Issuu

NATIONAL DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP IS GO!

THE REAL DEAL

AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT

BRODIE KOSTECKI

EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW, BUT DIDN’T, ABOUT SVG’S NEW NIGHTMARE!

NATHAN HERNE

FROM LISMORE TO CHICAGO ISSN 2204-9924

ISSUE 1861

$10.95 INC GST MAY 18 to MAY 31 2023

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

A YOUNG AUSSIE RACING TRANS AM STATESIDE

LATEST NEWS

2023 FINKE AUTO RACE PERMITS WITHHELD... FOLLOWING THE coronial inquest into the death of spectator Nigel Harris at the 2021 Finke Desert Race, Auto permits are currently being withheld for this year’s event. After the conclusion of the hearing – with the results still to be released by Judge Armitage – there was damning evidence heard against both Motorsport Australia and the Finke Committee regarding their efforts to maximise or, even act on, extreme safety concerns prior to Harris’ death. As a result of the evidence given, Motorsport Australia are yet to issue permits for the Auto (car) section of the 2023 Finke Desert Race. As it stands, the event will be going ahead with the

motorcycling category, with Motorcycling Australia confirming its support, and entries to the bike event still open until Friday, May 19. Further updates regarding this year’s running will be released at midday tomorrow, May 19. The hearing saw the country’s main governing motorsport body and the Finke Committee come under intense scrutiny for their joint failure to act upon safety regulations – concerns which were widely believed to have been recognised far in advance of Harris’ death. Harris was killed and several others injured when a trophy truck went off the road at a popular spectator point, with evidence being heard – as supported by photographic and video evidence – that the crowd was

standing dangerously close to the action. As reported by the ABC News, Although Motorsport Australia made no comments at the coroner’s hearing, they admitted negligence of action through its representative counsel, Bruce Hodgkinson SC. “It is accepted that more action should have been taken by MSA to address concerns, which have been raised about spectator safety,” he said. “Improvements should have been made before the race in 2021 to known spectator areas. “Those improvements should have included a greater presence of trained spectator marshals, improved marking, signage, bunting, and other measures.” TW Neal

LYNK & CO AUSSIE DEBUT LEAVES CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM

LANDMARK TV DEAL FOR NEW DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP THE NEWLY formed National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) has announced its ground breaking partnership with the Seven Network. The unified 11 round series, which brings together Top Fuel, Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Pro Stock Bike, Pro Mod, and Sportsman categories, will enjoy live and free national viewing in a huge boon for the category. Race day broadcast’s for the 11 NDRC rounds will be televised on 7plus, whilst both 7mate and 7plus will air post-produced highlight specials. With the news of the newly formed championship launched on May 10, the calendar for the historical new era of Australian drag racing will be released on May 26 from the series’ newly constructed crown jewel: The Bend Dragway. “We’ve delivered 13 high-quality broadcast events in the past 18 months with the

Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship,” said Nathan Prendergast, NDRC co-promoter and Head of TV. “That’s given Seven the confidence to get behind Australian drag racing and take these next steps with us to bring the sport to a whole new audience. “This unprecedented deal is a massive step forward for Australian drag racing and will give the sport the exposure it deserves.” Alongside the national broadcast rights, international viewers will also get to have a taste of the “One way Forward” NDRC setup, with FloRacing to carry live and free race day broadcasts across the globe. Each of the 11 rounds will be headlined by either the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship, or the Nitro Funny Car Championship, with those two categories set to come together in Group 1 for the first time at an all-category grand final to be held at the Willow Bank Raceway in 2024. TW Neal

TCR AUSTRALIA driver Top Oliphant has expressed his optimism over the performance of the new Ashley Seward Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 TCR car. With the ChineseSwiss brand having achieved 7 world titles since it entered TCR globally in 2019, anticipation was high to see its performance here in Australia. The weekend of results at Phillip Island mightn’t have been what the driver and team were looking for with a DNF, a P8, and a P9, but the pace was evident, with Oliphant being one of the fastest on the grid. After having run some tests at the Island just days before, the #115 Autoglym entry was quick over practice and qualifying, netting himself P2 for Race 1. A series of misfortunes saw a P8 in Race 2 being the best finish for the weekend, with a post race penalty after Race 1 denying the British driver pole position for that same race, whilst again having to start outride the top-ten for Race 3. “First round out with a new car is always challenging, but overall, I’m really pleased with the speed that the Lynk & Co showed,” said Oliphant. “We didn’t get as much running as we’d have liked on the test day, so we were still learning with each session. The team found a great setup for qualifying, and the car had the pace to be on the front row, I just

didn’t quite nail it in the second part of the session. “The race starts did not help us, the Lynk & Co has a different way of getting off the line compared to the other cars, and we couldn’t quite get it working with the usual method. I think we made it better in race three, but that was tough to determine because we got held up by a stalled car in front. “Our race pace was incredibly quick, it was just tough to pass. We were one of the only cars that were able to consistently move forward after the opening lap. (Josh) Buchan won two races, but he couldn’t get near us in race two, which says a lot about our car speed. “The Lynk & Co rotates really well and feels very strong on the brakes so that gives me good confidence that we can be quick at the tighter circuits like Winton as well,” concluded Oliphant. Oliphant and the Lynk & Co will be back in action for round two of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia from June 9-11 at Winton Raceway. TW Neal

STEWART GROWING IN CONFIDENCE

OVER SUPER3 CAMPAIGN

JOBE STEWART has started the Super3 season in fine form, with the Erebus Academy driver turning into a real championship threat. Stewart has started the year with two wins from two rounds, and leads the championship standings by 27 points over fellow young gun Cameron McLeod.

