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Hong Kong, Belgium and the United States. The 12 Hour race held from February 3-5 will double as the season opener of the Intercontinental GT Challenge and has attracted an entry list of 28 GT3 and invited vehicles. An eight car increase on the COVID impacted 2022 running. The GT3 field has 22 entries spread across the Pro, Bausele Pro-Am, and Silver categories, which includes strong European manufacturer representation, with a 12 Hour record of nine Mercedes GT3’s lined up. One of them will be driven by reigning winners Triple Eight Race Engineering, which is out for more Bathurst glory after collecting all trophies on offer in 2022. The title defence will be led by Red Bull Ampol Racing stars Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney, plus experienced Mercedes AMG Performance driver Maximilian Gotz. The trio will do their level best to ensure the #888 Supercheap Auto Mercedes will be fighting at the front to keep the team’s Mount Panorama winning streak alive. The other half of Triple Eight’s 12 Hour success, Sun Energy1, returns with the same goal in mind,
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2023 LIQUI-MOLY BATHURST 12 HOUR ENTRY LIST
while Audi is also in the mix. Craig Lowndes will find himself in the unfamiliar position of standing outside the Triple Eight garage as he races for the Prostate Cancer awareness Scott Taylor Motorsport entry. It is likely most eyes will be drawn towards the Team WRT area of the pit lane, with MotoGP superstar and current GT racer Valentino Rossi racing one of two brand new BMW M4 GT3’s. There will be records broken in the Pro-Am class where veteran driver Marc Cini starts an unprecedented 11th Bathurst 12 Hour in his Hallmark Racing Audi. He hopes to join the fight for the Pro-Am battle where a host of Mercedes GT3’s and Audi R8’s are expected to battle it out. Six cars are lined up for the Silver Class, including the Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. The same amount is expected for the Invitational Class with a pair of MARC cars and a KTM X-Bow GT2 to offer something different. The full entry list, including drivers, will be released closer to the event. Thomas Miles
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LATEST NEWS
POWER TO MAKE DAYTONA 24 DEBUT REIGNING INDYCAR champion Will Power will join up with the Australian Sun Energy1 Racing Team for his 24 Hours of Daytona debut. The Toowoomba born racer, a two-time IndyCar champ and Indy 500 winner, will join fellow Aussie Kenny Habul in his #75 Mercedes AMG GT3, which was declared the 61st and final entry of the 2023 edition. Fabian Schiller and Axcil Jeffries will join the pairing to race in the GTD class which features 25 entries from nine manufacturers at the 61st running of the event. “The Daytona 24 is an iconic event on the bucket list of most drivers, and I have to thank Kenny (Habul) for the opportunity,” Power said. “I am looking forward to driving the heavier GT car and getting experience for hopefully a lot more drives like this in the future, including the Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 12-hour (race) back in Australia. “It is quite funny when you look back at how Kenny and I raced Formula Ford against each other all those years ago, and now we are going to be teammates!” Power joins fellow IndyCar Antipodeans Scott McLaughlin (Tower Motorsports) and Scott Dixon (Cadillac Racing/Chip Ganassi Racing) for the famous endurance event at the end of the month, with Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden, and Romain Grosjean among some of the other IndyCar contingent. “Will is a monster talent and a genuine person, and we look forward to him being a valuable contributor to our 24-hour campaign at Daytona,” Habul said. “He has a reputation of being fast in anything he drives, and I am sure he will be up to speed in our gear in no time.” Habul is also coming off a title winning campaign, taking out the Pro Am class in the intercontinental GT World Challenge, which included a maiden Bathurst 12 Hour
victory. He also achieved second-place class finishes in the 24 Hours of Spa and the Indianapolis 8 Hour at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Habul’s sixth start at the American endurance classic sees him with a best class finish of second in 2021, where he personally led the GTD field at one stage in the 59th edition of the event.
