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ENGINE MAP CHANGES FOR MUSTANG FINALLY APPROVED… CAMARO TWEAKS COMING FORD LOOKS SET FOR ITS SECOND NEW ENGINE MAP THIS WEEKEND, BUT EREBUS’ BARRY RYAN HAS REVEALED, ON THE AUTO ACTION REV LIMITER PODCAST, THAT HE ALSO HOPES FOR CHANGES TO THE ENGINE MAPS FOR THE CHEV SOON. ANDREW CLARKE REPORTS ...

FORD IS expected to get its long-awaited engine map change for this weekend’s round of the Supercars championship series in Tasmania, but there may also be an update for the Chev teams either for this weekend or for Darwin.

The approved update for the Fords has been followed by a second update that had not been tested by Supercars and this update may now be approved after more than 12 days of dyno and chassis testing.

Some of the Chev teams have expressed frustration with Ford during the process and believe that if Ford hadn’t forced an extra VCAT on Supercars, many of the problems in the mapping would have already been fixed. There is also a feeling that we have more of a ‘sporting parity’ issue than a ‘technical’ one, and Supercars wants to ensure its decisions are based only on technical parity.

Ford’s homologation team had more ‘mapping days’ available to it than the Chevrolet homologation team in pre-season testing yet has struggled to get it right, although Ford says its issues have come about by adjusting its engine to match the power output of the Chev.

Providing the last checks come in with an acceptable AEP, it is expected that the update will be released.

On issues of parity, a few teams have produced spreadsheets to which Auto Action has been privy, and there is no conclusive evidence around ‘technical’ versus ‘sporting’ in the parity debate given the teams can only access sporting outcomes.

Some of the data points to a slightly higher lap time degradation for the Fords at Wanneroo. Brodie Kostescki (0.019s) and Broc Feeney (0.028s) were the best-performed cars at the front of the field. Ignoring the slower cars of Declan Fraser (0.026s), Macauley Jones (0.028s), Bryce Fullwood (0.030s) and Jack Smith (0.037s), David Reynolds (0.041s) was the next best with a pretty even spread of both marques among the rest of the field.

The three worst cars in the field were the Ford of Cam Waters (0.083s), and the Chevs of Scott Pye (0.089s) and James Golding (0.098s).

Other data we have seen shows that in a sporting sense, the Fords shaped up well on speeds in microsectors six and seven in Perth, the long straight. These microsectors show

Most of the engine mapping adjustment to the Ford Coyote (above), which has more variables to ‘tune,’ has been to achieve parity with the Chevrolet. show acceleration and speed and it appears the Fords is right at the pointy end.

Sporting factors around set-up – such as chassis rake, spring rate, tyre pressures, ride height and brake bias – can impact this data as well as the outcome of the races, leading to the argument that the only effective measure is obtained on the dyno.

But with the Chev teams accepting there may be an issue with the Fords, Supercars is checking the Ford and Herrod Performance Engines-supplied maps while it also considers a possible change for the Camaro from KRE. There have been no changes to the Chev map since the cars were rolled out for the test day.

Speaking on the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast last week, Erebus boss Barry Ryan said after talking with other team principals that there is an issue with the Ford, but also said that it is not why Erebus and Triple Eight are dominating the series.

“Basically, on lap times, the parity is there,” he said, “but there does seem to be a small issue with their engine. I’ve had it explained by [Tickford’s] Tim Edwards and a couple of other guys about what they think it is, and it makes sense.

“I don’t think it’s going to get them a heap of lap time, and it won’t make the engine more powerful. It might make it a little bit nicer, which might look after their tyres a little bit. But that’s only me surmising.

“We want it right. I don’t want to be seen as having an advantage. I want us to get the credit for doing a good job, not because people think Ford needs help.”

Supercars rolled out an engine map change for the Fords at Perth, but with a 28-day testing regime, there is more to come.

Ford’s engine tuner, Rob Herrod, has in the past explained the issue has come about by trying to get the more adjustable Ford engine to match the Chev, and in the process, a slight hesitation was created when hitting the throttle.

This hesitation has affected the ability of the Ford drivers to balance the car in the corners and has been hurting the rear tyres. It is possible a new engine map will be released for Symmons Plains this weekend, which would include the data gained from the Australian Grand Prix meeting.

Ryan, however, revealed the Chev wasn’t perfect either, and there may be changes there too.

“I think Supercars Technical are really careful about what they look at doing. Craig Hasted is the main engine guy and does a really good job. He won’t be putting anything in the car that’s going to have a bigger advantage. But if it’s a mapping thing and it makes it nicer, I’m sure he’ll tick it off and do it as long as the AEP [Accumulated Engine Power], the horsepower number, doesn’t go up.

“There’s stuff with the GM engine we’re trying to get fixed too – a little bit of mapping just to make it a bit nicer – but you can’t change anything. We haven’t had the opportunity to change anything, so there are some things the homologation team and KRE are working on to make it a bit nicer.

“We don’t really notice it like some others seem to, but if it makes it a bit nicer, we’ll take it.”

Symmons Plains is a two-day meeting for the Supercars this weekend, with the first practice session starting at 9am.

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EREBUS TARGETTING A SERIES QUINELLA BARRY RYAN SAYS HIS TEAM WILL WIN BOTH THE TEAMS’ AND DRIVERS’ TITLES THIS YEAR. HE SPOKE WITH ANDREW CLARKE ABOUT HIS CONFIDENCE ...

EREBUS BOSS Barry Ryan says years of planning have been the key to Coca-Cola Racing by Erebus’ climb to the top this year after a couple of uneven years with its rookie drivers. With drivers David Reynolds and Anton De Pasquale, Erebus was racing at the front of the pack, but then both drivers left the team at the end of 2020, and Ryan decided to run two rookies who he believed were racers at heart.

Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown had been the team’s co-drivers for the 2020 Bathurst 1000, and three months later, they were leading the team on the track.

“Everybody was talking about how risky it was,” he says of running the rookies. “I was so confident in those two blokes; it was a breath of fresh air. The first test day we did with those two boys at Winton was relaxing; they were exactly what we needed then.

“There was no precious bullshit that some drivers have. It was just young blokes wanting to go fast, which is exactly how I like to go racing. And that’s the way they go racing.”

Kostecki has emerged this year as a star on the track. He showed at Bathurst in 2020 he wasn’t intimidated by anyone, and this

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

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year he is taking it to the best week in, week out. Ryan says he’s worked hard to get to the top and is confident his young charge can take this year’s title.

“Brodie focused a lot on his training, particularly working with Paul Morris at Norwell and doing iRacing. He’s on iRacing every night, racing something. I think he said recently in a podcast I listened to that iRacing is racing, it doesn’t matter that it’s not in a real car. You’re still racing, so your brain’s still doing what you do in a real car.

The people who say it’s bullshit are not committed to their racing.”

Ryan says Erebus had its eye on him in Super2, and Bathurst in 2020 proved what they thought.

“He’s got a pretty level head on his shoulders. But like anybody, even me, sometimes I’ve got to be pulled into line by someone that’s willing to do it and Brodie’s the same. Sometimes you have to put your arm around him and say, ‘Mate, think about it’. But usually, he’s under control. It’s not often you have to have too many words to him.

“He doesn’t hold back. He needs to fight but knows when he doesn’t need to fight.

We want a driver that wants to get the best result he can on the day, and if it means with 15 laps to go, you’ve got to let someone pass to hold your position to the next group that’s coming, he’ll do that. But if it’s two laps to go or three, like you saw in Perth, he will fight for it like it’s for his life.

“I think the category’s been waiting for it for a long time,” he adds when talking about taking it up to van Gisbergen.

Ryan says the key to remaining on top as the season progresses will be both his drivers, not just the new championship leader who is taking it all in his stride and keeping an even head.

“He’s probably pretty proud deep down, but it doesn’t make the car go faster. He probably walks past it [the orange numbers for the championship leader] and has a bit of a smile on his face. But it doesn’t really change who he is.

“Will’s pretty similar too.

They’ve both got a lot of self-belief.

“Many drivers

think they have self-belief but don’t actually believe it. These two believe they’re the best, and if they’re not winning, there’s something wrong. But they’re both also willing to say if they’re not winning, it might be them.

“It’s hard to explain, but some drivers are very confident in their ability, but they’ll just blame the car or the team. These two will put their hand up if they think they’re not doing the best job. They’ll also put their hand up if they think they truly are, and they think it’s the car. You can’t move forward without that.”

Not one to take a backward step, Ryan says his goal is first and second in the series.

“A hundred per cent we can win it. I know we’re talking about Brodie, but I’m not discounting Will either. I’m confident in both of them, but Brodie is currently in the best position to win the championship, but all our eggs are in both baskets.

“We’re going to make sure they’ve both got the opportunity to win the next race, and if we keep winning races and getting podiums, they’re both going to be up there fighting for it.”

Brodie Kostecki is the Real Thing – page 30

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA SLAMMED FOR FAILURES AT FINKE THE NORTHERN TERRITORY CORONER’S INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEATH OF SPECTATOR NIGEL HARRIS DURING THE 2021 FINKE DESERT RACE HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF BOTH THE RACE ORGANISERS AND MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA. MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA and the organisers of the 2021 Finke Desert Race have been criticised in a Northern Territory Coroner’s inquest into the death of a spectator death during that year’s race.

In the hearing held in Alice Springs, it was claimed that neither body acted sufficiently on previous reports into the safety aspects of running the famous race. The Coroner also expressed her concerns on the level of secrecy around safety issues by Motorsport Australia.

While the final report from the Coroner has not yet been handed down, it is the second time this year that Motorsport Australia has been criticised for not adequately dealing with previous safety reports.

In this case, a report by Troy Bennett in 2018 outlined safety issues for spectators on 40km of the course near Alice Springs, including the area where 60-year-old grandfather Nigel Harris, was struck and killed by a trophy truck car that suffered suspension damage.

Jodi Truman, as the Counsel Assisting the Coroner, told the hearing that Mr Harris had been in a popular area of the course with other racegoers when a trophy truck hit a pothole or undulation in the track after coming off a jump, which she called a “whoops”, causing a fracture in the lower rear axle leading the rear axle alignment to skew.

She said the driver could not control the truck’s path as it ran into spectators, killing Mr Harris and injuring two others.

Referencing Bennett’s report, Ms Truman said in her closing statement that risks to spectators had been identified in the report that was delivered to Motorsport Australia and Finke Desert Race Incorporated three years before Mr Harris’ death.

She also said multiple reports between the 2018 and 2021 races dealt with other possible safety issues that were also not adequately referenced.

Ms Truman said the report stated, “spectators were far more than I expected and that there were no measures to prevent or even limit access to the competition track. The entire course lacks supervision in terms of spectator control.”

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That report made several recommendations, including having a spectator safety team overseen by a spectator manager with pairs of officials to control certain hot spots on the course and establishing a minimum distance between the track and competitors and exclusion zones for spectators.

She added that a safety management plan delivered to the Finke organisers before the event by Motorsport Australia had not been fully implemented. She added the Finke organisers had ignored parts of the report and failed to act on its recommendations despite being followed up by Motorsport Australia.

With that in mind, she questioned if “the Finke committee are sufficiently capable of being able to operate a race like the Finke.”

While it appears Motorsport Australia had requested changes, it didn’t escape the attention of NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage, who made a number of critical observations regarding documents labelled ‘highly privileged’ or ‘highly confidential’.

“There was nothing whatsoever done

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with those recommendations in 2018 before Mr Harris’ death in 2021, and some still remain outstanding.”

She said documents showed multiple other reports were received around safety issues at the track between 2018 and 2021, with recommendations not adopted by the Finke Desert Race Inc committee or Motorsport Australia.

In addressing Mr Hodgkinson QC (the Counsel for Motorsport Australia) the Coroner said she was concerned about the handling of information around safety concerns by MSA. “By that, I mean marking documents as confidential, highly confidential, privileged and legally privileged,” she said.

“I’m also concerned about the failure to minute the discussions in the meetings which addressed safety issues, and I was concerned that was potentially a deliberate endeavour to have secrecy around those discussions and those issues.”

Earlier in the hearing, Mr Hodgkinson said that although the issues had been widely discussed, the documentation was insufficient, and accepted there was a necessity for more transparency

within and external to the organisation.

“It is accepted that more action should have been taken by MSA to address concerns, which have been raised about spectator safety,” he told the inquest.

“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.”

When asked for comment by Auto Action, Motorsport Australia spokesman Paul Riordan, said: “We remain in discussion with the Finke Committee about plans for the 2023 event.”

Earlier this year, Motorsport Australia took steps to effectively pause all tarmac rallies in Australia while it dealt with the recommendations of investigations into deaths in Targa Tasmania, which also related to previous safety reports that may not have been considered adequately.

The Finke Desert Race first ran in 1976 and has been held yearly, except for the COVID-affected 2020 race.

Andrew Clarke

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LUFF TO RACE ENDUROS AT NEW BUT FAMILIAR HOME CHARLIE SCHWERKOLT has gone back to the future to complete his endurance line up for the 2023 Supercars season, with Warren Luff becoming Scott Pye’s surprise co-driver.

After searching far and wide for domestic talent and an overseas pro, Team 18 swooped on Luff’s signature as soon as it was available.

The veteran of 22 Bathurst 1000 starts found himself unexpectedly on the co-driver market after Walkinshaw Andretti United announced it will not field a wildcard in 2023.

As a result WAU has loaned Luff to Team 18 where his experience will come in handy at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.

Luff completes Team 18’s endurance line up which also features Michael Caruso in the Mark Winterbottom Camaro.

Schwerkolt struggled to hide his excitement to welcome a driver with six Great Race podiums between 2012 and 2020 to his team.

“We are really excited to get Warren on board,” the Team 18 owner told Auto Action.

“I have known him for many years and he is a steady hand who has enjoyed tremendous success at Bathurst.

“I thought with these cars we needed someone with the ability to bring it home in one piece and up the front.”

It marks the resumption of the successful Pye and Luff partnership, which scored back-to-back Great Race podiums for WAU from lowly grid positions 18 and 20.

Although Sandown will be Luff’s Team 18 debut, he has raced for Schwerkolt in the past.

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Warren Luff (left) with Scott Pye. In 2009 Luff co-drove the Schwerkoltowned #18 Dick Johnson Racing Falcon with Jonathon Webb, scoring an impressive P5 without a main game driver, in the Phillip Island 500.

A year later Luff partnered James Courtney and helped propel the latter to the championship with a P4 on the Gold Coast.

But Luff’s Team 18 stay will be slightly different, being on loan from WAU where the driver will continue his Super2 mentor role.

However, Schwerkolt has stated this will not prevent the 47-year-old from getting some vital seat time in the #20 Camaro ahead of September.

“It is a bit of a unique thing being subcontracted out to us, which is really kind of Bruce (Stewart),” he said.

“He is going to do the test day with us and a couple of ride days as well which will be really good.”

Despite turning away from hiring a young driver like Pye’s previous co-driver Tyler Everingham, Schwerkolt stressed Luff was simply the best available option with too many hurdles for the overseas candidates to jump through.

“We had Tyler on board last year and did a really good job,” he said.

“I would have preferred a good young talent that we could have brought through

with the team and we also had a couple of opportunities overseas, which would have been great for our sponsors.

“But it just did not quite happen as they were not going to get test days and we thought it was not wise to have no experience with these new cars.

“Then Luffy came up and we thought this was a good safeguard and especially a good chance of getting some results.”

With one of the most experienced endurance lineups on the grid, Team 18 could be a dark horse when the pair of 161lap classics roll around.

But a more immediate focus for Team 18 will be extracting more speed from its pair of Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s.

Despite Pye breaking through for the team’s first Perth top 10 in a decade on Sunday, both he or Mark Winterbottom battled towards the back for the majority of the weekend.

However, Tasmania is a place where both drivers and the team have enjoyed more success and Schwerkolt is confident of a stronger showing after a big reset.

“We started off good at Newcastle and had pace at the Grand Prix, but we were a little bit up and down, going left when we should have gone right,” he reflected.

“We have not had the best run at Perth over the years and it did not go to plan at all.

In fact we were a little bit embarrassed with the way it turned out.

“We have had a big regroup and learned a little bit about ourselves.

“We found some mistakes and now think we are on track a little bit, so fingers crossed we should have it sorted for Tassie.”