Both he and McLeod have started out as the two drivers to catch, providing some entertaining on track battles at both Newcastle and Wanneroo. As well as his two wins, courtesy of two race in-race penalties from McLeod, the Erebus Academy product has also scored a pair of P2’s and a pole position.

The former Toyota 86 driver says that the strong results are courtesy of his smooth preseason testing regime. “I was pretty confident in the team and everyone was confident in myself and the car after our initial testing,” Stewart said. “We expected to go well but to come out and win my first race and the round as a whole was quite surprising but also really exciting.” Stewart also spoke about making the category transition into the V8’s, and the intricacies of learning to race and get the best out of his #999 VF Commodore. “The Super3 category is definitely a lot more technical than the 86’s, and there’s a lot more going on even just in terms of the amount of people in the garage,” he continued. “You have to be a much more concentrated and sharp driver on the track, as the car is much more technical and it’s a lot easier to make mistakes.” “There’s definitely a lot I still need to work on as I’m still very new to the category and still have a lot to learn. “I haven’t been real comfortable with the brakes, so Perth particularly was a big learning curve for me with a lot of hard braking zones, but I’m learning more and more every time I’m with the team,

whether that’s on or off track. “My long term goal for the year is to win the championship and individually round by round, I want to win as many rounds as I can, if not all of the rounds.” With some quality talent to contend with around him, that won’t be an easy task, with the likes of Jett Johnson, Matthew McCutcheon and Mason Kelly looking to also improve on their opening performances. But the battle with McLeod is already shaping as a thrilling prospect now, into the future, with both drivers having shown the aptitude and natural talent to be a constant threat to each other. Round 3 of the Dunlop Series will take place at the Reid Park Street Circuit in Townsville, July 7 - 9. TW Neal SUPER3 STANDINGS Stewart 576 McLeod 549 Johnson 498 McCutcheon 471 Kelly 453 Smerdon 390 Gomersall 366 Gilroy 351 Pollicina 0

MAX MCRAE TO MAKE ERC DEBUT THIS WEEKEND MAX MCRAE will make his European Rally Championship debut in Poland this weekend, May 20-21, driving an all-new Opel Corsa Rally4. The nephew of rally great Colin McRae made the move to Europe to try and get himself into next year’s Junior WRC, and that journey starts in the Masurian lake district, Poland, with the Portuguese based Racing Factory team this weekend. “I moved over from Australia last month with one aim, to compete in the ERC and to take my career in the sport to the next level,” McRae said. I’m really happy to be doing that with a team like The Racing Factory - the commitment Aloísio [Monteiro, CEO] and his team have shown in getting everything ready in a fairly tight timeframe is amazing.” McRae drove a Peugeot 208 at a recent warm up event to prepare for Poland, but this weekend, he faces a much faster gravel course with the challenge of getting on top of a new car, with the splits across the field expected to be close. “I’m going to Poland with good confidence in the team and the car. Driving the Peugeot at the event in Portugal gave me some good seat time. “I’ve watched just about as much Rally Poland content as I can find on YouTube and I don’t really remember seeing the cars using the bottom half of the gearbox at all! I like that. Speed is why we do this sport! “You only have to look at the entry

IMOLA GP AT RISK OVER FLOODING

list for this week to see there’s a huge number of entries and a lot of class drivers in there. The competition is going to be fierce for the whole weekend. “With really quick rallies like this one, you tend to find the drivers can be fairly close - without the slower junctions, it can be harder to make a big difference under braking and finding traction coming out of the corners. “On this event, we’re all going to be running at around the same speed that means we can expect the gaps to be measured in tenths of seconds. The battle will be as big as I’m sure it will be close and super-exciting. “We started talking about doing this

championship in the middle of last year - I’m stoked to be here and getting ready to go over the ramp on round one.” Max is the third generation of the McRae family to compete in the ERC, joining his grandfather Jimmy, his father Alistair, and his uncle Colin as previous competitors. Following Poland, Max and co-driver Mac Kierans will switch to Tarmac for the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland on May 26-28 - a round of the British Racing Championship - before embarking on five more rounds of the ERC in Latvia, Sweden, Italy, Czech Republic and Hungary. TW Neal

THIS WEEKEND’S F1 Imola Grand Prix is under threat of cancellation over severe flooding in the region with more heavy rains forecast ahead of the May 19-21 event. After teams had started setting up their paddocks, severe rain saw the crews evacuated over the possibility of the nearby Santerno River – which flanks the pit and paddock area – bursting its banks. The severe weather has already caused two prior fatalities in the Italian region, with several houses having collapsed and the local streets experiencing major flooding, with hundreds evacuated over fears of landslides. With more torrential rain (160mm) expected on Thursday, there is a strong likelihood that the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix may be abandoned. The entire paddock was evacuated from Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, with some spectator areas to potentially become unusable over water damage. Whilst the rain is expected to ease for Sunday, there are more storms expected to come on Saturday, and although FIA officials are bullish about Sunday going ahead with the track having thus far avoided damage, there are calls for it to be abandoned completely. TW Neal