Power comes into Daytona after winning his second IndyCar title, after breaking the all-time pole record, as well moving to within one win of Michael Andretti’s 42 wins (fourth of all time). The 24 Hours of Daytona Hour kicks off on January 2829, which also marks the first round of the IMSA sportscar championship. TW Neal
INDYCAR BOOST FOR ADELAIDE MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL A MODERN IndyCar has been added to the stellar list of vehicle entries for the Adelaide Motorsport Festival for the 2023, March 25-26 event. The 2011 spec Dallara IR-07 last took to an Aussie track at the Gold Coast Indy event, and was in operation with Conquest Racing between 2008-2011. New Zealander Matthew Radisich, nephew of Paul Radisich, will pilot the Dallara around the Adelaide Park Lands; Radisich is a former Formula 3 racer, having raced in the Australian Drivers Championship, as well as having raced in Formula Fords in both in Australia and at Home. His uncle Paul was also a former V8 Supercars race winner, and a British Touring Car competitor. The car itself was most notably driven by Canadian racer Alex Tagliani, who took the Dallara to a high of P4 at the 2008 Gold Coast Indy 300, the final one in Australia. It’s fitted with a 3.5-litre methanolfuelled V8 Chevrolet, producing more than 675 horsepower, with a Carbon fiber monocoque, honeycomb structure chassis. The IndyCar is the latest car announced
for the 2023 Adelaide Motorsport Festival, along with a pair of 1989 Brabham BT58s, as driven by Martin Brundle and Stefano Modena during the 1989 Formula 1 season, a 1988 Arrows A10B Megatron, as driven by Eddie Cheever during the 1988 Formula 1 season, and the newly announced Arrows Formula 1 three-seater car. More Formula 1 cars, Sportscars, rally cars, touring cars and others attending the event will be revealed in the coming weeks. The Adelaide Motorsport festival is a fast, thrilling, and frequently changing museum in motion, with a different category of vehicle on track every 10 to 15 minutes. As well as the open wheelers, headlined by the classic F1 machinery, fans will also see a host of V8 Supercars alongside Heritage Touring Cars, a special Invitational category alongside Demonstration sessions, and a Shootout for the fastest cars and more. Adelaide Motorsport Festival tickets on sale now at www.adelaidemotorsportfestival. com.au TW Neal
TCR ‘23 TO ADD QUALIFYING BOOST
NZ YOUNG GUN ENTERS SUPER3 EGGLESTON MOTORSPORT has recruited young New Zealand gun Matthew McCutcheon for its 2023 Super3 campaign. McCutcheon is a recipient of the 2022 Tony Quinn Foundation Scholarship, and whilst not many in Australia will know his name, he’s been a rising youth star in NZ since starting out in dirt track racing. After dominating in the Quarter Midget vehicles with 12 wins and 8 podiums, he progressed into the F2 Midgets where he was again the standout, scoring rookie of the year, as well as clinching the club championship, and at 15 years-old, was its youngest ever championship winner. McCutcheon also started racing Formula Ford in 2019 where instantly started winning and taking podiums, before entering the national Formula Ford competition where he swept a number of rounds and claimed 2nd in the Championship. That year he was aided by three time Supercar champion Shane van Gisbergen as he was racing SVG’s championship winning sister car, and the NZ star offered up data analysis, vision, and guidance.