Thomas Miles with Bruce Williams

TAUPO FIRMING FOR SUPERCARS RETURN TO NEW ZEALAND TAUPO, THE UNLIKELY SUITOR FOR THE SUPERCARS ROUND IN NEW ZEALAND, IS NOW FAVOURED TO HOST THE SERIES RETURN IN 2024 ...

Scott McLaughlin was among the kiwis to enjoy success at Pukekohe.Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

A RECENT visit to the Shaky Isles by a Supercars working party is believed to have narrowed its focus to Taupo International Motorsport Park as the likely venue for a return to New Zealand by Supercars in 2024.

The working party included Chairman Barclay Nettlefold and Supercars’ Chief Innovation & Sustainability Officer, Tim Watsford, who is charged with all government relations for the sport and will need to get the New Zealand and regional government support for hosting the event.

Triple Eight co-owner Tony Quinn owns all three of the NZ circuits that were bidding for the 2024 round of the series, and Quinn was overheard in Perth saying he thought a decision was close on replacing Pukekohe.

As exclusively reported in Auto Action #1859, Taupo has edged in front of Hampton Downs on the back of its

international FIA Grade 2 safety rating.

Nettlefold confirmed the narrowing of the focus to Taupo without confirming the Waikato region track and said the job was now to get it across the line with the New Zealand government and local authorities.

“It went very well,” Nettlefold said of the working party visit. “There’s very strong engagement there. Everywhere we went, everyone wants us back. But there’s also a process to go through, and we’re working on that. Nothing’s deviated.

“We have a local area and a race track that we believe is right for us.

It stacks up on the motorsport and events level and the commercial side. Once we can tick the boxes on all the items, we can make an announcement.”

He said he expected an announcement soon but would not pre-empt the final outcome.

The Supercars boss laughed off suggestions from outsiders that New Zealand wasn’t a high enough priority, pointing again to the need to follow a process, and said he had full confidence in his team to deliver the desired outcome.

Nettlefold revealed recently in these pages that the series lost money racing in New Zealand and a lot of work is being done to mitigate those losses and move towards a breakeven point.

Greg Murphy dominated the early days of the Supercars in New Zealand in front of massive crowds at Pukekohe.

The Supercars have raced in NZ 20 times since 2001, missing only the COVID tears of 2020 and 2021. Four of the rounds were held on the streets of Hamilton, which is a two-hour drive from Taupo, and the rest were held at Pukekohe.

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The series was rocked last year with the last-minute announcement that the Supercars round would be the last for the Aussie V8s at Pukekohe, which was closed to motorsport last month. Supercars couldn’t organise an alternative venue in time for 2023 but has started work immediately on a 2024 return.

New Zealand has a proud history in Supercars, with drivers like Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, Greg Murphy and Paul Radisich all running in the series to differing levels of success, while Ross and Jim Stone from Stone Brothers Racing grew up 20km from Pukekohe.

Taupo is a 3.5km FIA Grade 2 circuit that was on the international stage between 2006 and 2009 when it hosted the short-lived A1GP series in New Zealand.

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TIME TO PUT THE FOOT DOWN IN TASSIE SUPERCARS TAKES its annual trip to Tasmania this weekend where all will be watching to see if Gen3 can end Triple Eight’s crushing grip on the small circuit.

Triple Eight Race Engineering has enjoyed at least one win at Symmons Plains in 14 of the last 15 years.

The exception was 2013 when Brad Jones Racing scored a clean sweep in the opening year of the Car of the Future era.

The field hopes the roll out of Gen3 has a similar effect – but the stats suggest otherwise.

Six of the last seven races have been won by Triple Eight cars with Shane van Gisbergen smoking the field last year.

On their day both van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney have both been near unbeatable in the Gen3 Camaro and will be among the favourites.

Ford is hopeful of finally beating a Camaro to P1 on track this year at Symmons Plains, but it would have to be a track where it has recorded just two wins from the last 24 races at the circuit.

Due to the track characterised by two long straights, acceleration and straight line speed is vital for extracting maximum time from the 2.4km layout.

With this in mind, the new Ford engine map being rolled out to improve throttle response will be put under the microscope.

Hoping to lead the Ford charge is Chaz Mostert, who scored his first win in Walkinshaw Andretti United colours at Tasmania in 2021.

Triple Eight dominated at Symmons Plains last year ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

He has fought hard with seven top five finishes, but knows he needs to challenge for podiums and wins if he is to launch a serious title tilt.

If WAU is to be the best for the Blue Oval it must overcome Grove Racing, which has been a quiet achiever with David Reynolds showing super one-lap pace and rookie Matt Payne punching above his weight.

Another Ford driver looking to make an impact will be Cameron Waters, who was in the mix last year and rubbed shoulders with SVG in a tense scrap for the win.

Despite being outperformed by Tickford stablemate James Courtney recently,

Waters showed glimpses of returning to his former self by clawing back towards the front on Sunday in Perth.

The other Ford heavyweight hoping to get back to its best is Dick Johnson Racing and while Anton De Pausquale has battled, Will Davison is the only driver to qualify in the top 10 in the last four races.

But if Ford is to defy history and outpace the Camaros at Symmons Plains, it must find a way past the all-conquering Coke Camaros.

Erebus Motorsport has taken full advantage of the Gen3 reset and hopes

WHINCUP: CO-DRIVER ROLE WAS A TEAM DECISION JAMIE WHINCUP has stressed the decision to keep him racing alongside Broc Feeney in car #88 during the Supercars Championship endurance races was a team decision.

After retiring at the end of the 2021 season, Whincup has a greater presence behind the scenes at Triple Eight Race Engineering as team principal.

He returned to the co-driver role last year with then rookie Feeney and their partnership will continue in 2023.

The signature of the seven-time champion completes Triple Eight Racing Engineering’s endurance line-up, which also

Teacher and Star pupil – combining again. features the all-Kiwi combination of Shane van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway, plus the Supercheap Auto backed wildcard to be driven by Craig Lowndes and Zane Goddard.

Whincup made it clear it was the team’s call and not a personal one to put him back into the #88 Chevrolet Camaro.

He is also looking forward to the chance of supporting a growing Feeney, who currently holds a career-best championship position of fifth after wins at Albert Park and Perth.

“I’m stoked that the team has decided that I am the best person to co-drive the

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to extend its advantage in the drivers’ and teams’ championships.

Despite never recording a win or a pole in Tasmania, the Perth and Albert Park success mean the team enters each round in a fearless frame of mind.

Brodie Kostecki has been the man to beat manhandling his Camaro, while Will Brown finally reached the top step at Wanneroo after experiencing some bad luck.

The sprint format will be retained at Symmons Plains where qualifying, which will be key, as eight of the last 20 races have been won from pole position.

Thomas Miles

#88 car alongside Broc for this year’s endurance races,” Whincup said.

“There is no doubt that Broc is becoming a more confident and competitive driver in the series – you just have to look at his results after the first three rounds to prove that, and I could not ask for a more compatible co-driver.”

Despite hanging up the helmet in 2021, Whincup has not stopped racing, being a regular in one of Triple Eight’s GT World Challenge Mercedes entries.

He has also already done plenty of laps behind the wheel of a Gen3 Camaro, during the extensive testing process.

The way Feeney and Whincup shared the #88 Holden ZB Commodore at the 2022 Bathurst 1000 created plenty of intrigue.

They bucked the trend with co-driver Whincup qualifying the car to grid position 14 on the Friday before achieving an impressive P5 finish after a first-lap spin.

But do not expect the similar scenario of Whincup taking qualifying duties in 2023, with Feeney being on fire since then, winning races at three of the last four rounds.

The youngster credited Whincup for his recent success and believes they will be cherry ripe to chase some silverware at the two most prestigious races on the calendar.

“He was fantastic last year, and I learnt so much from him,” Feeney said of Whincup.

“He’s really been opening up to me and sharing his racing IP and gave me access to a lot of his work which has been invaluable.

“I feel like we’re building a better relationship all the time, and I feel like we can have a really positive enduro campaign this year.

“Being two events this year makes it even more crucial to have a good co-driver, and I couldn’t have a better person by my side.” Thomas Miles

1999 HYUNDAI EXCEL RACE CAR SUPER-FAST AND READY TO RACE I’ve been building up ‘The Buggy’ over the last year and a half and will be sad to see it go, but I’m moving on.

This car has an absolute rocket ‘FATAZ’ sealed engine and gearbox Motorsport Australia compliant, with an MA logbook • Custom ‘Exhaust Innovations’ exhaust • New welded in ‘Scott’s Rods’ roll cage (#72830) with full interior respray in the process and no panel damage.

• KO lightweight dash, Supashock control suspension, custom alloy radiator, custom aluminium heat proof air intake, Fuel pressure regulator, window net is 2023 compliant, Sparco pedals, new bonnet pins, OMP belts, small lightweight battery and wide rear-view mirror.

• Comes with one set of Superlite 7’ wheels and 4 x 6’5’ black wheels.

**Spare FATAZ engine – just rebuilt, sealed and never used also available separately **

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MELINDA PRICE 0409 968 018

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WITH A QUARTER OF THE SUPERCARS SEASON HAVING ALREADY PASSED, BOTH THE TEAMS AND DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP CAN BE SEEN WITH SOME HARD TRUTHS, PLENTY OF REMAINING QUESTIONS, AND SOME VAGUE FALSEHOODS REGARDING PARITY AND THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

THE TOP five spots in the Drivers Championship are filled with Camaro drivers, as well as seven out of the top-ten, whereas the top five in the Teams Championship has the balance surprisingly tilted in the Mustang’s direction … just not in the top two, which is where some of the hard truths come into play.

Heading the table are the dual twodriver Camaro sheds of Erebus and Triple Eight, in that order and split by 180 points.

They’ve taken eight of the nine victories thus far, but in terms of ontrack reality it’s really nine, with the T8 duo being streaks ahead in the season opener before the podium spots were overturned.

The podium count is even more stark in balance of the Camaro teams, in particular the headliners, with 21 of the 27 podiums going to the Camaros, with BJR holding only one of those.

This indicates that Erebus is in fact

the “real deal”, in that they have 12 of the 20 podiums shared between them and T8, but, the win ledger is five to three in favour of the Bulls, which is coincidentally about the caffeine split between a Red Bull and Coke can.

In the argument of parity between what the teams are running, a look at the nine top-tens from every race so far, has the balance at 50/40 in favour of the Camaro, with the Chevrolet garages taking rounds 1 and 2 by 13/7 and 24/16 respectively, whilst after the Mustangs had the engine mapping update to increase the torque, Wanneroo actually went the way of the Ford teams by 17/13.

That’s 55.6% in the overall top-10 in the Chevrolet’s favour, but the podium split sits at a whopping 77.8%.

Below the battle of the Caffeine giants, which looks to be shaping as a seasonlong truth, is the jostling of the pony paddocks before you get to BJR in sixth place in the team stakes.

The three Mustang teams of Grove, WAU, and Tickford, share six podiums with two-apiece!

So is it a driver factor or a parity factor?

Probably a bit of both … maybe.

There is already some developing daylight between the leading two teams and the chasing Mustang pack, with Grove 279 points behind T8, and 459 points in arrears of Erebus.

Now when the talk comes down to parity or driver quality creating the split, there’s arguments for both with a torrent of water to go under the bridge.

Disregarding the top two-teams, the next eight spots are split evenly between the two manufacturers, with the Ford teams winning that ledger on position.

So is it more so that the current championship leaders just have the four best current drivers in the main game, given that the rest of the field is pretty even stat wise? That’s a damning argument in favour of driver over parity.

The parity side of things still has questions to be answered in the battle for the best of the rest, with Wanneroo, and now Tasmania, to provide some more light.

Tasmania is set to be a telling round, owing to the fact that a further Mustang upgrade is coming after Wanneroo saw them winning the top-ten split for the first time this year with the Ford’s enjoying the extra torque.

The engine mapping update for Tasmania now tackles a bigger parity issue – that of the throttle-to-engine lag, with that fix aiming to give more balanced power out of the corners.

Acceleration is also a bigger factor at Symmons plains than at Wanneroo, with two long straights and heavier braking zones highlighted by its hairpin, so perhaps the Mustang teams will find some more truths in regards to the parity argument, given that one of the real major issues will be addressed.

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IMPRESSIVE PAYNE LEADING SUPERCARS ROOKIE CHARGE

Image: Nick Moss Design

NEW COLOURS FOR PYE IN TASSIE

Gen3 Mustang stables, with David Cauchi telling Supercars Cool Down Lap podcast that he’s rapt in his performances.

“It’s awesome to see Matt doing well – he’s really stepped it up in qualifying,” Cauchi said.

“He’s still working on his racecraft, and there are a few things he’s struggled with, but he’s slowly getting better.

I’m rapt for him – can’t ask for any more from him at the moment.

“He’s doing a great job. The cars are obviously fast, everyone at Penrite Racing is doing an awesome job … can’t be happier.”

Reynolds, who sits sixth in the championship, echoed those sentiments, saying that he has exceeded everyone’s expectations.

“He’s young and inexperienced, but he’s a very good driver,” Reynolds added.

“For someone his age, he’s quite methodical and quite calculated – he knows what’s going on with the car, and what he’s trying to do out there.

“His results have been really good so far … much better than we expected.”

Reynolds, Payne, and the Grove team head to Tasmania this weekend on the back of a strong round in Perth, where they hope to distance themselves in the standing from WAU, whilst Payne is a chance to move into the top-10, sitting just 29 points behind Jack Le Brocq in 10th. TW Neal

Image: Mark Horsburgh

FOR THE fourth time in as many rounds, Scott Pye will be carrying a new livery on his Team 18 Camaro.

Having raced predominantly red and black liveries in 2023, he will change this up at Tasmania with a new backer bringing a splash of yellow.

Pye’s new major sponsor is East Coast Car Rentals, which appeared on the front bar of Mark Winterbottom’s #18 Camaro during his 600-race weekend. The last time the South Australian ran similar yellow and black colours was when he was backed by DEWALT in 2020 and 2021, which now backs Frosty’s car.

GROVE RACING’S Matt Payne quietly went under the radar with his performances in Melbourne and Perth – now he heads to Tassie with some wind in his sails.

Heading to Symmons Plains, Payne sits 12th in the championship, with fellow rookies Declan Fraser and Cameron Hill in 23rd and 24th respectively.

Last year the Auckland-born 20-year-old entered Supercars as a rookie with Grove Racing at the Bathurst 1000, with he and Holdsworth earning a P6 after the veteran qualified the #10 Mustang in P2.

Amidst a strong Super2 season where he finished third with two wins and four podiums in a Nissan Altima, Payne was clean at the Mountain, and he’s also proved so in his rookie year.

He by no means disgraced himself in his singlerace rookie debut at the Newcastle 500, promoted to P12 from 14th in Race 1 after the T8 DSQs, and again achieving a P14 in Race 2.

In that first ever Gen3 race, some fairly experienced Supercars drivers struggled to perform with the same composure as the rookie New Zealander.

He then qualified in the top-10 for three of the four races at the AGP, before qualifying in P5 and P8 in Wanneroo, converting those efforts into finishes of P6 and P9 for the first top-10s of his career.

With David Reynolds in good form in both race and qualifying, Payne is a big factor in Grove sitting third in the Teams’ Championship, and the highest of the

PERCAT TO RAISE TRIPLE TON

Image: Mark Horsburgh

NICK PERCAT will score a triple ton of Supercars race starts in the third and final race of the 2023 Tasmania SuperSprint.

Percat will become the 31st driver to raise the 300 championship race milestone in Race 12 and hopes to find some form, currently sitting last in the championship. Percat has a habit of performing in milestone races, taking a surprise podium for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport with Cameron McConville at Bathurst in 2016.

He hit further heights in race #200 when he drove to victory lane for BJR at SMP just after the 2020 season resumed from a COVID shutdown.

TWO-DAY TASSIE ROUND THE TASMANIA SuperSprint at Symmons Plains marks the return of two-day Supercars rounds.

All the Supercars on-track action will be condensed into the weekend with two 30-minute practice sessions kicking things off on Saturday morning.

This is a significant change to Perth where cars hit the track on Friday for a 90 minutes of practice.