BACK HOME AGAIN

IN INDIANA MAY TIME IN THE US MEANS ITS INDY 500 TIME AT THE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, WITH THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN MOTORSPORT SET FOR ITS 107TH SHOWDOWN TIMOTHY NEAL PREVIEWS THIS YEARS RACE … THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 has given the motorsport world countless traditions and heroic moments at breakneck speed since its official beginnings in 1911, when Pennsylvanian Ray Harroun took the chequered in his Marmon Wasp and then demanded a sandwich. Such is the immensity of the event and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) itself that, upon the speedway’s creation, the area where it was built was declared its own suburb … Speedway, Indiana. The 2.5 mile (4km) IMS ‘Brick Yard’ regularly draws around 300,000 people on race day, with its huge build up starting on May 16 through to lights-out on Sunday May 28, creating a racing event like no other. This year sees 34 drivers vying for 33 grid spots, which also means that the final qualifying day on May 21 will revert back to its original name of “Bump Day”. It’s also the first year since 2014 where drivers and teams will not be awarded double points, which was scrapped after much deliberation from the teams (although a

36 I www.autoaction.com.au

winning driver hasn’t lifted the Astor Cup in that period, it was seen to negatively affect the team standings). The additional driver in 2023 is Abel Motorsport’s Richard Clayton Enerson, a five-time IndyCar race starter who attempted to qualify in 2021 without success.

have the choice of getting on track first to improve their time, but it must however take the risk in giving up its previously-achieved four-lap qualifying average. Positions 13-30 are set after that session, with those drivers then sitting out Sunday

THE LEAD-UP

OVER 12 days of testing, qualifying, and Indy-specific traditions such as Carb Day, Fast Friday, and the returning Bump Day make up the unique event. There’s 11 practice sessions in-all – of which six are open to the entire field – with Friday’s second practice on May 19 (Fast Friday) seeing the cars get a turbo bar boost to 1.5 for Qualifying condition simulation (on May 22 – the bar boost is then returned to the race-level 1.3). Full-field qualifying starts on May 20, when after each car has put together at least one qualifying run to determine a four-lap average speed, there becomes two available lanes to choose from at pit exit for subsequent attempts – the priority lane and standard lane – which is an open choice with a gamble! A car that chooses a priority lane will

(Bump Day). Sunday morning then determines positions 7-13 via the Top 12 qualifying session, which also sets the Firestone Fast Six to advance. That’s followed by the Last Chance qualifying for the back row (31-33) where the 34th car will miss out, with each car guaranteed one attempt at a four-lap average. The day closes with the top six shootout to determine the front two rows and complete the grid (all top-12 qualifiers receive championship points from 12-1).

TRANS-TASMAN CHALLENGERS

WILL POWER, Scott McLaughlin, and Scott Dixon head up the Trans Tasman contingent for Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. CGRs Dixon, an Aussie born New Zealander, was the first winner from the two countries in 2008, with the Toowoomba born Power the first Australian citizen to claim the honour in 2018. Dixon will be going for a record-equalling sixth pole at the IMS in his 20th start, and if he achieves it this year, will be the first to claim the honour three times in a row. Surprisingly, Power (IndyCar’s pole record holder) is yet to claim P1 for the last Sunday of May after 15 attempts.

2023 SEASON PREVIEW

Marcus Ericsson goes in as defending Indy 500 winner.

Scott McLaughlin goes into Indy with one 2023 win and a desire to improve on last year's '500' outcome. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Dixon also holds the record Qualifying speed average of 376.6 kph, and also has the second fastest recorded qualifying speed behind Arie Luyendyk’s 381.2 kph in 1996. The in-form Scott McLaughlin will contest his third Indy 500 this year, with past finishes of P20 and P29, but the Kiwi is deep in championship contention in 2023, and will certainly pose a threat for Penske. Chip Ganassi Rookie and Kiwi, Marcus Armstrong, won’t contest this year, as his contract doesn’t include ovals for this season.

“WINNERS DRINK MILK”

THE EVENT has naturally developed its own quirks after more than a century of racing, starting with the milk bottle and the coveted trophy. The traditional downing of a milk bottle began in 1936, which was also the year that the 110 pound Borg-Warner Trophy was struck, which sees the face of every winner etched into the sterling silver. The trophy cost $10,000 dollars to make ($207,000 in today’s currency) and has a current estimated value upwards of a million dollars. Louis Meyer was the first winner of the Borg-Warner Trophy, who at the same time started the long-held milk tradition at the 24th edition. After becoming the first driver to win three Indy 500s, the driver asked for a bottle of ButterMilk to quench his thirst on the advice of his mother, which a dairy company marketer took commercial advantage of, becoming a tradition that was briefly held until WWII. After that, fellow three-time winner and track president Wilbur Shaw thought water was more appropriate. When he died in a plane crash in 1954, the idea was revived by the patiently opportunistic dairy community in his absence, including a $400 cash prize to the victor, and $50 dollars to the chief mechanic.! The tradition was briefly broken in 1993 when Brazilian racer Emerson Fittipaldi pushed away the milk in favour of orange juice (above), owing to the fact that he had a stake in the OJ industry in South America.