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In 2022, McCutcheon took on the NZ Toyota 86 championship and scored a win in his rookie season driving for Action Motorsport, where he finished sixth in the standings. The up and coming speedster offers his thoughts on starting out on his long-held Supercars dream. “I am so excited to be joining Eggleston Motorsport in 2023 to race in the Super3 series,” McCutcheon said. “I can’t thank Ben, Rachael and the team and all my supporters enough for this opportunity. It has always been a dream of mine to race in the Supercar series and this step is an amazing opportunity in achieving my goal of racing in Supercars. “After spending time with the team at the Adelaide 500, and then again at the test at Winton a couple of weeks after, I already feel at home and I am honoured to be a part of their winning team. “I can’t wait to kick off the season at Newcastle which is coming around fast!” Rachael Eggleston, Eggleston Motorsport Co-owner and Team Manager, says that McCutcheon has shown plenty of eagerness, and has
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talent to burn. “In our first discussion with Matt he didn’t just say he wanted to be a Supercar driver, he said he wants to be a Supercar champion. We know he will leave no stone unturned to get to the top level of Supercar racing in Australia and we cannot wait to be a part of helping him get there. “Matt and his family flew to the Adelaide 500 where Matt worked with the team, he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and was doing everything from cleaning cars, tyre pressures, and everything in between. It was a great opportunity for him to learn how a race weekend in the category works and get himself ahead of the game for 2023. “He had a test with us in December and showed real talent behind the wheel. He worked so well with the team to get faster and faster as the day went on. He has such a fantastic attitude and is just a great young guy. We are genuinely excited to hit the track and we are confident Matt will be a regular podium contender.” The combined Dunlop Super2 and 3 series kicks off at Newcastle on March 10-12. TW Neal
QUALIFYING POINTS have been added to the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia season ahead of its 2023 campaign starting on February 24-26. The move is aimed at increasing the importance of Qualifying, giving a significant points boost, meaning the points maximum for a round is extended to 153. The 10 point boost will add a new dynamic to the series, giving extra spice to the grid spots tussle, with P2 to P5 to also score added points on a 7, 5, 3, 2 basis. The driver who scores the fastest lap will also score a championship point, with a maximum 50 points still on offer for a Race 1, 40 points for the top-ten flipped grid Race 2, with Race 3 (grid determined by total points scored over races 1 and 2) seeing 50 points again on offer. In 2022, Wall Racing Tony D’Alberto was a deserving winner by just 9 points over Supercars driver Will Brown. “The change will put more emphasis on qualifying to ensure every driver has an extra incentive to go as hard as they can in that session,” said McMellan. “We want to see our drivers and teams always pushing the limits, in every session, and we feel this is going to add more spice to the most important sessions of a race weekend. “For qualifying, it needs to have real meaning. Almost all of the qualifying sessions were broadcast on Stan Sport in 2022,” Said Ben McMellan, Head of ARG Category Operations. “The plan is to keep that for 2023, so we want to ensure that it is an unmissable session, whether fans are watching the Stan broadcast or trackside.” It’s a huge year for Australia’s TCR series, as its drivers have a chance to qualify for the new TCR World Tour championship, which will have two rounds in Australia. Testing for the new hybrids will also begin in Australia in 2023, with the new vehicle roll-out expected for the 2024 season. The new global series is a consolidation of TCR racing globally under the WSC group, replacing the previous independently operated WTCR series. The opening round of the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will be held at the third-running of the AWC Race Tasmania on February 24-26, in conjunction with the opening SpeedSeries round. TW Neal
Broc Feeney took the first of what may be many Supercars wins, at Adelaide. IMAGE: MARK HORSBURGH Below: Super2 champions – Jess Dane managed Declan Fraser’s successful bid. Bottom right: And the succesful ‘Wildcard’ entry at Bathurst with Lowndes and Fraser. Below right: the ‘old boy’ is still around ... in the background. Image: JACK MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY-ARG day running of the team is handled jointly by him (a 30% shareholder) and Jess Dane (30%), with Tony Quinn (40%) as a quiet and guiding hand when needed. Roland is still around – he wanders in and out of the workshop and makes a few appearances at tracks, but that is it. “Jess and I are running the day-to-day operation from a management point of view, but where the change is from RDs time is we are enabling our managers to actually manage their part of the business. I’ve given them a lot more responsibility
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and the opportunity to make it their own. The commercial manager runs the commercial; our technical director runs the technical side. “I’m really focused on making sure that the people run the business and they’ve done that this year (2022) and done a fantastic job. The work that Jess and I have to do is minimal because the people are running the business themselves, and they’ve absolutely smashed it out of the park.” Whincup could sit back and claim all the
credit for his team’s year – it was, after all, better than anything Roland Dane ever had – but he gives a lot of credit to the older Dane for putting together the team. It is an engineer-rich environment, despite some recent raiding by others. Jeromy Moore (JJ) and Mark Dutton remain mainstays and Andrew Edwards and Martin Short (who stepped up from Super2 with Feeney) have proven themselves in the main game while over the years, people like Ludo Lacroix, David Cauchi, Wes McDougal and Grant
McPherson have been poached by others. “It’s because RD has put the right people in the right place,” Whincup says when talking about 2022. “He laid the foundations. I’ve just come in and let the people run the business, I’m not taking any credit whatsoever. It’s RD’s foundations and the management team absolutely maximising the resources that put together the best year in Triple Eight’s history.” For 2023, Triple Eight Race Engineering will field two Supercars
Taking out the final race at Pukekohe was a season highlight for Van Gisbergen. Image: MARK HORSBURGH
Super2 Champion Declan Fraser at Sandown.