But by Saturday afternoon the Tasmania schedule mirrors what was seen at Wanneroo with the threepart knockout qualifying leading into the Saturday afternoon sprint race. A pair of 55-minute races on Sunday round out the fourth round of the season.

Support categories are Australian Formula Ford, Porsche Sprint Challenge, Aussie Racing Cars and Tassie Tin Tops.

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Images: Mark Horsburgh

HILL HIGHLIGHTS QUALIFYING AS KEY IN TASSIE CAMERON HILL (right) has pinpointed qualifying as the key to unlocking speed at Symmons Plains in his Tassie debut this weekend.

Despite working his way up the ladder, the 26-year-old Canberran is yet to race at the fast 2.4km circuit in his entire racing career.

However, Hill can take confidence from Matt Stone Racing’s historic speed at the layout, where Jack Le Brocq gave the team its first ever front row start last year.

The rookie, who also showed positive signs in Perth, believes the key to success will be qualifying speed.

“Looking back historically at Symmons Plains, it’s always super close,” Hill said.

“I think it’s going to be so important to nail a lap. If you get one corner wrong and give away a tenth, we’ve seen that can cost 10 positions in Supercars this year.

“It’s exciting because if we get it right and do a great job there’s potential for good results including top 10s.

“With everyone being so close, track position’s key, so there’s going to be a lot of emphasis on getting that right.”

To prepare for his Tassie debut, Hill said he has been busy in the sim and believes a further step in the right direction is well within reach.

“I’ve never been there, so it will be a new track for me, but I’ve got all the tools at my disposal to go out there and make the most of it.

“I’ve jumped on the sim and checked it out. Symmons Plains has that tricky

hairpin, which looks interesting as there are multiple lines you can take and, during the racin, a concertina effect can occur there.

“It was great to get my best qualifying result so far in Perth and I feel like we’re getting better each round.

“I’m not rolling into Tassie thinking I’m going to put it on pole or anything, but I think there’s a great opportunity if we do a good job and get a strong starting position.” Thomas Miles

VALIANT FANS HELPED GET TILLEY’S PACER OVER THE LINE

Image: PETER NORTON

BOWE BREAKS THE 300 TCM BARRIER Image: MARK HORSBURGH

HAZELWOOD TARGETING PODIUMS FROM PERTH PLATFORM

JOHN BOWE brought up his 300th Touring Car Masters start at Sandown

By Thomas Miles. could have been a different story – but I factor behind the “up and down” results, there is a little more to be done as far Raceway onbit Sunday dung the Shannons TODD HAZELWOOD is hoping to give don’t live life in regret. but believes the team is closing in on a asMotorsport getting it onAustralia par with Championship. the other car,” he Blanchard Racing Team a maiden podium “We have just got to learn, but we are set-up window. said.The Bathurst legend is a four-time finish in their first Supercars season, certainly pushing hard and I feel like a “I feel like we have been inconsistently “The great thing about Gen3category, is that it winner of the fan favourite come close down in Perth. podium is certainly achievable this year.” fast every round we have to so even far,” does not take tuning toat make a circumstances, but the grid was reverted bringing up much the milestone a track afteratleaving their own jobs,been I couldn’t AShaving THE rain dumped on the As Shane van Gisbergen and Brodie With the P4 backed up by P7 in and he reflected. to the dry practice session times a P14 wheredifference. he also cantured tour Sandown begin to count the hours that we all put in notable Sandown race track on the Saturday of the Kostecki battled round, for theAUTO lead inACTION Saturday’s controversial results, Hazelwood “It would be great toTo have another line “Ibts don’t thinkTCM it is far off – started how much that decision.was one of the big Bowe’s career in 2008, over the nine weeks. experience that Shannons National 7, Hazelwood was also turning heads movers in the championship standings of information coming in each session gets exploited at Tasmania, will tell. ” a The delighted reaction from the crowd at driving in Camaro beforetime jumping into level of support was something else – I wasRace on-hand in the Touring car Masters tent in the #3pit Ford Mustang.

Perth, climbing from 19th to because rate it. of learning is incredibly No matter what Trans the parity situation reflected their appreciation for11th. it being there Ford Mustang Am aff ectionately couldn’t our believe behind the lane.

Starting from 12th, the BRT was Hazelwood is taking on a fresh challenge slow compared to from our rivals, who have from is known at Symmons Plains, at all, with its fans also having played a part as “Sally. ” Hazelwood is Surrounded by mechanics anddriver onlookers, “I got a big help Gear-Exchange the penultimate car to stop showed having shifted to BRT after double or quadruple of data at his shifted new home. ininits2023 return.

In 2015, Bowe over to the Cameron Tilley stood behind hisand rebuilt Smithfield in Sydney the also.amount It’s people like that comfortable extreme fresher charging spreading his firstwas five massive, Supercars seasons we Having stepped away from team that “The fan support I set up Bendigo Retro Muscle carsthe Torana, Valiant in hispace blue on racing suitrubber, with a smile as thathave. keep us all going really. And Anglomoil toas fourth. longtime home Matt Stoneup Racing “But wehelped are starting refineand a bit of a played a key role in in hiswhich careerhe into a across Go-fund-me page which rounded a built such

by Gary O’Brien, nas wide his Pacer’s bonnet. has also me fortoyears, they’ve ultimately finished just half a reasonable and Brad Jones Racing.which got me about set-up window and get throughout. a bit of a pattern a new environment, 2023 marked big contribution, competed in 147 races.

Bowe’s a300th TheHazelwood normally reserved driver had reason given me great support ” second from silverware, saidin the result a quarter The new partnership started going. for the delivered 2017 Super2 champion. of the way there, ” Tilleywith told AUTO start almost a fairy tale to be satisfied after taking a but podium the “I couldn’t have done it without them and change has race givenwhen himself and theoff team a Sunday Shootout appearance at “We have certain changes in our toolbox, But Hazelwood is thriving in the ACTION. finish, where the left mirror of Adam Trophy he blasted thebelief line a everyone else.

People just kept coming out breakthrough is achievable Newcastle, being spunor bynot, Thomas so to speak,just thatsaying we can usecould to good Blanchard family-run team andloomed ready to Bressington’s #95 Camaro large down the outside podium of the pitfinish straight, putting of nowhere they help. No “Whether Ibut raced it again it had saw top 10 result goseeing begging. effect. take onthe future positive with #18challenges Torana intowith theafinal straight. himinin2023. first position by the second turn. matter how big or small the contribution, It toRandle be fixed – Iacouldn’t handle it that result gotwere off tohelping a painful startday due “Whatme weto learnt can”definitely frame mind.

Theoffinal margin of 0.024s was the He“Having also qualified in P1 in in Perth tryingwas a great likeMelbourne helped keepatonPerth pushing.

TN that. People every boost for everyone involved,” the South to a disqualification on technical grounds translate to Tasmania, which is key.”

“We are finish still in in theTCM honeymoon period closest history, with Bowe Australian told Auto Action. before Hazelwood bounced back with a Tasmania will be telling to see how the but I havebya agreat me at – or losing footteam and aaround half’s length “I am still new to the team, so it was top 10 finish in the final race and this result Fords stack up with the Camaros given CoolDrive Racing, ” he said. the Camaro’s bonnet.

Bowe had the great to get a result and show the team provided the springboard for Perth. acceleration out of the hairpin is so critical.

“Ichampionship feel like I havelead all the right support leading into the I am capable of running up Off the Road front and But dueSiviour to BRT being a single-carin team, The Mustangs received an engine around tothe getrival the most outofofRyan myself round,me but Torana competition 2003 before he returned to competition MULTIPLE AUSTRALIAN Champion Les doing my jobon well. the South has been mapping change to Perth to address and I am reaping rewards I Hansford takesthe a nine pointbecause lead heading briefly init2005, and again in 2010 with prior daughter Katie, also passed away September 8 after a short battle withAustralian admitted “The He podium was certainly reachable building an the issue andsupport Hazelwood said it was a aminto in aBathurst good headspace both on and off on November 11-13. atunderstanding Griffith. He kept involved, with to son-in-law cancer. began racing in 1983 at Waikerieainchallenge his wife’s and I justcar. ran He out subsequently of laps unfortunately. the new Gen3 Mustang with no other andstep in the right direction, butto believes the Having track. won the Bathurst 1000 twice, Shannon Rentsch his father Ian in their bids win the shopping campaignedofNissan Patrols a bit better on Saturday reference points to lean on – something moreAUTO work is to be done.

“The mindset is alwaysBowe’s to execute the there’s a fair chance victorious Australian Championship.

ACTION extends its deepest for “If 19 we’d yearsqualified and won the Production 4WD Championship did not risk in qualifying he has notinexperienced since 2019. to his wife“IJan, felt like Ford made a decent best weekendof possible and things will knowledge The Mountain may have condolences daughters Bobbie and Katie, 16and times, andtake the the Australian Off Road Championship trying to get to Q3 onfarmer one setretired it Hazelwood has been big improvement at Perth, take of themselves. ” himcare in good stead ... TN to thea extended family and friends.

GO but still feel like 1985.

The Griffthrough ith-based rice from fulltime said thisand

VALE – LES SIVIOUR

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DJR LOCKS DRIVERS IN FOR 2024 BOTH WILL Davison and Anton De Pasquale have been locked away by Dick Johnson Racing for the immediate future.

Having already signed the pair last August for the opening season of the Gen3 era, it has become apparent both contracts extend into 2024.

The pair hope to hit their stride at Tasmania after an inauspicious start to 2023 with no podiums from the first nine races.

DJR joins Triple Eight and Erebus to have its drivers sown up for 2024, which would be Davison and De Pasquale’s fourth season as a pairing.

LED LIGHTS TO KEEP ON RACING LED WINDSCREEN panels made their long awaited Supercars racing debut at Perth and will return in Tasmania.

The LED panels that display the driver’s current on track position replaced the day-glow car number stickers which had been in the left-hand side of the windscreen since 2000.

It had been a longtime coming with the MoTeCdesigned lights initially planned to be introduced in 2020 before COVID-19 came along.

After the trouble-free debut, the panels will continue clearly displaying the driver positions at Tasmania and the remainder of the season.

NO WAU WILDCARD IN 2023 WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI United has elected not to run wildcard for the Supercars endurance season in 2023. Although the team never fully committed to the project, it was still open to the possibility at the Australian Grand Prix.

Despite Zak Brown stating his global drivers were “bugging him about it” WAU will not field a wildcard due to cost concerns. “We were really keen to run a Wildcard entry this year at Sandown and Bathurst, but ultimately, with all that has occurred with Gen3 and the costs associated, it unfortunately wasn’t feasible,” WAU team principal Bruce Stewart said.

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COUNTDOWN ON AHEAD OF MAIDEN AUSSIE SUPER TROFEO RACE THE COUNTDOWN is on for the first ever Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series race down under.

A total of 20 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2s will roar around The Bend Motorsport Park on the June 9-11 long weekend.

The visit puts the The Bend alongside former Formula 1 circuits Sepang and Fuji International Speedway on the category’s list of circuits.

The Australian round will be the second stop on the calendar after the series opened in Malaysia on May 5-7.

Former Supercars driver Chris van der Drift won the opening race and Jackson Walls took out the second race.

They lead a mix of travelling international drivers and local steerers who will be taking on the state-of-the-art South Australian venue.

The stunning Lamborghinis will race around The Bend’s International layout for one 50-minute race on each of Saturday and Sunday.

Fans will also enjoy a selection of support categories with Australian Formula Open category, Australian Prototype Series,

A flock of Lamborghinis is heading to The Bend for the Super Trofeo Asia series.

BMW Drivers Cup, Circuit Excels and SA Tin Tops all on show.

The Bend Motorsport Park CEO Alistair MacDonald said he can start to feel positive vibes grow for the event.

“The excitement building around hosting a category with such an international flavour for their first time in Australia is a privilege for The Bend, for South Australia and for Australian Motorsport,” he said.

“We look forward to welcoming Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia in just under four weeks time and showcasing not only our

World Class venue but the beautiful Murray River Lakes and Coorong region that surrounds us.”

The head of Automobili Lamborghini Giorgio Sanna said The Bend round will not only be an important moment for the category, but also the famous Italian supercar maker.

“We are extremely pleased to finally race again in the Asia Pacific Region,” he said.

“Super Trofeo Asia is an essential pillar of the Lamborghini motorsport strategy and racing in Australia for the very first time gives us the opportunity to bring the

series to a market where we have seen strong interest in terms of race car sales in the last few years.

“And with a vibrant local motorsports culture already in place, we are confident that there will be strong interest in the series from Australian competitors and fans alike.

“Certainly, we are also really excited to come to race at The Bend Motorsport Park, which is for sure, one of the most significant and impressive new circuit facilities in the region.”

General Admission tickets are on sale now from $20.

Thomas Miles

NEW AERO KIT FOR AUSSIE RACING CARS STARTING THIS weekend in Tasmania, a new aerodynamics kit will be introduced to the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series, with the aim of promoting the close racing and action the category is known for.

A new rear wing and front splitter were developed a few seasons ago when the category raced at Bathurst, but has become a standard setting for each round this year.

Previously, the rear wing was an aesthetic item and the front splitter was small with no undertray. The alterations include a proper aerofoil for the rear wing and a larger front splitter featuring an undertray, with the results so far providing extremely close racing as witnessed at Queensland Raceway last month.

Category Manager Brad Ward explained the circuits on the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series schedule this year made it an easy decision for the high aerodynamics package to be implemented across the entire season.

“Every year I try to mix things up and this season I decided to put the high aerodynamics kits on the cars at all the events in the hope it would promote better

racing, which has been a success so far,” Ward explained.

“The racing at Queensland Raceway was mega. There were 12 cars in the front pack, it was huge.

“If you look at the events we’re doing this year it made a lot of sense; Queensland Raceway, Symmons Plains, Hidden Valley, Townsville and Highlands are all circuits featuring long straights or fast bits, so it made sense to run the package for the whole year.”

Feedback from the competitors has been very positive as the category continues to feature strong grid sizes, with 24 entries set to make the trip to Symmons Plains this

weekend for Round 3 supporting the Repco Supercars Championship.

“Everyone loves it and enjoys the extra grip levels the package is providing,” Ward explained.

A tight title battle is set to continue led by Osborn’s Transport driver Joel Heinrich, who is just seven points ahead of Team CoolDrivesupported duo Josh Anderson and Reece Chapman heading to the Apple Isle.

Another contender emerged following Round 2 at Queensland Raceway in the form of Rookie Cup leader Rylan Gray after achieving his first outright win in the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.

KTM TO INVESTIGATE ‘STANGE’ MILLER CRASH

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES KTM WILL “analyse” Jack Miller’s “strange” crash which ended his initially promising French Grand Prix.

The Australian started the weekend on fire, topping both Friday practice sessions, qualifying fourth and promising to “go for it” once the green flag dropped.

But when racing commenced at things took a turn for the worse for Miller.

The #43 KTM only completed one racing lap in the Sprint before crashing into the gravel at Le Musee.

Miller’s Grand Prix was much more promising, controlling the field from Laps 3 to 11.

However, he struggled to maintain his speed as the 1000th FIM motorcycle Grand Prix progressed and dropped to seventh within 10 laps.

By Lap 24 the show was over, with Miller ending his streak of top-four French finishes in the gravel.

The Australian also dropped from fourth to eighth in the championship standings.

Reflecting on the incident, Miller said he took too much curb at Turn 4, which sent him to the point of no return.

“Obviously not the way we wanted to end things here,” he said.

“We had great pace all weekend and led a decent handful of laps but when the other boys came past they seemed to be able to knock-it-up a gear and I knew where I could push and where I couldn’t.

“I was fading a little bit but also preserving the left side of the tyre and I knew I had a bit left at the end.

“I then used too much curb on the inside of Turn 4 and that was all she wrote.

“I cut it tight just a little bit too much.

Really disappointing for myself and the team.

“It’s a bummer to come away with no points but we’ll re-group for Mugello.”

KTM team manager Francesco Guidotti revealed the team will have to investigate the “strange” shunt but is confident ahead of Mugello.

“A positive weekend even if we did not get what we deserved,” he said.

“We have to analyse Jack’s crash as it was strange.

“It was a good weekend with both riders into Q2 on Friday and we’ll look forward to the next GP with confidence.”

Thomas Miles

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Bagnaia and Vinales’ friendship and respect for each other was tested briefly ...