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

A representative of the American Dairy Association subsequently told Fittipaldi that “Indiana dairy farmers cannot afford to buy their way into Victory Lane, and it is a tradition of which we’re proud,” which caused Fittipaldi to apologise. Then after crashing out in 1994, his milk shunning became known as the “Fittipaldi Curse”. The final day of practice (this year on May 26) is still referred to as “Carb Day’’. Originally it was when teams tuned their carburettors back to race-day conditions. Although modern IndyCar engines no longer use carburettors, it remains as the last on-track session where, now, drivers get the last chance to test with the race boost levels after qualifying. Another little quirk is the kissing of the bricks. The Speedway was originally made of crushed rock before it was declared unsafe and paved over with 3.2 million bricks, of which a 36-inch strip remains at the start/finish line after the final bricks were covered in 1961. Although NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett started the tradition in 1996, it’s now also shared by the Indy 500 winner. As always, the pre-race ritual starts with the traditional call of “Drivers, start your engines”, as well as the singing of James F. Hanley’s ‘Back Home Again in Indiana’.

AS THE SEASON STANDS

THIS MONTH in Indiana has seen Spaniard Alex Palou take first blood at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the Chip Ganassi charger vaulting into the championship lead after a dominant display on the road course last weekend. It kept the running theme of single race winners to start the season in another hotly contested year that will probably go down to the wire again for an astounding 17th straight season. So far this year, Ericsson, Newgarden, Kirkwood, McLaughlin and Palou have taken wins but, as always, the IndyCar championship rewards consistency, with O’Ward and Grosjean inside a top-five that’s split by just 31 points (standings on P54). In terms of Oval form, the season has seen just one in the Indy 500 lead-in which, in a good sign for things to come, was an absolute thriller with Newgarden doing the job for Penske over O’Ward and Palou. The aero changes saw lanes open up in Texas and negate some of the heavy traffic groups with frequent passing, and with the extra changes to the rear-wing and added rear wickers, this year’s Indy500 could potentially throw up an epic. Outside of that top-five, Newgarden, Dixon, Power, Lundgaard and Kirkwood make up a lurking top-10.

autoactionmag

NEW AERO FOR INDY 500 THIS SEASON, a few aero changes have been introduced to the cars for oval races. The alterations were first seen at the Texas Motor Speedway in Round 2, employed to increase downforce and create more passing in heavy traffic to open up more lanes. The three applied aero changes led to a thrilling race in Texas, with the eye toward further improving the product come May’s big one with an additional two changes, which were tested at the Indy 500 two-day open test in April. The Indy specific aero parts, along with the three all-oval dedicated ones, have added an extra 200lbs (90kg) of downforce to the cars with a balance off-set. The Indy specific parts include a new rear wing support pillar, allowing for three degrees more angle in the rear wing, and wicker strips on either side of the rear wing for added balance support, attached to the floor just above the diffuser (both highlighted in blue). At Texas the cars ran a longer outside rear diffuser strake, a wicker (a small piece that fits into floor slot behind the front wheels) and some additional underwing bargeboard on floor behind the front wheels.

www.autoaction.com.au I 37

ACTION MART LONGER LASTING FLAMEPROOF COATINGS

THE ORIGINAL

OFTEN COPIED - NEVER EQUALLED www.speco.com.au

A A1 AA1

F F I e rence D e h t l e e F

• High quality German made limited slip differentials • Proven in competition by winners in FIA GT, ALMS, WTCC, Targa, BTCC, F3, Nürburgring 24 hour and Bathurst 12 hour • Competition gearboxes, Gear sets, Driveshafts, & Wheels Hubs also available

Contact details: P: (02) 4868 2347 W: www.drexler-motorsport.com.au

Leading LS Conversion Specialists Castle Headers and Exhaust components Dynogen Alternators - The hidden alternator in a generator body Hi-Torque Gear Reduction Starter motors Billet High Performance Alternators Wiper Motor Kits EFI Conversion Looms and ECU reprogramming Conversion engine mounts, Transmission Crossmembers, Conversion Sumps Rack & pinion Conversions

CAEPERFORMANCEPRODUCTS.COM.AU 7 MAIN RD CASTLEMAINE VICTORIA 3450

T 03 5472 1442

TOP TORQUE PROVIDES FULL ENGINE reconditioning and rebuilding services including complete engine rebuilding specialising in Subaru and LS Series engines. With over 100 years of combined experience in engine machining, assembly and cylinder head reconditioning-from performance, full competition to standard, Top Torque Performance is a trade leader.

• Cylinder Head Reconditioning • Engine Block Reconditioning Our workshop is full of the latest engine and cylinder head reconditioning machinery including Serdi, Berco, Hines and Rottler machines.

FACTORY 5, 187-201 ROOKS ROAD, VERMONT VIC. 3133

PHONE: 03 9873 3800 • WWW.TOPTORQUE.COM.AU

CAMS CAMS SPEC SPEC MILD MILD STEEL STEEL CHROMOLY CHROMOLY TUBE TUBE -- SHEET SHEET -- SOLID SOLID

TUBE BENDERS - DIES - NOTCHERS

PH: 02 9676 8001 SHIPPING DAILY AUSTRALIA WIDE W W W. R A C E T E C H S T E E L . C O M . A U

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE! Australia’s premier online racewear retailer • Karting & race suits, gloves, shoes, underwear • Helmets • Hans devices • Coolshirt products • Steering wheels

OMP DISTRIBUTOR & MORE

CAZ MILBURN 0428 887 223 www.raceline-racewear.com.au

Custom printed or embroidered suits, made to measure

WANT MORE MOTORSPORT?