“ ”
Whincup has been a guiding hand, as he carries the brolly for the team’s new young racer ... Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES
To be perfectly honest, the first feeling that comes to mind is tired. I’m tired and run down. It’s been a huge year ...
in the championship and will build a third car for possible wildcard duties, two Super2 cars, likely two GT3 cars, and it will import and prep MercedesAMG cars for the upscaling of GT4 in Australia. He’ll find something new for his group of talented design engineers to undertake. In an interview with Tony Quinn late in 2021, he suggested the team could design and engineer anything – electric scooters (Vespa style) was one example he tossed up, but he wasn’t limiting it to that – with
its current engineering set-up. “I must say I’ve been very, very impressed with Jamie,” he said. “He’s a young man with an intelligent mind, driven, keen to succeed … I’m basically backing Jamie to do a good job.” And despite the cynics and some of the rumours generated to try and destabilise Triple Eight, you’d have to argue that is exactly what Whincup did in 2022. The winning record speaks for itself. Can Triple Eight maintain the rage in 2023? Only time will tell.
The team has also undertaken the bulk of the engineering development for the new Gen-3 car.
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Winning the Bathurst 12 Hours, with a team including Aussie expat Kenny Habul. Image: MARK HORSBURGH
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DAKAR UPDATE
AT THE HALFWAY MARK OF AN EPIC 2023 DAKAR RALLY, THE CARS CLASSIFICATION HAS A CLEAR LEADER, WHILST A GRUELLING BATTLE FOR THE AGES IS FORMING IN THE BIKES CATEGORY. THOMAS MILES AND TIMOTHY NEAL REPORT.
AL-ATTIYAH ON TRACK TO COMPLETE DAKAR DYNASTY NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (right) is in pole position to score a fifth Dakar Rally victory after opening up a commanding lead across the first half of the 2023 event which has not been without its dramas. Audi landed the first blow in the 13km Prologue, where Mattias Ekstrom edged out Sebastien Loeb, while the manufacturer’s good news continued as Carlos Sainz Snr stormed to a Stage 1 victory. Alula was the scene where Al-Attiyah kicked his campaign into gear, as he won Stage 2 and made giant inroads. It was also the moment where Loeb’s misery began as three punctures saw him lose almost 90 minutes. Audi’s promising start turned into a nightmare in Stage 3, with Al-Attiyah taking over a lead he’s yet to relinquish with Sainz stumbling. The Spaniard could do little as mechanical, tyre, and navigation dramas meant his lead slipped away. As the rally headed for the dunes, things finally went Loeb’s way after he lost 90 minutes across the two previous days. The Frenchman then managed to salvage some pride as he snuck ahead of Stephane Peterhansel by just 13 seconds. A war of words then erupted between Toyota and Audi off the road after the latter received a power boost from the FIA. Al-Attiyah feared the directive would “kill” the rally, but the fired up Qatari driver turned his frustrations into speed, by winning Stage 5 with authority. As the Toyota driver’s stocks continued to go up, Loeb’s hit more trouble when he rolled his Bahrain Raid Xtreme Prodrive Hunter upside-down (below). Despite Al-Attiyah being well in front, the Audi threat remained ever present with both Peterhansel and Sainz within Images: Red Bull Content Pool; Gigi Soldado; MCH Photography
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34 minutes. But this was not a concern for the reigning winner after Stage 6 when his lead exploded from 22 minutes to over an hour. As Al-Attiyah cruised to a second straight stage win, both of Audi’s top contenders ran into trouble. Peterhansel was forced to withdraw after his co-driver Edouard Boulanger was air-lifted to hospital following a significant shunt. With its leader out of action, Audi’s attention turned to Sainz, but he also got stranded in the same stretch of sand. In Stage 7 it was Ekstrom’s turn to bring more misfortune to the four-ringed squad. After leading at the opening checkpoint, the Swede had to stop in the dunes due to mechanical issues, while teammate Sainz pulled over for assistance, forcing the pair to lose even more time. With Al-Attiyah focused on keeping his nose clean, Yazeed Al-Rajhi seized on the opportunity to take the stage by nine minutes. In the final outing before the rest day, mechanical gremlins finally disappeared for Audi, as it found a new way to lose. Sainz led the entire 367km special between Al Duwadimi and Riyadh and secured a provisional 1m39s win, only for a speeding penalty to drop him into third and, giving the win to Loeb.