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

BAGNAIA AND VINALES AGREE FIERY CLASH WAS A ‘RACING INCIDENT’ DESPITE BEING on the verge of throwing punches, Francesco Bagnaia and Maverick Vinales are now of the common belief their tangle in France was a “racing incident”.

Vinales and Bagnaia were embroiled in a tense scrap for third in the French MotoGP at Le Mans and it reached a tipping point on lap five.

After the Aprilia rider got by at Turn 11, the defending world champion launched a counterattack at the following righthander by switching to the outside.

But the pair made side-to-side contact in the process, which sent the riders flying into instant retirement.

As Bagnaia lay in the gravel contemplating what happened, Vinales marched up to him and the pair not only had a war of words, but also appeared to have pushed each other once the Ducati star got to his feet.

But any signs of a lingering spat were put to rest when both riders rode back to the pits on the same scooter.

It was a particularly costly blow for Bagnaia, with his championship lead

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slashed from 23 points to one as Marco Bezzecchi stormed to a special win.

However, the reigning world champion was not angry with Vinales, believing it was just an unfortunate occurrence where two riders want to the same piece of tarmac.

Bagnaia even understood the Spaniard’s aggressive initial reaction to the incident.

“No, I’m not angry with Maverick,” Bagnaia told Autosport.

“I didn’t like the reaction (from him in the gravel) because for me, it was a bit too aggressive.

“But when you have that adrenaline it can happen.

“When you crash because you were hit by a rider, or when you crash when you hit other riders, you are more angry because you feel like you have ruined your race or you have ruined a rider’s race.

“So, I’m not angry with him. I consider this like an unlucky circumstance, a racing incident.”

Vinales also offered a similar viewpoint

of the clash. “At the end for me it’s a racing incident, nothing else than that,” Vinales told crash.net.

“I already talked (with the Stewards) and I talked also with Pecco (Bagnaia).

“We gave our points of view and at the end we need to have respect for (other) riders.

“Pecco and myself are among the cleanest in the racing lines and there was no meaning to fight each other.”

Vinales also explained his rush of blood in the gravel trap and said adrenaline was to blame, but said both parties have “moved on”.

“Emotions, the adrenaline. Especially I was very angry because I had the potential to win the race, so I was very upset. I was very angry with him,” he said.

“But afterwards we move on, we shake hands. We know that this is racing and you need to have respect between the riders.”

Bagnaia and Vinales will resume their rivalry in Italy on June 9-11.

Thomas Miles

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EXCEL RACING OPENS TYRE TENDER THE CIRCUIT Excel Racing association has opened a tyre tender following the unexpected cease of production of its existing control tyre supplier Federal RSR. Fortunately an ‘interim’ Dunlop tyre supply and the existing Federal RSR stock has ensured all Excel races will continue until the end of December, when a new control tyre will be rolled out.

The unexpected switch to Dunlop is not expected to be a major adjustment for the drivers.

A tender has been opened, which has been confirmed by Circuit Excel Racing Association secretary Andrew Young.

“We have opened the process of doing tyre tender and that control tyre will last from the start of 2024 and take us through to 2027,” he said.

“Dunlop have gone out of their way to help us out in an awkward situation, but Federal RSR have been incredible supporters of our category.

“We will look to evaluate it in July and August.”

DOOHAN FINDS FORM JACK DOOHAN has found a much-needed breakthrough at the in-season Formula 2 test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Despite a tough start to the 2023 season, Doohan and Virtuosi Racing soared to the top of the timesheets in days one and two of the three-day test, while Theo Pourchaire was fastest on the final day.

In a pleasing sign for Aussie fans, Doohan believes the test can be a launching pad for a return to form.

“I’m happy to have a lot better feeling and a lot more confidence than in the start of the year,” he said.

“Its only testing, but it’s steps in the right direction.”

ROTH AND MCFADDEN LOSE WOO APPEAL JAMES MCFADDEN and Roth Motorsports have been told that the World of Outlaws penalties over a failed tyre test will be upheld.

The fine, suspension, and points loss was issued after the race at Pevely on April 27, but they were allowed to continue racing until an appeal had been heard.

A test sample of the #83’s Hoosier tyre following that race revealed an unspecified chemical compound had been applied.

The NT born WoO star and the Roth team will now have to serve a season-crippling four race suspension, plus a hefty loss of 500 points to both driver and team, as well as a fine of over $8,000.

The process of appeal even involved the Roth team members taking a polygraph test to assist the commission in making a decision – the American WoO DirtTracker podcast claiming that they had in fact passed those lie detector tests over claims of knowingly cheating.

The team was told by officials 15 minutes before kick-off at Eldora Speedway in Ohio on May 6 that its appeal had failed, and that the penalties would be forthcoming as of that moment.

The length of the suspension and point loss has also led to some speculation that Roth may pull out of the series, as the point loss in

MCHUGH GETS GREEN LIGHT ON US SPRINTCAR CAMPAIGN

FERRARI DRIVER ACADEMY OPEN FOR BUSINESS THE FERRARI Driver Academy for the Asia Pacific and Oceania regions has opened up applications through Motorsport Australia for young formulae aspirants.

Drivers between 14-17 years of age are invited to apply for 2023’s FDA program, which the Italian racing giant uses to search far and wide for its potential future champions.

The final for the Asia Pacific region is held in Sepang, Malaysia, on September 23-27.

Drivers must be aged between 14-17 to apply.

14 I www.autoaction.com.au

such a tightly contested field is near impossible to claw back from in order to make the WoO finals series.

At the time of the suspension being issued, McFadden was on track for a career best year having already had two victories for the season, and was sitting seventh in the championship.

Under the cloud of suspension, McFadden took a top-10 and had a DNF at the Tri-State and Tri-City Speedways.

There has been no comment from James McFadden or the Roth Motorsport team regarding the decision or their plans following the penalty served.

TW Neal

LACHLAN MCHUGH has had his Visa approved to set off to the States to commence an extensive Sprintcar campaign.

The Australian Sprintcar star will base himself in Marion County, Florida, and dive straight into

America’s Sprintcar heartland in Knoxville.

After a successful home campaign that saw him pick up wins all over the country, McHugh will take up arms of Brandon Ikenberry’s Deuce 5 Motorsports crew.

Aside from contesting the local track championship in Knoxville, he’ll also race over 50 nights over several championships, including the premier World of Outlaws series.

On top of that he’ll take the #25 D5M machine into the All Star Circuit of Champions, as well as the new High Limit Racing series, which is the brainchild of Sprintcar star Brad Sweet, and NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson.

He’ll also contest the 360 Nationals, the Capitani Classic, the Front Row Challenge, and some A-Main affairs at the Knoxville Nationals.

If that wasn’t enough, the D5M team will head to Ohio in mid-July where he’ll contest the Dirt Million at the famed Eldora Speedway, where for the first time in Sprintcar history, the field will battle it out for a mammoth one million dollars!

TW Neal

QR READY FOR FLAGSHIP EVENT QUEENSLAND RACEWAY is gearing up for the biggest event on its 2023 calendar – Two Days of Thunder.

The high-octane meeting will see TA2 Muscle Cars, Australian Hyundai Excels, Queensland Production Cars, Porsche Cup, Touring Cars and Trans Am championships race around the ‘Paperclip’ on June 3-4.

With the absence of Supercars racing at Queensland Raceway for the fourth year in succession, it is the venue’s biggest race of the year and just one part of a wider community event.

“The Two Days of Thunder is one aspect of the Ipswich Festival of Horsepower, which is a big part of the Ipswich community,” Queensland Raceway general manager Josh McFarlane said.

“The event has been around for over 10 years now and has had great success. It is a huge thing for us.

“TA2 is the headline event, but there are going to be around 50 to 60 Excels racing in the first round of the AASA championship.

“There will also be old American Trans Ams, the Queensland Touring Cars, replica tourers, a Porsche Cup class completing a 30-minute enduro.

Thundering TA2s will headline the June 3-4 event.

“All up there will be eight categories and around 200 drivers.

“Last year we got around 160 entries and I think we will be even higher than that this year.”

The Two Days of Thunder race meeting will be the third round of the 2023 TA2 Muscle Car Series, after races at Winton and Darwin.

A tight fight for the title is emerging with King of the North crown winner Dylan Thomas leading Jackson Rice by just five points.

The likes of Nicholas Bates and Josh Haynes are also in the mix

closely bunched in third and fourth respectively.

All four are Ford Mustang drivers with Lee Stibbs leading the Chevrolet Camaro charges in fifth, 67 points adrift.

Not only will there be plenty of Hi-Tec Oils Super Series racing at Queensland Raceway, but a 75 years of Holden Show will also be held.

Taking centre stage will be Shane van Gisbergen’s record-breaking 2022 ZB Commodore and John Harvey’s famous #25 ‘Big Banger’ Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore, while many other cars

carrying the ‘Lion’ will also be seen.

Live entertainment has also been promised for the fans at the “festivalstyle” event, who can also camp at the circuit or park their cars along the back straight.

Corporate suites and grass banks will be available to view all corners of the circuit, while those who cannot make the event can watch the on-track action on Fox Sports on Sunday afternoon or the AASA Facebook page all weekend.

Tickets are available from $20 on the Queensland Raceway website.

Thomas Miles

THE VICTORIAN STATE RACE SERIES

ROUND 3 - PHILIP ISLAND

MAY 27-28

Presented by the Philip Island Auto Racing Club • Formula Ford • Formula Ford 1600 • Formula Vee • Hyundai Excel • Improved Productionincluding BMW E30

Always great racing and fantastic entries across many categories.

• Sports Sedans • MG/Invited British Sports Cars • Toyota 86 Schoarship Series • Saloon Cars • Porsche 944 Challenge

• Round 4 - Sandown/ASSA

August 11-13

• Round 5 - Phillip Island/VMC September 22-24 • Round 6 - Calder/Combined October 27-29 TBC

Spectators are always well catered for with full access to the paddock and the racers.

For further information visit www.VSRS.com.au autoactionmag

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DRAG RACING

VIC STATE RACE SERIES HEADS TO THE COAST THE VICTORIAN State Race Series heads south to Phillip Island for the third round of the 2023 season on May 27-28.

After big race weekends at Sandown and Winton to open the season, the sweeping seaside bends of Phillip Island await around 250 drivers spread across 10 categories.

A big field of over 40 cars are expected to fight for Improved Production Cars honours.

Daniel Timewell currently leads the championship in his Holden VF Commodore by nine points ahead of HSV runner Luke GrecgCumbo.

The class will run alongside the BMW E30s where a thrilling fight for the BMW Drives Cup title is emerging.

Both Jesse Bryan and Ashley Rogers are locked on 40 points, but Alex Jory and Royce Lyne, who sit third and fourth respectively, have shown more speed, sharing the round wins.

Up to 20 drivers have already signed up to steer their Formula Vee machines around the Island.

Former Super3 driver and one-off Super2 starter Reef McCarthy has

16 I www.autoaction.com.au

Vees: Reef McCarthy (61) and Daniel Reynolds. Image: REVVED PHOTOGRAPHY started the season in convincing fashion.

He collected maximum points from the first two rounds to enjoy a 40-point lead over Lee Partridge.

The fight in Formula Ford is shaping up to be a classic with three drives split by as many points at the top.

Joe Fawcett, Jack Bussey and Edison Beswick are all tightly bunched at the pointy end, but watch out for Jake SantaLucia, who may sit seventh, but dominated Winton after missing the opener.

Francois Habib in his Tasman

Motorsport style VZ Commodore will be one to watch in the popular Sports Sedans.

Habib was untouchable at Winton after Dean Cram’s Chevrolet Corvette withdrew in qualifying.

Two flying Ford Falcons driven by Keven Stoopman and Daniel Johnson are at the top of the Saloon Cars class.

Another big fleet of Hyundai Excels can be expected to descend on the Island with Cadel Ambrose and Harry Tomkins both looking to gain the upper hand in their tight title fight.

Holden HQs return to the VSRS schedule with Rod Raatjes on top ahead of Steve Banks following round 1.

The Porsche 944 Challenge also appears intriguing with little separating Chris LewisWilliams, Cameron Seller and Adam Brewer from the first two events.

There will also be a new addition to the VSRS ranks with the newly formed Toyota 86 Scholarship Series.

Phillip Island will be the second stop on the Scholarship Series which rolled into action at Sydney Motorsport Park in April when Marcus LaDelle swept the floor.

This is in place of the resting Sports Car category.

The race meeting is being promoted by the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club and spokesperson Geoff Bull said organisers are expecting 250-plus entries for a big weekend of racing.

On-track action takes place between 9am and 5pm with tickets available on EventBrite from $30 with Under 16s free.

Thomas Miles

CALDER PARK PUSHING TOWARDS RE-OPENING KNOWN FOR decades as the ‘Home of Motorsport,’ Calder Park Raceway is racing towards its goal of resuming on-track action with continual development taking place at the iconic circuit.

A small team has been working around the clock to get the multi-purpose track located on the northwestern outskirts of Melbourne revived for national and state-level racing, drag racing and driver training.

Calder Park is scheduled to host on-track action as soon as August when the Victorian Motor Racing Championships arrives for Round 3 of its 2023 season.

There are also ambitions of bringing the Victorian State Race Series back to the fast venue later in the season.

Calder Park venue manager Rowan Harman said things are “looking good” for racing to resume on schedule, having literally moved heaven and earth at the end of the back straight.

“It is all looking good for our first race meeting that will be August 12-13 for the Victorian Motor Racing Championships,” he told AUTO ACTION. “The major issue was the run-off area at the end of the back straight – or Turn 6 as we now determine it.

“We have doubled the size of the gravel pit having moved quite a bit of Earth to make it look a bit sharper ... around three and a half to four thousand cubic metres.”

Before racing returns to Calder Park, drivers will be able to conduct practice days at the famous venue from as early as next month.

“For the Wednesday practice days we have just got the documentation going out to expressions of interest,” Harman said.

There are a number of operators looking at running that for us, so we are hoping in mid to late June to have that all tucked away.

“Then it would then be up to the operator to schedule it.”

The goal is to get the circuit re-issued with a Category B license to host national races and the work to make that happen will not stop, with the latest step beginning this weekend.

“Line marking is occurring this weekend. We should get a lot of that finalised with a good break in the weather over the next few days,” Harman confirmed.

“We will also paint the kerbs and all of the surroundings of the racetrack have been maintained.

“At this stage we will kick off with the C (licence) and move on to the B, so we can host national events.”

Calder Park last saw Supercars action in 2001 when Paul Morris won in a Big Kev VT Commodore.

The circuit was best known for hosting events such as the Australian Grand Prix, World Touring Car Championship and NASCAR on its famous Thunderdome oval during the venue’s glory days in the 1980s and 1990s.

For much of the last decade drag racing, street drags and drifting have been the main users but the motorsport world is on the verge of seeing State and National level racing return.

Back in October 2022, Rodney and Kim Jane spoke exclusively to AUTO ACTION of their plans to bring the famous venue back to life and things are well on their way.

Harman said there is plenty of excitement in the air at the circuit.

“Calder Park is an icon of motorsport in Australia.

It is where a lot of people would have started their racing journey,” he said.

“It has a huge history with the Thunderdome. The amount of people that would have used that track over the years is huge, with huge crowds.

“It is the Australian home of motorsport coming back to life.”

Thomas Miles

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LATEST NEWS

TEAM 18 HOPING TO BOUNCE BACK IN TASSIE TEAM 18 is determined to bounce back from a tough trip to Perth at a happier hunting ground in Tasmania.

If it was not for Scott Pye’s top 10 in the third and final race at Wanneroo, it would have been slim pickings for the two-car squad.

Before the breakthrough 10th place in the final race, Pye was down in 20th and 17th, while teammate Mark Winterbottom also battled for pace with results of P18, P18 and P19.

A disappointing Perth SuperSprint meant “Frosty” dropped six spots in the championship to 18th ahead of the trip to Tasmania.

But he is hopeful Symmons Plains can bring the smile back to his face being a track both he and Team 18 enjoy.

In just their second event together, Winterbottom scored a surprise pole position in 2019, while Team 18 cars have been regular top 10 contenders there since.

Winterbottom believes Tasmania offers the team an opportunity to rebound after “hitting the reset button”.