Subscribe to Auto Action print magazine and receive 3 MONTHS DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION FREE

Stay up to date with all the latest motorsport news Subscribe to the Auto Action newsletter today!

autoactionmagazine.myshopify.com

OVER 5,000 PRODUCTS

INSTORE OR ONLINE

machineryhouse.com.au

01_AA_290420

autoaction.com.au/newsletter

Contact Bruce Williams for bookings and information on 0418 349 555 or bruce@autoaction.com.au

PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRY NEWS

MPI RACING INTO AUSTRALIA MAX PAPIS INNOVATIONS is pleased to announce a new partnership with Australia’s CoolDrive Auto Parts to see MPI products sold via Racer Industries and their CoolDrive Autoparts stores. MPI is headed by Max Papis who has been a professional race car driver since he was 12 years old. Since then, he has raced in Formula 1, ChampCar, IndyCar, IMSA, Grand-Am, IROC, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Spearheaded by the Blanchard family, CoolDrive is a leading supplier of parts and accessories in both Australia and New Zealand and now owns Australia’s leading motorsport equipment retailer, Racer Industries. The move represents a bigger footprint for Max Papis Innovations and will see CoolDrive serve as the exclusive distributor for MPI products across both Australia and New Zealand. MPI’s Max Papis recently visited Melbourne to attend the launch of the MPI range at the MotorEx auto event and was very enthusiastic about the new collaboration. “We are thrilled to announce MPI’s first expansion outside the USA through our partnership with CoolDrive and Racer Industries. The Blanchard Family has a

Left to right, CoolDrives Richard Janssen, MPI’s Max Papis and CoolDrive’s business development manager for Performance Matt Nilsson are excited about the new venture. tremendous reputation in the Australian and New Zealand automotive industries, and we couldn’t be more excited to have them as our partners. We are eager to bring MPI’s safety and innovations to new markets and are committed to a long-term relationship with CoolDrive.” The announcement comes on the heels of MPI’s partnership with Australian Supercars. MPI is the exclusive steering wheel used by the popular series for the next five seasons with all teams and drivers running it. This exciting partnership reinforces MPI’s commitment to providing high-quality safety and innovative solutions to the automotive industry. The competition and racing in Australia’s flagship series will serve as a great marketing tool for MPI’s expansion in Australia. For further information on the full range of MPI products visit www.racerindustries. com.au or call 1300 722 374 or MPI’s own web site https://maxpapisinc.com/mpi/

A CHAMPIONS MODEL 2022 JAMIE Veal #1 SWI Earthworks 1:18th Australian Sprintcar Champion JAMIE VEAL blitzed the field to win both of the completed Easter Trail events held in South Australia and Victoria in 2022, then followed up with another dominant display in Sydney last weekend to win the New South Wales Championship.

Suppliers of... Chrome moly 4130N tube and sheet 350 grade COW tube Roll cages Tube bending Race car components Andrews Race Cars +61 (02) 9838 0032 andrewsracecars@hotmail.com Units 1-3, 33 Anvil Road, Seven Hills NSW 2147 Australia www.andrewsracecars.com.au

The fact that Veal has also scored a feature race win at Archerfield this season should have the second-generation racer quietly confident of going back-to-back when the Sprintcar circus hits town this weekend.. The lure of championship glory has attracted more than 45 drivers from six states and territories. The only other previous winner of the event amongst the entries is Robbie Farr, who was victorious in 2004 and has finished on the podium on six other occasions. In fact, the only other two drivers in the field who have appeared on the

podium at national championship level are the South Australia-based duo of Matt Egel and Steven Lines. with the latter having won two feature races at Archerfield in recent weeks to find himself sitting on the second line of favouritism, alongside Tasmanian gun Jock Goodyer and a couple of Queensland speedsters who sit firmly atop the local Sprintcar hierarchy. Model is produced by ACME in both 1:50th & 1:18th scale versions.

CAD Design & Engineering • Race Car Specialist Roll Cage • Chassis Design • Fuel System • Specialty Projects YATALA QLD • PH: 0407 099 088 • EMAIL: russell@modconcepts.com.au

Now in Stock at Hoolagators All American Diecast for more information visit www.hoolagator.com.au or call 08 8322 3448

NATIONALS WRAP

ACTION APLENTY AT VMRC OPENER

THE OPENING ROUND OF THE VICTORIAN MOTOR RACING CHAMPIONSHIP AT WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY WAS FRENETIC WITH EACH AND EVERY CATEGORY PRODUCING EXCITING AND UNPREDICTABLE ACTION A TOTAL of 11 categories took to Winton over the weekend of April 2930 and included a number of national championships, as well as Victorian and New South Wales categories. Auto Action’s DAN McCARTHY reports.

AUSTRALIAN SUPER TRUCKS

WITH THE absence of six-time champion Steven Zammit, Barry Butwell took full advantage, dominating Round 1, cleansweeping the weekend in his Mack Superliner. He carved through the field in all of the reverse grid races to signal his desire for a first truck championship this year. Robert Fern was a mark of consistency, finishing second in each encounter while Mark Noonan was third for the round despite finishing a lap down in the final race with a mechanical issue. Former champion Harvey Dale did not race on Sunday after a mechanical drama ended his weekend early. Mark Schutz took round honours in the lightweight class, and Lachlan Fern won both of the Truck Teams races.