SANDERS FEARED HIS DAKAR OVER
The setback summed up a nightmare first half for Audi, as Al-Attiyah carried a 1:03.46 advantage over Toyota teammate Henk Lategan going into the Riyadh camp rest day. The class Australian Molly Taylor is currently competing in, T4 Modified Production SSV, is set for an intriguing finale. Only six minutes separate the top four with Rokas Baciuska (above) leading EnergyLandia Rally Team pair Marek and Eryk Goczal. Taylor’s teammate Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira was leading the way until he plummeted in the last two stages. After 823 eventful kilometres, anything could happen across the second half of the 2023 Dakar Rally. Thomas Miles
AFTER DANIEL Sanders himself said he was “lucky to be alive” after his road crash in last year’s Dakar during the Stage 7 liaison, he jumped out of the blocks this year to be in lead by Stage 3. The tough GAS GAS rider (above) was then struck down with a mystery illness that he thinks may have come from a thorn lodged deep in his arm, which dropped him into 0:26.56s from the lead, and he feared his ailment would end his rally. “I’m really happy to make it to the rest day because, the other day, I thought I was going to pull out and I didn’t think I was going to keep going because the body was so drained,” Sanders said. “I’m still fighting this bug a little bit in the stomach. Hopefully I’m on the mend now, and tomorrow is another rest day, so we’ll rest up and come out swinging on Stage 9 … hopefully.” His subsequent semi-recovery saw him fight back in Stages 6 and 8 with a P7 and P2, putting him back in the top ten to seventh overall, and just 7 minutes off the front runner in Skyler Howes. With the rally still wide open, the gutsy rider they call “Chucky” is very much alive in the fight for Dakar.
PRICE KNOWS DAKAR LONG GAME TOBY PRICE, Australia’s first ever Dakar winner and two-time winner, knows all too well that Dakar isn’t won in a day. And despite carrying shoulder and back injuries following a crash with Joan Barreda on Stage 5, the eight time Finke Desert race winner was hanging tough to sit fourth, just 0:1.58s of the lead. Despite the bad nature of the crash with Barreda and his own injuries, Price lost 5-6 minutes to assist the Spaniard, ensuring he was ok before heading on. “Barreda had a crash in front of us and I ended up hitting him … I’m not sure, I pretty much shut my eyes,” Price said. “The bike went flipping in front of me and cleaned me out, it was a good get-off for both of us. I was okay, but I stopped for around five minutes there to make sure Joan was okay while he was having a snooze.” Despite finishing in P17 prior to the rest day, the durable KTM rider has more or less avoided big trouble, and although he hasn’t won a stage since the opening prologue, he’s handled the tough conditions with caution whilst largely keeping the pace, where he sat as high as second overall after seven stages.