“Heading to Tassie is a good chance for us to regain a bit of momentum and get our season back on track after a promising start at Newcastle and the Grand Prix,” he said.

“After a challenging round in Perth, we’ve regrouped and are determined to bounce back stronger this weekend.

“Symmons Plains will be a tricky track to showcase those gains with the margins super close around there. If you find a tenth of a second you could be five or six spots up.

“It is also a special place for Charlie and the team after we got the team’s first pole back in 2019. The cars and team have evolved since then but it would be great to tap into some of our learnings from that day and deliver another strong weekend for the team.

“We’ve hit the reset button, made some changes and if we can execute well then there’s no reason we can’t bounce back here.”

Pye is also expecting greater things at Symmons Plains where he feels braking battles could be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome.

“I’m looking forward to Tassie. It is a small and exciting circuit,” he said.

“I think the hairpin is going to be interesting in this new car. It’s a big braking spot into there and it’s one of the tightest corners on the calendar, so that’ll be a new challenge for this car.

“I think brake fade could be an issue over there following other cars. The cars this year have felt like in hot air they’re quite difficult to manage tyre wear and brake fade, so I think at Tasmania having such big stops, that could be something to be aware of.”

Thomas Miles

PREMIAIR IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION IF PREMIAIR Racing is to perform at Tasmania, it knows it must find perfection at the short and deceptively simple circuit.

Supercars is heading south for the fourth round of the season at Tasmania where the three-race SuperSprint format awaits.

Symmons Plains is one of the most simple layouts on the calendar, characterised by three significant corners and long straights.

This means nailing Turns 2, 4 and 6 will be critical for success according to PremiAir Racing team principal Matt Cook.

“Symmons Plains is a short track like Wanneroo, so qualifying will again be crucially important,” Cook said.

“This track looks easy on paper, but in reality, it is far from it.

“Seven corners are really only three, all left hand, and the tricky layout is always tough to get right.

“If Perth is anything to go by, everyone will be very closely matched – throw in the challenges of this unique circuit, and anything but perfection in braking and traction over what is a short burst of a lap is not going to be good enough.

“No stone can be left unturned, and I think the fans are in for a highly entertaining show over the intense two-day program.”

PremiAir’s previous trip to Tasmania last year came at the very start of its journey where Chris Pither scored a top result of 14th, while Garry Jacobson could not make the start of the second race.

Now with James Golding and Tim Slade behind the wheel of the team’s pair of

Nulon backed Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s, they hope to fight much higher up the field being 13th and 14th in the championship respectively.

Slade has registered many regular top 10 finishes at Tasmania over the years with fourth his best result in 2012.

If it was not for a freak gear-selector issue in the second race, he would have walked away as one of the more consistent runners

at Perth with the Race 8 disappointment bookended by solid top 10 results.

Slade hopes to build on Perth’s momentum in the Apple Isle.

“At the last round in Perth we had a strong weekend despite a hiccup with a gear selector mount, and I am really looking forward to building on that and creating some momentum, starting with this weekend in Tasmania,” he said.

“The Symmons Plains circuit is a tricky track, but one that I enjoy. It demands perfection and we know the field is going to be incredibly close, so I am expecting it to be a challenging weekend with some great racing.”

Golding has not raced a Supercar at Symmons Plains for four years, but has happy memories of the event.

“I always look forward to racing down in Tassie,” Golding said. The motorsport fans there are so passionate, and Symmons Plains always provides great racing.”

Supercars first hit the track on Saturday morning.

Thomas Miles

AUSSIE RACING CARS TO TAKE ON TASSIE

RYAN ADMITS PRE PERTH NERVES DESPITE THE grand success Erebus Motorsport has enjoyed so far in the 2023 season, boss Barry Ryan admitted he was full of nerves both before and during the Gen3 era.

With Erebus electing to take a unique hands-on approach to Gen3, the team stepped into the unknown at Newcastle.

This ensured a sense of trepidation during pre-season testing, but both Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown have since proven themselves as some of the leading drivers in the Gen3 era.

But even after a successful

Australian Grand Prix, Ryan revealed the nerves returned to an all-time high in the build up to the Perth SuperSprint.

But after Erebus scored its first 1-2 at Perth, the fear of failure has disappeared.

“I thought we had done everything right with the way we had built Gen3, but I was still shitting myself ahead of the first test at Winton,” Ryan revealed on the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast.

“I was probably shitting myself the most after the Grand Prix going to

Perth because I did not want to fail. I was probably more nervous at Perth then I have been at any race for a long time.

“The pressure probably came off after Perth when we realised we are the team that we have always wanted to be.

“We just want to keep kicking goals for the sponsors and the team. I would love to win both championships.”

Erebus hopes to continue its recent success at a track that it has never won at.

Thomas Miles

BATHURST CAMPSITE DEMAND LEADS TO SEARCH FOR MORE GROUND

AFTER THE Bathurst 1000 campsites went on sale early in the week, the available grounds for the 60th anniversary of the Great Race sold out in a record 90 minutes.

Fans from over Australia and New Zealand acted fast to get their spots on the famed mountain and the surrounding areas, with more than 7000

sites filled up for this October’s event.

Due to the overwhelming demand which will most likely see record crowds in attendance - Supercars in conjunction with the Bathurst Regional Council have begun the process of investigating the addition of more available ground.

The addition of any more sites will be announced in the coming weeks, as fans

are encouraged to sign up for a newly created writing list.

Alongside the 60th anniversary of Mount Panorama hosting the event, fans are also eager to see the Gen3’s grace the mountain in anger for the first ever time.

“We anticipated a high level of demand for camp sites, but the speed at which they sold out has surpassed all expectations,” Supercars CEO Shane Howard said.

“It’s a testament to the passion and loyalty of our fans.

“We will meet with Council next week to investigate additional camping options to accommodate the overwhelming demand.

“We encourage fans who missed out this morning to add their name to our newly created waitlist which has been set up today, with information to go out soon regarding the potential dates for new sites to go on sale.”

Fans can visit the Bathurst Camping page on the Supercars website to put their names down.

TW Neal

SYMMONS PLAINS is the scene for the third round of the 2023 Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.

As the 24-strong category readies itself to support the Supercars at the Tasmania SuperSprint event, a tense title fight is developing nicely.

Just seven points separate the top three in the standings, while the entire top 10 is covered by 35.

Leading the way is Joel Heinrich with 102 points, who has the CoolDrive cars driven by Joshua Anderson and Reece Chapman close for company - both on 95.

Heinrich got the ball rolling with a crushing performance on the streets of Newcastle, but the second stop at Queensland Raceway was a different story.

Rylan Gray and Brandon Madden both charged to special maiden wins, while Chapman opened his account for 2023.

The Masters Cup is firmly in possession of Kent Quinn, who has enjoyed a strong start to 2023.

However, Grant Thompson gained some ground at Ipswich and hopes for more at the Apple Isle.

The Rookie Cup is fronted by the consistent Nathan Williams, but his lead was trimmed to two points by Scott Dornan.

Much like the overall championship, the battle for the Gold Cup is shaping up to be an intriguing affair.

Matt Gooding, Jeff Watters and Sheridan Philips are the early contenders, being separated by just seven points.

But the addition of Craig Thompson could ensure it becomes a four-way fight very soon.

Another new face the entry list will be a familiar name, but a driver not seen in an Aussie Racing Car for eight years.

Reece Chapman will be joined on the grid by his father Chad, who makes a comeback to the category having last been seen on the Sydney Olympic Park streets in 2015.

All up, 24 cars will be lining up on the Symmons Plains grid with practice kicking things off from 12.10 AEST on Friday afternoon before four races are sprinkled across the weekend.

AUSSIE RACING CARS TASMANIA ENTRY LIST #1 Josh Anderson #3 Steve Jakic #7 Andrew Lorgelly #13 Scott Gore #14 Matt Gooding #16 Joel Heinrich #18 Cody Brewczynski #19 Sheridan Phillips #23 Scott Dornan #24 Rylan Gray #25 Reece Chapman #28 Kent Quinn #47 Chad Chapman #48 Keith Bensley #52 Charlotte Poynting #57 Brandon Madden #72 Craig Thompson #78 Grant Thompson #82 Cody McKay #87 Leslie Corish #91 Anthony Di Mauro #95 Nathan Williams #96 Jeff Watters #187 Andrew Corish

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

INTERNATIONAL AUSSIES

SARGENT KEEPS HEAT ON TITLE CHASE IN MIAMI

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NINOVIC SHOWS PROMISE AT SPA ALEX NINOVIC, the 2022 national KA3 Karting champion, showed some very promising signs in his single seater debut at Spa Francorchamps in Spanish F4 (above).

After warming up with 1200 km of testing in Spain, the young karting talent then faced the legendary 7km Stavelot track.

Over three races, the 16 year-old Rodin Carlin newcomer handled his #26 Tatuus F4 T-421 well.

After qualifying in P9, Ninovic took out a rookie podium in Race 1, finishing P5 overall in his first ever competitive open-wheel outing, in a 30 car field.

In Race 2, the youngster was equally impressive after starting in P10, working his way deep into the points for the second time running, and was well amongst the pack for a podium fight with 7:40 remaining before getting a touch on his back left and getting stuck in the gravel for a DNF. The Sydney-born youngster then turned some heads in Race 3, starting in P22, before charging through the field, working his way into the points for the second time in the weekend with a P10.

Ninovic wasn’t the only Aussie on track at Spa, with British F4 race winner Noah Lisle racing in the Spanish F4 part-time and impressing for Rodin Carlin with a P6 and a P5, before having to retire in the finale.

Also competing in his first singleseater race, was fellow karting graduate Griffin Peebles, contesting for Tecnicar – Formula de Campeones, taking three straight P17s.

The young chargers don’t have to wait for too long to get back into the Tatuus saddle, with the next event coming on May 27-28 at MotorLand Aragon, in the historical town of Alcaniz, Spain. TW Neal

18 I www.autoaction.com.au

TOM SARGENT (below) has continued his run of podiums in his debut Porsche Carrera Cup North America season, scoring a P2 in Miami.

Despite an unlucky break in the finale at the Formula 1 support event, Sargent is deep in the championship hunt, just 18 points in arrears of American rival Riley Dickinson.

The McElrea Racing Aussie came from P4 to claim his fifth straight P2 in Race 1, finishing 1.895s behind the rampant Dickinson.

The 2022 Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia winner got a clumsy shunt in Race 2 whilst sitting pretty for another podium

and in the frame for a first series win.

When Sargent went wide for the overtake on the penultimate lap after a restart, guest racer Kay van Berlo made contact with the rear of Sargent’s car, dropping him through the field from P3 into P21.

It was the first time he’d failed to reach the podium after sweeping the steps at both Sebring and Long Beach.

“It was just unbelievable being at the Miami F1 round. I feel fortunate to have been able to drive on such a magnificent circuit and in front of such a huge crowd,” Sargent noted.

“Race 1 went well but unfortunately Race 2 didn’t go so well, I was running third and

got turned around by a guest driver.

“With the few laps left remaining I was only able to get back to 20th in a 40 car field, which was a bit disappointing as the driver that turned me is not in the series and had just entered for the one round … he was also much more experienced than me!”

In the Pro and Junior classes, Sargent remains second on both fronts, with the Australian McElrea team also sitting second in the Team’s Championship.

For the next round, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America heads to New York on June 22-25 to race at the Watkins Glen International. TW Neal

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

WEBSTER CONTINUES GB4 FORM AT SILVERSTON S5000 GUN Cooper Webster (right) made his Silverstone debut at Round 2 of the GB4 Championship, continuing his strong start to the year with another podium.

His debut weekend at the famous British GP track saw him run consistently in the top two for the practice sessions, before qualifying P3 for Race 1, and P4 for Race 2, with his podium coming in Race 1.

And Webster’s feelings about racing on the legendary track? … “A bit boring on the long straights” was his tongue in cheek answer.

“The track is challenging – to put one good lap together does take a lot because it is really long. It’s a bit boring on the straights, you just get your head down and focus on the top speed. It’s the longest track that I’ve raced on, and I really enjoyed it.”

After the opener was cancelled due to a heavy rain downpour, Race 2 went ahead with Webster getting involved in another battle with early season rival Colin Queen.

But unlike at Oulton Park, Queen got the better of Webster to relegate the Aussie into P3, only 0.735 off the mark from the

race victor, Tom Mills.

“It doesn’t get a lot better … maybe a win would be better, but I can’t ask for more; two podiums now, I’m pretty pleased,” Webster said following the race that “I just didn’t have the pace of the other two in front of me, but I did my best” He was in the podium frame again in the finale, but late contact from Jeremy Fairburn sent the young Victorian into the tyre barrier, with the race ending under the Safesty Car.

Fellow Australian Jack Clifford also had another good weekend after his transition from Victorian Formula Ford, taking a pair of P6s to follow up on his debut top-10 at Oulton Park.

With Webster having returned home to take out two wins and a podium at Phillip island in the S5000 championship, he now heads to Donington Park on May 27-28 for Round 3 of his GB4 campaign.

TW Neal

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

WILLIAMS TAKES MAIDEN GT WIN ALONGSIDE LOVE DOUBLE CALAN WILLIAMS (above) has backed up with his debut Monza podium from the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance opener with a victory at the corresponding Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch.

The 22 year-old Perth native, alongside German teammate Niklas Krutten, took out the Gold Cup Class win in Race 2 at the historical British circuit.

Williams races the #30 BMW M4 GT3 for Belgian team WRT, racing in both Endurance and Sprint GT WCE series for the successful team.

Fellow Australian and Mercedes AMG Junior Factory Driver, Jordan Love (right), also made his GT WCE Sprint debut, with the 22-year-old taking P2 in Race 1 of the Silver Class, backing that up with P3 in Race 2 alongside teammate Frank Bird for the Haupt Racing Team (HRT).

Williams, the former F2 youngster, was flawless in the second stint of the finale,

after the pair netted P4 in the opening race.

“It’s a great way to start the season in the Sprint Cup, with a win,” Williams said.

“I’m really happy with that; the team did a great job all weekend and the car was great. We showed we have the pace on track and in the pit stops, and that allowed us to have these great results.”

Krutten took the first stint of the 41 lap race, with the #30 starting P2 on the grid (P8 overall).

Starting from the outside row, the German youngster had the M4 in P10 overall, and second in the class when he handed over to Williams.

With Williams inheriting the stint following a Safety Car and grouped field, fresh tyres saw him come out with an undercut on the class leading Audi, moving into the Gold Cup lead and P7 outright.

Jordan Love and Frank Bird – Haupt Racing.

Matching the leading GT3s, the Aussie blitzed his nearest competitors to push out to a mammoth 20 second class win over his nearest rival.

WRT team principal, Vincent Vosse, was ecstatic for the young #30 crew, whilst in the Pro class, Valentino Rossi took out a P2 for his first GT WCE Sprint podium.

“I really want to stress the great weekend of our young guys in the Gold Cup – they won Race 2 whilst taking a great seventh overall. The drivers were fantastic and the pit stops were perfect.”

In the Silver class, Love took on his first Sprint Cup series format, with the West Aussie having spent much of his racing life as an Endurance specialist.

In a nine-car class field, the pairing qualified the #77 AMG GT3 in P2 and P3, which is where they managed to keep it for their double podium sweep.

Williams’ next challenge sees him back in the endurance category for the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000 on June 2-4, whilst Love will take on the Nurburgring 24 on May for HRT. TW Neal

HUGHES GOES TOP AT INDIANAPOLIS LOCHIE HUGHES (pictured) took his first racing trip to Indianapolis in the USF2000 ‘Road to Indy’ series, and left with a win and two podiums at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course to lead the championship.

The Surfers Paradise-born Aussie may well be the most in-form of Australia’s overseas contingent of young single seater racers, leading the Indy feeder series after three rounds with a trio of wins and three podiums, and a lowest finish of P4.

After qualifying in P12, Hughes tore through the field to take a hard earned P2 in Race 1.

The second stanza saw the Aussie start in P2, but after getting elbowed out on the first corner, he found himself having to fight back from P7 to grab another P2 and ensure he kept the lead over Georgia

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born rival Simon Sikes.

But it was Race 3 that saw Hughes assert his dominance ahead of the next USF2000 round, where the field will take

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on the Indianapolis Raceway Park oval.