2L SPORTS SEDANS / PULSARS DRIVING IN memory of Joshua Dowell, Damien Hunter in his Renault Clio won three of the four races in the 2L Sports Sedans and in doing so took round honours. Mark Baldwin won Race 1, but would fail to greet the chequered flag in the subsequent three races. Steve Howard

finished second for the round ahead of James Harris. The Pulsar races were dominated by Dan Smith who clean swept the round. Ryan Tomsett and Matthew Butters fought for second – Tomsett prevailed in Race 1, however Butters would do so in the following three to finish second for the round.

LEGEND CARS/MINI THUNDERSPORTS

MINI THUNDERSPORTS would see Daniel Price win the round, but it was not plain sailing. He was beaten by Blake Purdie in Race 3, and in Race 5 he threw away the race win. Nevertheless he recovered to finish third, enough to take the round honours. Purdie failed to start the final race which meant that Robert Coulthard (who won the final race) finished second for the round ahead of Jack Boyd. The Legend Cars put on a show with three different winners, however it was the consistent Brendon Hourigan who took one win and the round honours ahead of Scott Morgan and Billy Finnegan.

VIC V8s

IT WAS a tale of two in Vic V8s – Brian Finn and Gregory Lynch were in a league of their own. Championship leader Finn won Race 1 from Lynch, but it was the latter who would win the remaining races after Finn was Top left: Greg Lynch shows the way in Vic V8s. Top right: Jamie Lovett dominated Sports Cars. Above: Steve Howard took out runner-up spot in the 2L Sports Sedan category. Main image: Barry Butwell dominated in Super Trucks. Images: GEOFF COLSON PHOTOGRAPHY

46 I www.autoaction.com.au

penalised for false starts in all three of them. Finn finished second for the round ahead of the consistent Mark Kakouri in his VH Commodore..

VIC FORMULA RACE SERIES

LUKE KLAVER won Race 1 after holding Dean Crooke at bay; however on the opening lap of Race 2 he fired off the road on cold tyres. Crooke won Races 2 and 3 and was in the box seat to win the round but did not start the final encounter, allowing Klaver to win the final race and round. Crooke and Hamish Leighton rounded out the podium.

VICTORIAN SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP

IN ROUND 2 Jamie Lovett took a clean sweep of four race wins. In each race Lovett was hunted down late on by Andrew Hall, but was able to hold off his fellow Porsche driver. Steven Kepper finished third in the first three races; however in the wet feature race it was Andrew Smith who ended up third. NSW EXCELS THE NSW Excel races were full of collisions and controversy. Race 1 saw leaders William Seal and Jack Wood come to blows at Turn 4. Wood was beached in the gravel, while

Seal would suffer a mechanical issue a couple of laps later, allowing George Wood to take the win from Wil Longmore. Race 2 saw Alice Buckley march from sixth to take the win ahead of Ryan Casha while Jack Wood charged through the field to finish in third. Race 1 winner George Wood finished in 28th after a mid-race collision. In Races 3 and 4, Jack Wood led home Casha and Buckley – however it was Buckley who would take round honours ahead of Casha and the consistent Longmore.

BMW E30s

ROYCE LYNE and Ashley Rogers were the class of the field in the BMW E30s. Lyne won three of the four races, while Rogers broke through to take his maiden win in the second affair and finished second for the round. Jesse Bryan was best of the rest, finishing third for the round. Rob Boaden won all four races in the E36 class.

NSW SUPER TT

SATURDAY SAW Subaru domination with Andrew Goldman beating Paul Cornell to the line on both occasions. However, after finishing seventh and fourth, Mitsubishi Evo driver Gerry Burges dominated Sunday, beating Goldman home by well over 20s in the two races. However, Goldman won the round.

Want to see your category event or news story included in the Auto Action Nationals Wrap. Send your information, images and contact details to team@autoaction.com.au or give us a call on 03 9563 2107

BARGWANNA BOSSES V8 TOURING CARS RETURN FOR THE first time in five years, the V8 Touring Car Series went racing albeit in slightly underwhelming fashion at Phillip Island. Just nine drivers featuring more experience than youth lined up on the grid in their pre-Car of the Future spec Supercars chassis. It was just half the number of cars which raced at the previous V8 Touring Cars round held at Tailem Bend in 2018, while only seven of them could complete all three races at Phillip Island. The outlier in the mostly experienced field was 18-year-old Jude Bargwanna, who dominated the first two races in his ex FPR FG Ford Falcon. The opening round at Phillip Island marked a back to the future moment for the category. The series which started with four cars racing around Mallala in 2008, ran for a decade as V8 Touring Cars before morphing into Super3 on the Supercars stage in 2019. After a year as a standalone category, Super3 ran directly alongside Super2 in 2020 and this continues today. But with Super2 stepping up to Gen2 cars four years on and Super3 retaining its place under the Dunlop Series, the V8 Touring Car Series has been relaunched under the ARG/SpeedSeries umbrella. Two Holden VE Commodores, four FG, two BF and one BA Ford Falcon made up the grid for the notable first round.