EPIC CLASSIC LOOMING IN THE DAKAR BIKES
A SEESAWING opening eight stages has seen some gruelling action, starting at the Red Sea Prologue camp, all the way to the landlocked Riyadh province. An Aussie double from the get-go, had Toby Price (above) and Sanders scoring a one-two, as the KTM Factory rider continued his opening stage dominance of the Dakar Rally. Stage 1 had the new timed special bonus points come into play for the first time, awarding the fastest riders push harder for time bonuses. The rally gave up its first high profile victim in the first 368km loop, when defending British champion Sam Sunderland needed an air lift to the hospital after 52km. Honda rider Ricky Brabec took the opening stage, after Sanders was penalised for speeding in the liaison, dropping him into eighth. Argentine Kevin
Benavides and Price filled the top-three. The second, and very rocky 430km stage to Alula, saw young American star Mason Klein take a maiden stage win, whilst sanders took the foot of the gas so he didn’t have to open the Stage 3 navigation, whilst he also took on a troubling thorn that lodged deep into his arm. Stage 3, the road to Ha’il, had 2020 winner - and the first ever American winner - Brabec, crash out at the 274 km mark, whilst Sanders tore through the historic centre of the Nabataean civilisation, with a resounding win, the fourth in his third Dakar, to take the overall lead. The monstrous 574km high altitude Ha’il to Ha’il loop had Spaniard Joan Barreda take out the stage with a broken toe, with the dunes entering into prominence. A fuel pump issue halted the charge
Molly Taylor – a top 10 chance with some luck other than bad!
of Klein with only 42km to travel, allowing Sanders to keep his overall lead, whilst American Skyler Howes (right) and Price kept out of trouble to sit in threatening overall positions. The second Ha’il loop - Stage 5 - had Sanders wake up with a suspected infection from the thorn, as riders faced a sustained trip through the Camel grass and mountainous dunes. Sanders dropped to eighth overall after struggling into P21, whilst Frenchman Adrien van Beveren took the stage win over Honda teammate Jose Ignacio Florimo, with Price taking third over Klein and Howes, for overall second. Price did encounter difficulties after he crashed into Barreda when he tried to overtake, losing five minutes as he stayed with a knocked-out Barreda, whilst Price also injured his shoulder. Howes moved into the lead with a P5 finish, leaving Price two minutes back with a three minute lead over teammate Kevin Benavides. Stage 6 had a shortened 357km special stage due to rain, as the field made it through relatively unscathed. Whilst Luciano Benavides took out the stage over Husqvarna teammate, Howes, the American managed to extend his overall lead from Price to three minutes. Barreda continued after his accident to hold onto fourth overall to be 10 minutes off the leader, whilst Klein fell twice to be 12 minutes back heading into stage 7, with Sanders almost 20 minutes back
despite finishing in seventh. Due to the bivouac being underwater due to flooding, Stage 7 had a line ruled through it, meaning the special timed stage between Riyadh to the Al Duwadimi got scratched. The Stage 7 loop initially meant for Riyadh was shortened to 128km and moved to Stage 8. When the racing resumed after a forced day off, the leaderboard was turned on its head. After a tough Stage 6, Klein stormed back into the overall lead from P7 in a 13:33s turnaround, finishing in P2 behind Botswana rider Ross Branch who sits 35 overall. A subsequent speeding penalty then saw Klein take a two minute penalty, dropping him into third overall. Sanders shook off his ailment to finish 3:15s behind Branch to sit seventh overall, 8:50s off the lead. 8 riders now sit within 10 minutes compared to three at the beginning of the stage, with Howes, Benavides, Klein, and Price making up the top five. It was a tricky day for navigation, with both Howes and Price finishing 10+ minutes back on the leader, as riders then took a well earned rest day Riyadh. Timothy Neal
TAYLOR AND SHORT MAKING UP GROUND MOLLY TAYLOR’S 2023 Dakar would seem shot by the headlines, but the Can-Am South SSV driver still remains in strong contention for the top-10. Whilst the Victorian is 2:37.41s from the lead, she has remained only five minutes from 11th come the Riyadh rest day. After a front drive shaft issue on a tough first day, Taylor then sat as high as ninth during stage three but three punctures, an hours wait for a spare, and poor visibility dropped her into P15 with a P39 finish. After a fight back on Stages 4 and 5, Taylor and co-driver Andrew Short again hit issues on Stage 6.
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“One of these days luck is going to be on our side. We did a CBT belt about 90km into the stage and then had some issues with the drive, which made some of the dunes a bit challenging,” she said. “Looks like there might be a broken spring as well, but all we can do is keep fighting.” During another fight back on Stage 8, the pair then had another puncture before their Jack then jammed in the dust. All in all, three top-10 stage finishes has been a strong yield all things considered, and with a turn of luck, Molly could more than best her 2022 Dakar debut finish of P14.
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