“I was super happy to win Race 3, I mean … what a place to win!” said an elated Hughes.

“I can’t thank the team enough – it has been a tough weekend finishing second every single race so far. To finally come out on top is just such a relief. It is cool to win for my mom on Mother’s Day as well, so hello to my family back home.”

Hughes took the lead from P2 in Race 3 after a four-car-wide battle into Turn 1 saw Sikes fall back.

The Jay Howard Driver Development racer then took advantage of a Safety Car flag to jet away before another yellow reeled the field back in. Sikes and Nikita Johnson fought hard to attack Hughes in a three lap shootout, but the Aussie defended well to win by 0.358s.

Having won at St Petersburg, Sebring, and now Indianapolis, Hughes leads the series over Sikes by 14 points ahead of the Brownsburg, Indiana oval race on May 27. TW Neal

www.autoaction.com.au I 19

ALPINE TARMAC AND SNOW For more great images and results go to the AA web site

The Harding/Thornburn Subaru took outright victory, while the Kelly/Davis 1958 Austin Healey 100-6 (below) just looked picturesque in the snow-lined route ... Images: ATR-ANGRYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY TARMAC RALLY events are alive and well, illustrated by the running of round two of the Australian Tarmac Rally Championship, the Lake Mountain Sprint.

Based out of Marysville in the Victorian High Country, the AASA-sanctioned event was held over May 6/7 and saw 59 competitors take on 14 stages between Marysville and Cumberland.

Covering 194kms of competition, wet weather and even snow would greet the competitors, creating challenging conditions for the crews competing.

It was slippery conditions that greeted the crews as they lined up for SS1, an 8km untimed shakedown to allow teams

to acclimatise to the conditions. This test saw several crews suffer from mechanical gremlins which put them on the back foot.

SS2 was the first timed stage, which saw the crews climb the 9km scenic rollercoaster to the peak of Lake Mountain.

With rain and fog a factor, several cars found the barriers lining the road.

The Porsche GT3RS crew of Paul Dowie and Bernie Webb took advantage to top the scorecard by a mere 3.7 seconds over the Mercedes A45 of Perini/Perini.

Descending the mountain for SS3, the crews raced back through the entire 14.5kms to Marysville for their first full run across Saturday’s course.

FOR SALE

They would repeat the course a further two times with a combination of short stages and full-length runs to wrap up the first days’ competition.

At the conclusion of day one, the Subaru WRX STi of Michael Harding and James Thornburn had shown the field their speed, holding a 16-second lead over the Porsche of Dowie/Webb, followed closely

by Barrie Smith and Anthony McLoughlin in their Audi TT RS. Championship defender and early series leaders Jason and Fiona Wright, in their Nissan R35 GTR, found the conditions did not suit their tyre choice and finished the day in fourth place, 48 seconds behind Harding/Thornburn.

The coldest Victorian day in May for three years greeted the crews on Sunday morning, with reports of the summit climb to Lake Mountain having a thick layer of snow. Whilst the conditions were assessed, the organisers brought forward the last two stages of the day, the full run from Marysville to Cumberland and back, allowing the event to continue.

The Harding/Thornburn duo pulled an impressive gap on the field, heading to the lunch stop some 56 seconds clear of Dowie/Webb, with Smith/McLoughlin nearly a minute and a half behind. The stages up the mountain were shortened,

allowing the crews to race to the ticket booth without having to attack the snowaffected areas at speed, instead transiting to the top for service and lunch.

With refreshed crews, some even partaking in a full competition snowball fight, the final three stages began.

Defending champions Wright/Wright made their move, taking out all three remaining stages to claw back over 20 seconds on Harding/Thornburn, but after trailing by nearly two minutes their impressive run was in vain.

The crew of Harding and Thornburn (Subaru WRX STi) would take outright victory for the event, followed by Dowie/ Webb (Porsche GT3RS) 43 seconds behind, and Smith/McLoughlin (Audi TT RS) 1:20s in arrears.

The teams now have a few months off to prepare for round three of the championship, with entries open for the Snowy River Sprint (9-10 Sep 2023) before the final round, the Great Tarmac Rally wraps up the championship on 21-22 Oct 2023.

For the full list of podium results and more great Angryman Images go to the Auto Action website. https://autoaction.com.au/2023/05/14/ lake-mountain-sprint-a-tarmac-rallywith-some-snow

SUBARU WRX STI 4 DOOR

J SPEC GROUP N MOTORSPORT HOMOLOGATION CAR

Standard equipment includes Brembo full optimisation etc.

The car was purchased brand new and it has approx 20 Km’s in total on 4 piston brakes and 17” ventilated A full STi suspension and differential discs front and rear, quick ratio power upgrade package is also speedometer and has never been steering, option gearbox ratios. available, but is not driven on a race track. included in the Fitted with a full Brown Davis multi As delivered by STi this 11MY point safety roll cage, STi factory price below.

GVBC4VH model is fitted with 2.0 Litre, twin scroll turbo, this is a genuine alloy bonnet, STi factory-big capacity intercooler spay kit with auto timer factory motorsport car and was purchased new for competition only kit, on board fire system, Cobra head from Subaru Australia. This vehicle has restraint seats, Velo 6-point harness, window nets, carbon footrests on been prepared for club day, circuit both sides, anti-glare dash, braded racing and tarmac rallies and would make a great track day car and would fuel lines internally, bonnet pins, be an extremely competitive vehicle. mounting for spare racing wheel.

A list of performance upgrade options The engine and drive line are standard and requires tuning etc for is available on request.

PRICE OF VEHICLE AS DESCRIBED IS $55,000 - PLUS GST • PH 0457 001 304 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 20 I www.autoaction.com.au

ISLAND BLISS AA’S COLUMNIST WAS MIGHTILY IMPRESSED

BY ARG’S OFFERINGS

CREDIT WHERE credit’s due.

The SpeedSeries served up brilliant racing last Sunday at Phillip Island across the bulk of its many diverse categories.

And some notable breakout performances too. If you missed it, give yourself an uppercut.

I’ve been critical of the driving standards and resulting plague of Safety Cars at some Australian Racing Group’s events in the past, but this most recent round delivered what I covet most from my motorsport viewing: intensity of battles with passing and repassing. The overtaking manoeuvres were aggressive yet rarely went beyond the pale.

There were bumps, there were bruises, but few drivers ventured outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour and the result was an enthralling day’s racing where the winners were truly deserving of their success.

The standout category was Trans Am, with the American ponycars drifting and sliding their way around the Island’s ultrafast

with Luke West

REVVED UP sweeps in spectacular fashion.

Owen Kelly, in particular, seemed to get through Turn 1 faster than anyone else in this manner. What’s more, there was no sign of any overheating tyre issues when cars followed each other. A driver could mount an attack, then slowly build momentum until he found a way past the car in front. And then he’d have to defend.

I couldn’t help wonder if the new Gen3 Supercars, costing almost four-times as much as a TA2 car, would be as spectacular to watch around the seaside venue?

It’s a moot point, of course, as for the foreseeable future there’s seemingly little appetite from Supercars to race at our country’s best full-time permanent circuit – one in a stunning location that produces a visual feast for television viewers. When you stop and think about it, how crazy is that? A Phillip Island round is apparently not a viable proposition for the nation’s premier series.

What does this say about the country’s premier series?

Supercars’ events arm had hired the venue in the past to promote the round itself but couldn’t attract the punters in sufficient numbers to make it work.

Yet if Supercars provided a compelling day’s entertainment on-track to rival last weekend’s non-stop SpeedSeries action, then Melbourne fans would make the trip in greater numbers.

It’s a pity Supercars has lost sight as to what spectators want from a day at the races. You only have to listen to the constant inrace focus about tyre strategy to understand that some heading the organisation cater for their own interests rather than what the fans wants.

The racing in Trans Am is far superior, but I digress...

Both of last Sunday’s races were won by Nash Morris in a comingof-age story several years in the making. The son of The Dude was

as quick as his nickname, ‘The Flash’, upon the occasion of his 20th birthday. Morris’ career is building nicely and, God knows, we need some more characters in the sport like his old man.

Hopefully Nash proves to be a chip off the old block.

Kelly kept him on his toes until being punted off, while James Moffat’s recovery drive through the field was also noteworthy. With Ben Grice also in the mix, Trans Am is building some compelling storylines with some key links to the sport’s storied past.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the TCR racing despite the small, 13-car field. It helped that new marque Cupra broke through for a win via the likeable Michael Clemente and another new marque, Lynk and Co. The spread of badges – and more to come – is one of TCR’s trump cards.

Meanwhile, the round was claimed by urbane Hyundai driver Josh Buchan.

The S5000 field was even smaller, sadly, as just nine cars came under starters orders. What shouldn’t go unnoted was the performance of Cooper Webster winning the round overall. To do so, he beat the category benchmark since its inception, Joey Mawson, and fulltime Supercars ace James Golding.

Webster is another 20-year-old making a name for himself via the SpeedSeries. He has form at Phillip Island, taking his first win at the track in 2021 in appallingly wet conditions. Last Sunday’s pair of victories rammed home his abilities and took his profile to a new level. He’s starting to stand out from the crowd of budding drivers. I know I’ll now follow the Victorian’s progress in the UK this year in the GB4 series.

I also thought Stan Sport’s coverage took a step up. The use of camera drones was first class, providing angles I’d not yet seen of the Island. And more on the production cars and GT4 another time.

Garry, Barry and the other ARG big wigs should be proud of the show the SpeedSeries put on last weekend. I can’t imagine it’s been easy keeping the wheels turning, but a platform has been built that’s hopefully a springboard for the future. It’s much needed.

While Supercars’ Tassie round is happening this weekend, my focus will be on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the always dramatic qualifying weekend. How lucky are we that three ANZACs – Power, McLaughlin and Dixon – will be in the mix. Can’t wait to see what plays out.

Grice heads Robotham and the TransAm pack into Turn 4 at the Island.

Image: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY

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www.autoaction.com.au I 21

DRAG RACING NEWS

NDRC OFFERS A ‘MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY FORWARD’ AFTER YEARS OF FIGHTING FOR THE CONTROL OF DRAG RACING, A UNITED FRONT WILL DELIVER TOP QUALITY DRAG RACING TO FANS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, PLUS A NATIONAL LIVE BROADCAST PACKAGE. THOMAS MILES REPORTS ON THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT ...

DRAG RACING is about to plunge into a new and unified era through the creation of the National Drag Racing Championship, which presents a “massive opportunity” to grow under an “unprecedented” TV deal.

In what promises to be a major breakthrough for the sport, the NDRC will be held over 11 rounds spread across the country, kicking off in October, when either the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship or Nitro Funny Car Championship will take centre stage as Group 1 events.

Top Doorslammer, Pro Alcohol, Pro Stock, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Pro Stock Bike, Pro Mod, and Sportsman categories will all race under the new national series.

The series will conclude in a big way with everyone fronting up at the Winternationals finale at Willowbank Raceway A new series for Sportsman racers, the National Sportsman Championship Series, will operate in Eastern (Qld, NSW, Vic) and Western (WA, SA, NT) Conferences before coming together in a ‘Sportsman Super Bowl’ at The Bend in April.

The NDRC will be screened nationally through an “unprecedented” broadcast deal which was to be announced as Auto Action closed for press, while the full calendar will be revealed on May 26.

NDRC co-promotor Andy Lopez said the new championship offers an exciting platform for the sport to grow.

“The National Drag Racing Championship represents a massive opportunity for the sport to go one way forward,” he said.

“We’ve taken the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship to venues all over Australia, and that’s given

us a good chance to listen to what racers and fans want.

“They want a positive drag racing scene where racers fight for a single national title in their category.”

Lopez further explained to Auto Action that it has been created to enhance the experience of all involved with drag racing from drivers to the fans.

“Our job is to market the sport really well and make it look awesome and if we do that, it is a really big step,” he said.

“Unity is important because we should all be talking each other up because there is so much positive stuff.

“Drag racing is everyday people strapping on a race suit and doing something pretty amazing, courageous and exciting.

“We have got to draw eyeballs to the sport and promote it in a positive way.

“For the fans it is about the experience of the event and we want to turn it into a festival. The great thing about drag racing is that all the action is right in front of you and you can also go into the pits and see the drivers and cars up close.

“But we want to take drag racing from

Test match cricket, more to the world of Big Bash, so people want to bring their kids and we can grow the love.”

To make the NDRC happen, the 400 Thunder Series had to be retired.

Despite admitting the decision marked an end of an era, 400 Thunder director Tony Wedlock described the NDRC as an “exciting chapter” for the sport.

“The National Drag Racing Championship is the next logical step for drag racing in Australia,” he said.

“We met with the NDRC team to hear their plans, and the 400 Thunder Board was satisfied that the NDRC is in the best interests of everyone in the sport we all love so much.

“Given that, it’s time to retire the 400 Thunder Series and we ask all racers to get behind the NDRC and we can’t wait to see this next exciting chapter.”

Although the NDRC offers a “fresh start” Lopez confirmed all existing records will remain recognised across the categories.

“The ADRC brand will also be retired, but while the NDRC is a fresh start and a new name, all national records, championships, and trophies will be

recognised and celebrated by the new Championship,” he said.

“Records and Championships belong to the racers and are an essential part of the history of drag racing.

“Whether you’re an ADRC Champion, a 400 Thunder Champion, a Summit Series Champion, or you hold any record or trophy, you will be celebrated and recognised by the National Drag Racing Championship for what you’ve achieved.”

In another exciting step for the sport, all 11 NDRC rounds will be broadcast nationally on free to air TV as part of the new deal.

NDRC co-promoter Nathan Prendergast said the coverage provides a “massive step forward” for the sport.

“Our unprecedented broadcast deal is a massive step forward and will give drag racing the exposure it deserves,” he said.

“It’s a major achievement for the sport.

We all race in the same direction, for the same reasons, and with the introduction of the NDRC, it’s now a reality.

“I look forward to the announcement on May 17 and bringing Group 1 and Sportsman racing to a worldwide TV audience.”

Top Fuel (below), and Funny Car (above left) will be key elements of the new NDRC series, copromoted by Andy Lopez (above right).

22 I www.autoaction.com.au

WHY I LOVE DANICA PATRICK

NO, IT’S NOT HER SMILE OR HER FASHION SENSE TWO THINGS made the Miami Grand Prix better than most events on the Grand Prix glamour trail.

The first? A mixed-up grid that created more action than usual.

Having Max Verstappen starting at the back of the Top 10, a bit like handicapping in the Stawell Gift foot race in Victoria, looked like good move for fans and it added some spice to the early laps.

Even his team mate Sergio Perez knew it was only a question of time before Mighty Max got to the front of the field, but his progress – like a shark in a school of bait fish – was fun to watch.

And there were other battle packs, even if some were just DRS trains, up and down the field.

Compared to the bland, wall-lined new stadiums dominating F1, I’m also a fan of the technical twisty bits in Miami. And a couple of heavy braking zones, and that endless tighening right0-hand corner. Although I’m sure Charles Leclerc would not agree.

So the racing was not as miserable and boring as we’ve come to expect in season 2023,

where only Fernando Alonso has been lifting the gloom of a Red Bull steamroller that’s as predictable as the miserable Melbourne weather.

What else was there to like in Miami?

No, not the driver introductions.

No, not the Richie Rich style paddock in the centre of the Dolphins Stadium.

And, no, definitely not ‘Crofty’ in a Dolphins football jersey and screeching as usual from the commentary tower.

For me, the other great thing about the Miami Grand Prix notice there is no reference to the USA, the traditional way of naming a GP, since one country now has three races - was Danica Patrick.

The retired American racer was never great behind the wheel – but she was solid and did score the first win by a woman in IndyCar and was Rookie of the Year in IndyCar and at the Indianapolis 500.

But she is beyond great as an expert F1 commentator.

Even her driver interviews after qualifying were incisive and interesting. She listened to the

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE drivers, asked follow-up questions, and got them into a genuine chat.

Compare that to, well, anyone else on a recent telecast.

Patrick was a perky pocket rocket, well prepared, funny and relevant. She knew what she was talking apart, told stories from her own career, and showed she had been talking to the drivers.

She was mostly paired with Jenson Button in a combination that clicked and fired. It had worked last year and it was no suprise, since Button now lives in LA, that they were paired again.