Jim Pollicina’s name stood out on the entry list, being the only driver to race at the previous V8 Touring Car Series round at Tailem Bend and the Phillip Island comeback five years on. He enjoyed a productive round, but his experience was initially no match for Bargwanna’s pace. Racing the chassis Paul Dumbrell scored his long awaited maiden Supercars race win at Jude Bargwanna emerged Sandown in 2010 and from the V8TC return with Cameron Waters took to the points lead. Image: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY the 2015 Super2 Series title, the nephew of 2000 Bathurst 1000 winner Jason Bargwanna From there he was never troubled, while showed strong speed when it mattered. Tilley lost second with a late-race tyre After trailing Jamie Tilley in practice, failure. Bargwanna was untouchable in qualifying, The second race was a near replay cruising to pole by 1.2455s. with Bargwanna recovering from a Tilley had to settle for second best as disappointing start to complete a Ray Hislop made it a Ford FG Falcon 1-2comfortable win over Pollicina and Image 3, while Jacob Khouri’s weekend ended Racing youngster Antonio Molluso. after sustaining damage in the session. Bargwanna was unable to get away The opening race saw Bargwanna soar with a third slow start from as many to a crushing 24s win over Pollicina, but it attempts, being restricted to P3 in the was not as simple as it looked. final race. The 18-year-old got a slow start and This allowed Tilley and Pollicina to fight dropped to third, but took a few laps to for the win and despite strong defence return to P1 after a daring move at Doohan from the latter across the first 10 laps, Corner on Pollicina. Tilley got by.

Although he had to settle for third on the road, Bargwanna took round honours in his maiden V8 round. The next V8 Touring Car Series stop is Winton on June 9-11. Thomas Miles

V8 TOURING CAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 1 1 Jude Bargwanna 129 2 Jim Pollicina 123 3 Ray Hislop 95 4 Jamie Tilley 87 5 Tony Auddino 82

SHERRIN SCOOPS UP APC OPENER THE OPENING round of the 2023 Australian Production Cars season went the way of Grant Sherrin (right), who showed strong consistency at Phillip Island. The wash-up of four races spread across the weekend saw Grant Sherrin secure outright round honours in his #27 BMW M4 ahead of A2 victors Coleby Cowham and Lindsay Kearns. Sherrin enjoyed overcoming the number of challenges that were thrown his way throughout the weekend in his new BMW. “It was a good weekend,” he said. “We got a bit of rain on the dummy grid for the first race on Friday, but I was pretty happy with how the new car went in the wet. “It was quite good and we did alright. The second race was a good race as well, and I was able to fight my way back to get first. “I was a bit slow off the mark (in Race 3) and had a good battle with Iain. “It was close racing and a lot of fun.”

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

Image: SPEED SHOTS PHOTOGRAPHY Although Australian Production Cars were seen racing at Bathurst in Easter, Phillip Island was the scene of the opening round of the championship. Cameron Crick and Dean Campbell initially appeared to be the combination to beat, soaring from fifth to first in the opening race.

autoactionmag

But in Race 2 it was Sherrin’s turn to pull a come-from-behind win, taking the chequered flag first after starting from sixth. The third race of the weekend and first on Sunday morning was delayed by heavy fog covering the seaside circuit. But once racing began, Grant and Iain

Sherrin engaged in a thrilling fight for the win. Iain Sherrin emerged victorious in a Safety Car shortened affair with Kearns in third. After finishing second best, Grant Sherrin struck back in style to take out the fourth race and round honours in his BMW. Campbell and Crick (A1) Scott Turner and Rob Rubis (B1) Tom Needham (C) Liam Moyse (D) and Phil Alexander (E) also claimed class wins. Running alongside APC was the GT4 Australia season, which saw Phillip Island play host to its first ever round after a nonchampionship warmup at Bathurst. Shane Smollen proved unbeatable in his brand new Porsche Cayman 718, topping practice and qualifying before winning all four races. Tony Quinn was forced to settle for second in a Porsche Cayman 1-2 ahead of Steve Jukes. Thomas Miles

www.autoaction.com.au I 47

NEWS

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

WEC DISASTER ... TO IMSA GLORY FOR CADILLAC THE RACING universe has thrown up a disaster to glory story for the Chip Ganassi #01 Cadillac V-Series R hypercar, which took out the GTP LMDh class win at Laguna Seca for the fourth round of IMSA action in California. Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande (above)) cruised to victory only two weeks after van der Zande sensationally speared the #01 Cadillac into the wall at Eau Rouge at the Hypercar cross-over WEC Spa 6 Hour event. On the other side of the register, the Porsche-Penske team will lament a lost opportunity despite its #6 963 (right) taking P2 after starting on the front row next to its pole-sitting sister #7 963. After saluting at the Grand Prix of Long Beach with a podium 1-3, a horrid double lock-up from the 963s cost both garages at Turn 1. Aussie Matt Campbell’s lock-up was the most costly, dropping him from P1 to P7 at the Andretti Hairpin, a mistake that he and Felipe Nasr wouldn’t recover from, to be in P32 by the end. Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet benefited from traffic in and the last caution in the #6, to pull the ultimate margin back to 3.882 for P2, and it was the #31 Whelen Engineering duo of Alexander Sims and Pipo Derani that gave the Cadillac Brand a 1-3 finish to round out the podium. But it was Cadillac Factory racer Renger Van der Zande who could hardly believe the turn-around from Spa, taking his 19th career IMSA win. Aside from the Spa incident, an opening podium at the Daytona 24 was also offset with two DNFs at Sebring and Long Beach, highlighting a true season of ups and downs. “Coming from a big shunt in Spa to win this race ... that’s what you call highs and lows, or lows and highs,” said the Dutch veteran. “Our guys have been putting in so much effort. It’s days and nights – they’re not sleeping much. It’s amazing to pay it off with a win like this.” After relatively clean running, an LMP2 incident with 1h42m to run, saw all the GTP field pitting, and by the drop of the full course yellow, three more cautions saw a juggle of pit stops decide the victor.

50 I www.autoaction.com.au

Initially the #60 Acura ARX-06 had the lead, but was run down by the #31 Cadillac. Nasr briefly had the #7 963 back into podium contention, but he went into the wall out the 963’s nightmare Hairpin, and with 70 minutes to run, the #31 V-Series led the #01 in a provisional 1-2. A fourth full course yellow with 41 minutes to run saw the Derani Cadillac pit from the lead along with Tandy from P4 in the #6 963, with Bourdais taking a lead he wouldn’t relent in the #01. Tandy remerged in P2 to undercut the #31, and that’s how the podium finished. In a positive for Porsche however, the P2 maintained the GTP championship lead for the #6 pairing. In the LMP2, the TDS Racing team of Mikkel Jenson and Steven Thomas took a maiden IMSA win in P8 overall, five seconds over the #52 PR1 ORECA 07, and the CrowdStrike APR entry. The GTD podium was settled by the #91 Kellymoss Porsche 911 by 9.6s over the Turner Motorsport BMW GT3, with the #44 Aston Martin Vantage of Magnus Racing joined them on the podium 5 laps off the GTP/ LMP2 pace. The next round of IMSA action sees the longer enduro format return for the 6 Hours of the Glen in the state of New York at the Watkins Glen International on June 22-25. TW Neal

DRAG RACING

Larry Dixon launches in style. Below: Benny Stevens keeping things in a straight line ... Bottom: Kelvin Lyle took Top Doorslammer. Images: CACKLING PIPES PHOTOGRAPHY

DIXON PREVAILS AS TITLE RACE HEATS UP THE FIGHT for the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship will go down to the death in Darwin after an exciting Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway. As Larry Dixon prevailed and snapped a seven-year drought to win the penultimate round of the season, championship leader Damien Harris battled and could only reach the D Final. Harris’ nearest rival Phil Read also encountered dramas, with a fire and finally an oil pressure issue which meant he could not front up for the C Final. The big mover was Peter Xiberrras, who rose from third to equal second in the standings after winning the B Final over Wayne Newby 3.833 to 9.193. The wash-up means Harris heads to the Darwin finale with a 65-point lead over both Read and Xiberras. Despite the tense championship battle, the man who stole the Sydney spotlight was Dixon. The American took on top qualifier Phil Lamattina in the Nitro Champs A Final, which proved to be a one-sided affair. Lamattina could not replicate his Friday pace when it mattered most and experienced problems straight off the hit, which allowed Dixon to take a convincing Nitro Champs win with a 4.385s pass at 426.33kph. The American was buzzing after a breakthrough success. “Wow, this is great,” Dixon said. “The last win I got in Top Fuel was at Willowbank Raceway in 2016, so this is pretty darn cool. “I love Top Fuel cars and they give me the opportunity to do this.”

STEVENS AND MATHESON SET SCORCHING PACE BENNY STEVENS made a statement in

autoactionmag

Auto_Action

LYLE EXTENDS LEAD

the Top Fuel Motorcycle class, beating title leader Rob Cassar in the Nitro Champs A Final. In his first visit to Sydney Dragway, Stevens nailed the decider to collect backto-back wins having also triumphed at the previous round in Western Australia. Although Cassar remains the championship favourite, Stevens has all the momentum and is on a high after breaking the 195mph (314kmh) barrier. “We had never raced in Sydney before and in the final round we turned it up just a little bit,” Stevens said. “We added a bit more fuel and clutch where it was needed, and we finished off with a win in the final with a 6.47.

autoactionmag

“The biggest thing for us is that we ran a few passes that were over 195mph to the half-track, which is a big win for us, being an area we focused on for a long time.” Earlier in the day Chris Matheson had the crowd on their feet by breaking records and setting the first five-second Top Fuel Motorcycle pass ever in Australia. Despite a scrape with the wall ending his campaign in the B Final, Matheson was buzzing after the special record-breaking moment. “This has been a big effort from the team, we have been plugging away at this for about 11 years,” he said. “It is a big moment and I could not have done it without the team.”

KELVIN LYLE solidified his advantage at the top of the Top Doorslammer standings by winning at Sydney Dragway. Lyle held off a red-lighting Geoff Gradden with a 5.937/404.8kph run in the A Final to take another Sydney win. John Zappia started strongly by setting the Friday pace and held onto second place in the points table by winning the B Final win over Matt Abel. The C Final went to Craig Hewitt over a red-lighting Lisa Gregorini, who took a popular hole-shot win over 11-time champion Zappia earlier in the second round of her career. Peter Kapiris took a solo D Final triumph ahead of a struggling Daniel Gregorini. Lyle could not put his finger on why he has enjoyed so much success at Sydney, and hopes to finish a strong season in style. “We have had a lot of wins here in Sydney, for some reason this place just loves us. It is a great track, and we love coming here,” he said. “In the final we had to wait around a fair bit, so we upped the power and probably went a bit too far – I had to pedal it a few times! “I actually didn’t realise that Gradden had a red light, so I just kept on pedalling it to get it down the track and was told later when the crew got down there that he had red lit! “Our first win for the season was in Darwin, so if we can repeat that, it would be great.” The season finale doubles up with the Darwin Triple Crown Supercars race on June 16-17 which can be viewed live on 7Plus. Thomas Miles

Auto Action #1861