Compare their performance with the miserable efforts of most people on the F1 telecast.

Crofty is a shouter who came from (wait for it) televised darts tournaments, Damon Hill looks bored and his delivery is flat and

less than insightful, and then there is Naomi Schiff …

On the positive side, Ant Davison is an absolute legend as an analyst – as he proved, again, when he found the trigger for Leclerc’s qualifying crash – and Karun Chandhok did a terrific job in Baku when he took the place of Martin Brundle in central commentary.

Brundle, these days, looks like he is over it. He looks tired and he has been beaten down by many years of travel. Perhaps it’s time …

Which brings me to the Supercars’ coverage.

For Brundle, think Neil Crompton.

He is an absolute legend but even he knows he cannot go on forever.

Supercars considered trying to bring Leigh Diffy back from the USA a few years ago, but baulked at the likely (multi-million

dollar) cost. And why would ’Stiffy’ return to Australia when he is the IndyCar anchor and, far more importantly, a key network commentator on the Olympic Games?

Perhaps the first big change for season 2024 should be a cleanout in the commentary booth, installing Chad Neylon and Garth Tander – who have clearly been groomed for the jobs and are at the top of their game – into the places currently filled by Crompton and Mark Skaife.

But back to Danica.

She has hinted that she’ll be part of the F1 broadcast team for seven races this year.

The three US events are obvious, with Austin and Las Vegas still to come, but that leaves as many as four races on her calendar.

Would more Danica be a good thing? Absolutely.

Would Danica at every race work? Probably not.

But she’s like the special sauce on a Big Mac and makes F1 in America a lot tastier than the bland British contribution to commentary.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

THE ISOTTA FRASCHINI MILANO RENAISSANCE THE ANTICIPATED motorsport return (through the World Endurance Championship) of the early 20th century Italian racing and luxury car brand Isotta Fraschini Milano will most likely not result in the car being seen in competition until 2024 – though there is a slight chance it may appear this year.

The famous Milano brand and manufacturer was once the choice of papacy and 1930’s Hollywood elite, and was also the car that Enzo Ferrari took his ever first podiums with, driving the 100/110 IM Corsa. Both Ferrari and Alfieri Maserati raced, and were inspired by the legendary and revolutionary engineering of the early Isotta Fraschini cars.

After its last car rolled off the assembly line in 1934, the historical brand will have its renaissance via the world’s top WEC SportsCar series with the new Tipo 6 LMHCompetizione.

There was initial hope of a return to competition in the brand’s hometown of Milano at the 6 Hours of Monza in July, but the homologation process was delayed until October this year. However, there still remains an outside chance of a single car entry at the season closing 8 Hours of Bahrain on November 4.

Team principal of the outfit that will run the WEC entry/ entries, Gary Holland of Vector Motorsport, has already stated that a 2023 debut is not “absolutely necessary”.

In October the Tipo 6 will go through wind tunnel testing, centre of gravity tests’, and a relative data file analysis in Valleiry, France, at the FIA Technical Centre.

The delays are not a worry however, with the car having already begun testing at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome, with Michelotto test driver Maurizio Mediani.

Isotta Motorsport boss, Claudio Berro, gave an insight into how the testing went.

“We had no significant problems, but it was a normal first test for a new car,” he said. “There were long stops to look at things like the electronics and then test different solutions, but everything worked well.

“It was important to check the internal combustion engine and the gearbox first, and everything worked as it should, and at the end of the day we started running with the hybrid system and will continue in this specification.”

As stated, the entry will be run by LMP2 WEC team Vector Motorsport, and was built and developed by the Michelotto Engineering organisation in Padova, Italy, with its 3L V6 composition engine designed by HWA Engineering in Germany.

The aerodynamics side of the design was developed

by Williams in Great Britain, whilst the the chassis and bodywork are designs of the brand itself, which makes it a true comeback for Isotta Fraschini, unlike the Vanwall

Vandervell 680 WEC LMH, which an association by name only with the classic Vanwall constructor.

The maximum power of the mid-mounted engine is limited to 700hp to the rear wheels, whilst its 4WD input comes from its Bosch hybrid complement, giving 270hp to the front wheels.

Along with its customer LMH cars, of which Vector plans to perhaps run two in 2024, it will also release two more customer models. One is the Tipo 6 Pista – an LMH with no BOP, for customers who which to take it one track but not race – and the Tipo 6 Strada, which is a wingless version of the Competizione and Strada, designed for road circulation carrying a top speed of 370km/h.

TW Neal

WEC TYRE WARMER BAND LIFTED FOR LE MANS THE WEC ‘powers-that-be’ have lifted the controversial tyre warmer ban for the centennial running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The FIA and the ACO (Automobile Club de L’Ouest) – the World Endurance Championships joint decision makers – will allow teams across the Hypercar, LMP2, and GTE categories to use tyre oven preheaters with the use of a provided 100% sustainable fuel.

The decision to ban tyre heating at the beginning of the season was met with viable safety concerns from teams and drivers, and over the duration of the season – particularly at the Spa 6 Hour – it was evident as to why.

‘Out’ laps across all classes, but in particular the premier hypercar LMH/ LMDh class, have been touch-and-go affairs with little grip and extreme loss of pace, leading to a spate of incidents

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across the season in both IMSA and the WEC. Ferrari driver Antonio Fuoco came unstuck at Spa due to cold tyres,

spearing his 499P LMH into the pit lane wall at low speeds.

Toyota team principal and driver Kamui Kobayashi labelled the ban as “crazy

dangerous”, whilst the ruling bodies were saying that it’s “a much-needed step from a sustainability point of view”.

After the Spa incident, Ferrari SportCar boss Antonello Coletta pleaded for the ban to be temporarily lifted for Le Mans, saying, “It’s time to do some serious thinking on the matter because it has major ramifications for safety.”

A statement from the ACO on the decision read: “The exemption is limited to Le Mans only, ensuring drivers of all experience levels will be able to compete in the safest possible environment regardless of track conditions and temperatures,” adding that, “tyre manufacturers, teams and drivers will gain valuable time to develop better understanding of how to bring cold tyres up to temperature ahead of the remainder of the 2023 WEC season.” TW Neal

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

LOOKING AT ALL THE POSITIVES THE FIRST of two triple-headers on the 2023 F1 calendar is upon us and I am really looking forward to the Imola-Monaco-Barcelona swing.

It’s going to be a very busy period with lots going on and I’m excited by the opportunity to drive at old-school tracks with such history and heritage.

I’ve competed at Monaco and Barcelona before in the junior categories but haven’t had the chance to race at Imola, which will be a new one for me.

Driving a current F1 car around the streets of Monte Carlo or the Circuit de Catalunya will be a totally different ball game to what I’ve driven at those venues previously, so, all round, it’s going to be three weeks packed full of learning.

As a boy growing up, I used to watch a lot of the grands prix on repeat the next day and can always remember the iconic sight of F1 cars tackling corners like Rascasse and Tabac.

I remember watching races like Jenson Button winning around the Principality in 2009 with Brawn and Lewis’ win in the McLaren there the year before, so these classic races are some of the events which hold that special

Oscar Piastri’s

FORMULA 1 WORLD prestige and meaning.

Off the back of the Baku-Miami double-header, three grands prix on successive weekends takes it up another notch and it will be really important to get into a good rhythm with the races coming so thick and fast.

When the races are back-toback, it obviously condenses the scheduling, making rest and recuperation really crucial and meaning that all our processes need to be super time-efficient as things are moving so rapidly.

It’s always a quick turnaround but I just love being at a racetrack and the buzz and adrenaline that I get now is no different to when I was back racing remote control cars or taking my first steps on the karting ladder.

Since my last column, that I wrote after the Melbourne GP, it was a strange weekend over in Azerbaijan where illness troubled me throughout all of the sessions

and resulted in the team doctor getting to know me very well.

It was also a frustrating event over in Miami a week later where I suffered brake system issues very early in the race. They meant there was very little I could do.

Despite those problems, I was happy to reach Q3 in Baku for the second time this season and my start in Miami was also pretty pleasing as I managed to take five places on the opening lap to go from P19 to P14.

In honesty, we thought it was going to be a tough weekend in Miami and so it proved, as we just lacked that all-around pace to challenge and get in amongst the fight.

There are such small margins between most of the teams, excluding those at the very front, that if you are lacking a bit of speed, it can turn into a tough few days.

After Miami, I spent some time

at MTC doing some extra training and practicing on the simulator and it was nice to have a calm, chilled-out weekend to relax before things get back in full swing.

Between races, I usually keep things simple and go for a few walks, watch some films and TV and enjoy sim racing on my computer.

It’s also a time to catch up with the boring chores like tidying up

as I must admit that I do have a bad habit of leaving my suitcase flung open on the bedroom floor when I’m dashing from one place to the next ...

Fingers crossed for a positive few weeks and I’ll be back with my next column in the build-up to Canada. Take care.

OSCAR IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

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www.autoaction.com.au I 25

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHER

Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555

email: letters@autoaction.com.au Postal: Suite 4/156 Drummond Street.

Oakleigh Victoria 3166

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bruce Williams STAFF JOURNALIST Timothy W. Neal STAFF JOURNALIST Thomas Miles NEWS EDITOR Andrew Clarke FEATURES WRITER Paul Gover PRODUCTION/SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Caroline Garde SENIOR DESIGNER Neville Wilkinson NATIONAL EDITOR Thomas Miles HISTORICS EDITOR Mark Bisset SPEEDWAY REPORTER Paris Charles ONLINE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTRALIA Josh Nevett, Dan McCarthy, Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Geoffrey Harris, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Ray Oliver, Martin Agatyn, Reese Mautone.

It is a historical fact that openwheeler racing promotes and demands better driving awareness and enhanced ability from drivers.

That’s why Formula 1 is regarded as the peak of motor racing.

It’s interesting that experienced drivers involved in S5000 enhance their racing ability and could take these more professional attributes and step down to Supercars, but of course those who CONTROL the system are against such logic, and ascertain that the only way to succeed is via their very expensive Super2 category.

Hmmm, why is that?

As for the ‘safety’ issue that prevented S5000 from racing at Bathurst last year and absolutely robbed the paying public of a spectacular event … that was a joke and the decision was pathetic!

Phil Hilzinger Bombala, NSW

FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell PHOTOGRAPHERS AUSTRALIA Mark Horsburgh-Edge Photography, Peter Norton-Epic Sports Photography, Ross Gibb Photography, Daniel Kalisz, Mick Oliver-MTR Images, Rebecca Hind-REVVED, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Richard Hathaway, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter, Ray Oliver, autopics.com.au Geoff Coulson Photography, Roy Meuronen Photography, Angryman Photography INTERNATIONAL

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ADVERTISING MANAGER Bruce Williams All Advertising inquiries bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 Editorial contributions may be sent to Auto Action. No responsibility will be accepted for their safety. If you require the return of any sent item or items, please attach a separate, stamped and fully addressed envelope.

Auto Action is published by Action Media Partners ABN number 62976094459 Suite 4/156 Drummond Street Oakleigh Victoria 3166 Phone: 03 9563 2107 The trademark Auto Action is the sole property of Action Media Partners The website www.autoaction.com.au and associated social media platforms are wholly owned by Action Media Partners.

All rights reserved No part of this magazine’s content may be reproduced, retransmitted or rebroadcast without the express written permission of the Publisher and Action Media Partners.

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For more of the latest motorsport news, reviews and features, PLUS additional breaking news.

Go to autoaction.com.au or scan below

NAILED! A GOLD MEDAL FOR GOSPEL TRUTH ON S5000 THE GOLD (Star) article in Auto Action #1860 started as what looked like a basic “I ask and you answer” kind of interview between AA editor Bruce Williams and Greg Crick, but it soon evolved into an amazing amount of insider information regarding the state of affairs surrounding the S5000 racing category.

The interview was presented with total disregard for the feelings of some in high places, who occupy ‘positions of power,’ and who think they can manipulate everything to suit their personal agendas based solely around the ‘racing category’ they have personally invested in.

These selfish sorts have stolen what used to belong to the grassroots motor racing fans, and those highly-motivated racing fanatics, and have created divisions based on the pursuit of their somewhat elitist, controlling attitudes.

Unfortunately, the false ego traits

SOCIAL DISCOURSE

of their thinking puts money before any genuine and honest concerns that may benefit motorsport or fans.

In the AA interview, Bruce Williams asked all the pertinent questions that revolved around the S5000 issue, and Greg Crick’s honest and forthright answers based on his very long career and experience in all aspects of motorsport belched out like red hot lava from a volcano!

Well done Bruce, who provided the nails for Greg to hammer home!

Rather than repeating the many obvious and, in some cases, very revealing truths and honest opinions offered from the revelations that Bruce and Greg have provided to the readers of AA, suffice to say that this interview will be seen as a benchmark for similar Q & A articles.

Regardless of personal opinions, Australia desperately needs its own world-class open-wheeler category.

From all accounts S5000 definitely fits the bill with virtually no negative attributes.

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Holden, was the breeding ground for a number of subsequent touring car/Supercars winners.

In the meantime, S5000 has some attractive events coming up in the second half of this year.

An S5000 budget is barely more than a National Formula Ford/ Toyota 86 one, so I hope there are more talented young drivers in a position to take advantage of that.

Chris Lambden Melbourne

TOURING CAR MASTERS SADLY HAS BECOME AN ALMIGHTY JOKE

MY THANKS to AA and Greg Crick – a respected and independent voice if ever there was – for the interview and frank opinions expressed on S5000 in your last issue.

Certainly, S5000 has, and still is, facing challenges from some areas of motorsport which, I can only imagine, feel to some degree threatened by a category that has a lot of fan – and driver – support.

But when talented young drivers are being told they can’t race a Supercar if they haven’t done six races in a second-hand touring car (Super2) – at a frightening budget well beyond what some can put together – it’s frustrating to say the least, especially when S5000’s predecessor, Formula

I JUST received notification from the TCM Facebook page that I used to follow with great interest (but not now) about their next event.

Anyway, they announced they are racing at Winton at some V8 event. Not V8 Supercars, I assume.

(Editor’s note: It’s the SpeedSeries round on June 9-11).

Fantastic, let’s go see outrageously modified half-milliondollar classics (some of which are built from brand new cars) that aren’t in the spirit of the rules or the category, while lapping others that joined the category for the enjoyment and pleasure of what was the intention of the category in the first place!

In October 2019 the fastest lap at Bathurst in the Aussie Touring Car Masters category was Steve Johnson at a ridiculously rapid 2:15 in his fastback Mustang.

That 2:15 by Johnson was 40 seconds faster than the fastest cars racing there in 1970, around the year the Johnson Mustang was originally built.

The category has lost its purpose and is now about getting away with breaking the rules and spending massive money.

And what’s worse is that the numbers in the races are dropping at a quick rate.

It’s a joke!

James Abbot East St Kilda, Victoria

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Editor’s note: Thanks for another thoughtful letter Phil. The sad thing is that we have to publish the thoughts of an S5000 supporter to highlight what’s going on. It’s pretty shamful really.

A VOICE OF COMMON SENSE ON GETTING INTO SUPERCARS

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The last fortnight has provided fans plenty of time to offer their viewpoints on Auto Action’s social channels, and here is what some of them had to say…

THE POLITICS KILLING S5000 David Anstis I DON’T know why Australian motorsport went down this route of a wings and slicks category, when there was already a proven template running in NZ. The Toyota Racing Series brings in young international stars on the rise and coupled with Australian talent and NZ talent, it would make it a true Trans-Tasman series, like was prominent in the golden era.

Stuart Sutcliffe YES, IT’S true a lot of V8 Supercar guys came out of open wheelers, but most had a priority to head down the elite open wheel pathway only for it to be scuttled

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like so many before because of lack of financial support, which meant they had to take the V8 option. I understand that a category can lead to alternative pathways, however I’d still like to see S5000 cater predominantly for those who not only envisage an open wheel career but are rewarded and supported after S5000 success.

You have Gerry Ryan from Jayco investing in opportunity for Australian Cyclists in Europe and recently Aussie Tech Billionaire David Dicker talking about plans for his own F1 Team to get a woman on the F1 Grid.

The Tech guru may seem far-fetched but the idea could be achieved perhaps on a less grander scale that can provide a

pathway forward for open wheel aspirants via S5000.

I recall a meeting with a well-known figure in the Australian car and Motorsport industry who was suggesting that for open wheel racing in Australia to progress, it needed to consider investment/ involvement in Europe F4/F3/F2. This was at the time just before F4 ceased and ideas were being floated to provide incentive and opportunity to encourage competitors.

Australian F4 Team ‘Evans GP’ is now competing in GB4 (with Aussie Cooper Webster), so currently there is a potential platform there to operate from and expand upon.

Anyway if S5000 could be part of a pathway that can lead to international

opportunity, then I personally would love to see that investment sourced.

NEW DRAG RACING ERA

Keenan Jones GOOD TO hear! Whether it is going around corners, going in a straight line or on dirt...Australia’s motorsport scene isn’t big enough for all these civil wars. For the good of the sport everyone needs to get on the same page more often.

Grant Mills IT IS what drag racing in Australia needs having all the big cars at one event will be sure to lure the fans in. Lookout Supercars there is going to be some competition.

There was one F1 star who seemd to relate to the rap-style intro show ...

Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

MIAMI WAS (AGAIN) A BIT TOO MUCH

ONE OF James Allison’s recent statements came to my mind when I watched the lengthy Miami Grand Prix pre-race show.

The Mercedes man is not only of the few Formula One engineers who thinks outside of the box, sees solutions where others just see a solid wall, but also tremendously pleasant as a person and always has a wonderful turn of phrase.

Recently, speaking about the changes Mercedes needs to make on the W14 to get it up to speed, Allison explained he wasn’t going to start from zero, because that would be like “throwing away an awful lot of baby … along with a small amount of bathwater”.

By that, of course, he meant, he would be wasting all the good concepts the car has just to get rid of a few bad characteristics the black car has.

Because of the hype surrounding it, I made a point

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with Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER of watching the unusually long pre-race show, the promoters of the Miami Grand Prix had put together in the 130 minutes before the start of the race.

I always thought the drivers’ parade, be it with the 20 boys together in the back of a truck or one by one in historic cars, was a nice touch. It allows the paying fans to see their heroes without helmets on and, with live interviews broadcast around the circuit, to hear their thoughts a couple of hours before the start of the race.

In Miami, though, the Liberty

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Media people went overboard to the point the pre-race show lasted longer than the race!

And if anyone would want to watch the whole thing in one go, they would have to sit in front of their TV set for at least four hours – not something anyone can or wants to easily do on a nice Sunday afternoon (or early morning in Australia!).

The hints we get from some of the old hands working directly for the commercial rights owner is that the strategy imposed from the leadership is to do everything they can to attract the younger

generation, the American market and as many female viewers as possible. And so a strong prerace show, together with a list of VIPs in excess of 50 names, drivers forced to spend a lot more time outside their cars, in scorching heat, unable to focus on the job they have ahead of them, is the way to go for the new bosses.

I’ll be frank with you. I had a lot of work to do on the ground in Miami, so I only watched the prerace show a couple of days after the race. And I had to remember I was doing it for work, not for fun because, frankly, the whole thing lasted way too long for my liking.

Asking around, I realised a lot of my trusted readers and friends thought along the same lines, and I wasn’t surprised by that.

You see, hardcore Formula 1 fans, who were the bulk of the sport’s viewers during Bernie’s days, couldn’t care less for side shows

and all that razzamatazz. They want to see racing, good racing, and that’s it.

By imposing on them lengthy pre-race shows, Domenicali is risking losing that important fan base to gain new fans that will stick around for two or three years before moving on to whatever new things that will catch their eye, and drop Grand Prix racing completely. So, like Allison said, Formula 1 is about to throw a lot of baby away along with a bit of bath water…

Long term strategy is always better than gimmicks to make a quick buck, I believe, so while something has to be done to attract this new generation of fans and a different demographic as well, it’s crucial to keep it within the limits of what the vast majority of long-term fans enjoy – or, at least, can stand – because without them, Formula One’s future will always be flimsy.

www.autoaction.com.au I 27

FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

OTMAR DEFLECTS HIS BOSS’ CRITICISM

OLD HAND Otmar Szafnauer reacted calmly to Alpine’s CEO Laurent Alpine’s criticism of the team the American leads (see story at bottom of page), showing no indications he felt the Frenchman’s message was directed at him. If Rossi’s goal was to publicly embarrass Szafnauer and force him to quit, the gamble hasn’t worked at all, with the American seriously downplaying his boss’ words.

Asked about his reaction to Rossi’s pointed interviews, Szafnauer calmly said that: “I saw the headline but I haven’t had time to read it”, before admitting that, “yes, we underperformed in Baku; the drivers ran into each other in Australia; in the first race we had a myriad of penalties, so it hasn’t been a smooth start to the season. I don’t know, maybe that’s why he made the comments, I’ll have to read them.”

Pretending to ignore what his boss had said was a good first step to defuse the situation, so the American quickly moved on to explain what steps had been taken after problems Alpine had in the first three races of the season: “All we can do first when we have issues like Baku is understand the root cause of why it happened and make sure we either put the process or people in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We had an engine fire on one side, so we have to make sure that doesn’t happen; then finger trouble on the other side. Finger trouble ... once you understand how it happens, there’s ways to mitigate that happening again. That’s what we’ll do, we’ve done it already – it didn’t happen here.”

While Ross’ criticism was mainly focused on the race team, Szafnaeur made it clear that, from his point of view, the A523’s lack of performance is mainly down to the quality of the work done back at the factory: “They’re two separate things, really. We have to understand why the ultimate performance of the car really doesn’t happen; extracting that ultimate performance, whether or not you have failures.

“We have to fix both sides. The hardest thing to do in Formula 1 is to make sure the car has ultimate performance, but that doesn’t happen here at the track– there’s just 100 people here. There’s 1000 of them in total, 900 working on performance, and of that 100 here. Probably only half of them work on extracting performance as we have marketing people and some others. So the lion’s share of the work of car performance is back at Enstone and Viry – here is making sure we don’t make mistakes, no engine fires, where you don’t have the wrong set-up in a race where you only have one hour practice ... and it’s unfortunate it happened in Baku.”

Asked if he’s talked to Rossi after his two critical interviews, Szafnauer assured that he hadn’t, before adding that, “reading something like that puts no more pressure on. Everyone wants to do better here – they’re very experienced technicians and engineers at the highest level. And we put pressure on ourselves, so we just have to fix it.” And, in a direct message to his boss, Szafnauer insisted that “I’ve no idea why he decided to say that – you’ll have to ask him. I’ll be asking him, but this weekend was so busy I haven’t had a chance to discuss that with him.”

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SPEEDS FORCE PIRELLI’S HAND PIRELLI HAS ANNOUNCED it will be introducing new tyre constructions in time for the British Grand Prix, after data from the first five races of the season showed the cars are already generating more downforce than had been predicted.

The teams’ pace of development, particularly Red Bull’s, has massively surpassed the simulations done by the FIA and the Italian tyre manufacturer, leading to fears the lap times will continue to tumble as cars get more upgrades, putting more stress on the tyres than they were designed to take.

The first conclusive signs the 2023-spec cars were already going way faster than expected came in Melbourne, leading Pirelli to launch an investigation into the need to come up with stronger tyre constructions.

Any doubts were erased in Miami, as Max Verstappen’s pole position time was just 0.005s short of beating last year’s pole time by two full seconds, showing how much quicker this year’s cars are. Of course, part of the gains made in Miami were due to a new, grippier, tarmac being laid in the American track, but still, Pirelli and the FIA are very keen to avoid any blowups at the most demanding tracks, like Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps or Suzuka.

The decision was taken quickly after the Miami race, with Pirelli accelerating the introduction of constructions that were on the pipeline only for 2024. The company’s Head of Motorsport, Mario Isola, explained that, “we’ve seen how much more performance the 2023 cars have compared to last year throughout the opening races

Silverstone is hard on tyres as Lewis Hamilton can confirm. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES of this season, and that is thanks to the extraordinary pace of development shown by all 10 of the teams. In Miami, for example, the pole time was nearly two seconds faster than last year, but the same sort of progress has been seen during races as well.

“Pirelli’s simulation work has always been aimed at not only supplying a product that hits the performance targets specified by stakeholders, but also anticipating any potential problems and reacting to them quickly.

“The new specification contains materials that we have already developed for 2024, which will make the tyres more resistant without affecting any of the other technical parameters or their behaviour on track.

“To allow all the teams to test the new construction on a level playing field, Pirelli will supply two extra tyre sets per car to be used

during FP1 and FP2 at the Spanish Grand Prix.”

Safety was the reason invoked by Pirelli to make this change, the only way to force it through without consultation with the teams. That’s because it was expected Red Bull, which has better tyre management than any other team, would oppose the move, as the last thing Christian Horner wants is any change on the basics of the performance balance between teams that could threaten the RB19’s domination.

As Pirelli’s statement mentioned, article 10.8.3 of the Technical Regulations was invoked as, after indicating tyre specifications for a season have to be homologated by September 1 of the previous year, the rules also indicate that, “notwithstanding the above, the FIA may decide to change the specification during the Championship season for safety reasons without notice or delay.”

ROSSI PROMISES CHANGE AT ALPINE: “THE BUCK STOPS WITH OTMAR” ALPINE’S CEO Laurent Rossi launched a violent attack against the leadership of the French company’s Formula One team in two separate interviews conducted during the Miami Grand Prix.

This being the first race Renault CEO Luca di Meo attended his year, Rossi’s interviews to French TV Canal Plus and to Formula 1’s official website were clearly not a thing done on the spur of the moment, but rather a calculated move to either get things done or make people leave the team after being publicly criticised by their boss.

The man in the firing line seems to be Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, hired by Rossi at the end of 2021 but now under a staunch attack from his own boss: “The buck stops with Otmar”, said Rossi in both interviews in a very clear message the Frenchman feels the former Honda and Force India man is responsible for the lack of overall performance and operational mistakes that were made early in the season, particularly with Esteban Ocon getting three penalties during the first race of the season and then both cars being sidelines early in the only practice session held in Baku, on the day an important aerodynamic upgrade was introduced on the A523.

First, though, Rossi criticised the design team at Enstone, saying that, “we started the season behind development targets. We were lacking performance

compared to where we wanted to be to cement P4.”

Then, he addressed the problems with the race team, pinpointing that, “we have made a lot of mistakes, too many mistakes, over the weekend. When you compound that relatively lower performance and lack of operational excellence you end up in a difficult position.

It makes for a difficult year ahead. The season is still young. I don’t want to give up, but a couple of things need to change. “ When directly asked if Otmar Szafnauer was to blame for the team’s relatively poor start of the season, Rossi had no problems pointing the finger in the American’s direction: “He is responsible for the performance of the team – that’s his job, there is no hiding here. Otmar was brought in to steer the team, through the season and the next seasons towards the objectives that we have.

“We had a team that performed reasonably well last year, got the fourth position which is the best improvement we had in a long time. It showed a lot of promise. It’s more of less the same people so I don’t accept that we are not capable of maintaining that. Yes, it is Otmar and the rest of his team as Otmar alone doesn’t do everything, but the buck stops with Otmar.

It’s Otmar’s responsibility, yes.”

And when asked if he still trusted Szafnauer or if his job was under imminent threat, Rossi dealt the final blow: “Trust is something that increases with good results and erodes with bad results.” He then added that, “everyone starts with a capital of trust and then you manage it. There are only so many setbacks you can take in a sport, because basically it shows.

Everyone can tell whether or not you’re going in the right direction. It directly impacts your capital of trust. I would say Otmar is very capable, but he has a big task on his hands.”

The Romania-born American was clearly downcast at the end of the weekend, even if both his cars finished in the points, but Szafnauer is not a man who quits of his own accord and, given he’s got another year and a half of contract to run with Alpine, Rossi knows it will be expensive to fire him. That’s probably why he launched such a string attack on his Team Principal, hoping for a resignation that is very unlikely to come.

RICCIARDO NOT A THREAT FOR DE VRIES - FOR NOW AFTER DANIEL Ricciardo was spotted in Faenza a couple of days after the Miami Grand Prix, and it was revealed the Australian actually did a seat fitting in this year’s AlphaTauri AT04, the rumor mill went into full power with stories about Nyck de Vries being about to be sacked and the former Grand Prix winner taking his place alongside Yuki Tsunoda.

The fact the Dutch driver has struggled to get to grips with Formula One, has been outqualified four times out of five by the young Japanese driver, and was involved in incidents of his own making in the last two Grands Prix has led some people to believe AlphaTauri could fire him immediately and put Ricciardo in his seat – but the reality is a lot less exciting than their imagination.

First of all, even if de Vries has been the biggest disappointment of the season, so far, Red Bull’s management has never dropped a new driver during his first season with

AlphaTauri, even when they are clearly struggling, as it was with Scott Speed in 2006 or, more recently, Brendan Hartley in 2018. In Miami, Franz Tost repeated that, “a driver needs three years to fully understand Formula One, for everything he does to be natural to him, so in the first years we have to expect spins, crashes and that sort of thing. Even Vettel did it in his first year with us, many times coming back to the pits with his car missing the nosecone and the front wings. So, yes, Nyck is making mistakes, but that’s not something we were not anticipating.”

Even if this year is Tost’s last year as AlphaTauri Team Principal, he’s unlikely to be overruled by Helmut Marko, as firing de Vries now would be an admission of making a huge mistake in hiring him just five months ago. While many questioned the logic of hiring a 28 year-old rookie with a history of needing three years to get up to speed in most categories, on

the back of a strong outing in Monza, with Williams (as that was the most favorable track for the FW43), firing him would be just throwing money away, destroying his career and putting someone else in the difficult position of starting to race with a car they had not tested before.

Marko and Tost have made it clear that AlphaTauri’s reserve driver is Liam Lawson, currently racing in Japan’s Super Formula and unable to attend the racing weekends in Imola, Montreal and Mexico, as they clash with his own outings in Autopolis, Sugo and Suzuka, respectively.

That’s why, doing the normal preparation teams do, AlphaTauri called Ricciardo to Faenza to do a seat fitting, so he can stand in, in case of necessity, at one of those three Grands Prix should de Vries or Tsunoda become suddenly unavailable.

As we said above, reality is far less exciting than imagination ... but these are the facts …

Could Dan be making a return to his old team?

MCLAREN UPGRADES NOW EXPECTED FOR CANADA MCLAREN HAD a terrible weekend in Miami, one week after Lando Norris qualified seventh and finished ninth in Baku, on the debut of the first serious upgrade introduced in the MCL60. At the American track, both Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri were unable to get out of Q1 – the first time since 2018 the papaya orange cars suffered such indignity.

In the race, the gamble to start on Softs, in the hope both drivers would gain positions off the line and then benefit from an early Safety Car period, was quickly frustrated as Norris’ was rammed by de Vries at Turn 1, with damage to the rear of his car, while a brake-by-wire issue doomed Piastri’s chances of moving up the order as well – after a great start..

The bottom line, though, was that the MCL60 was the slowest car in qualifying and Andrea Stella didn’t try to hide the facts, admitting that the characteristics of the Miami track brought up the main weaknesses of his car: “The information we gained here will helps us understand that some development directions that still need to be pursued”, the Italian engineer said, explaining the focus will be on, “ improving the car in off-brakes, off-throttle. At the moment, the car just doesn’t work in these conditions. At tracks like this, this becomes too much of a limitation. So, we take away some important learnings for development.”

Given Formula One now heads into its first triple header of the season, with Monaco being the last place where you want to try new parts, Stella explained the new, bigger, upgrade, will be introduced in June, possibly during the

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Canadian Grand Prix. The plan, for how is, to “bring it before the summer break. We are distributing these upgrades between Canada and Britain. We will be avoiding Austria because it’s a sprint event. And given the size of the package, we are not confident to bring it to an event ... like in Baku, we did it because it was just the floor. But here, there’s more redesign involved and we will delay to Britain.”

The shocker that was the car’s speed in Miami, according to Stella: “It doesn’t change the rate of development. It just helps focusing some conditions in which you develop your car. These conditions are conditions that you have to put your car in development in CFD and some conditions that you have to put your car in the wind tunnel development. You have to give more weight and more emphasis to these conditions. The rate is always pushing 100% but redirected somehow.”

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Production timelines, as usual, are one of the team’s main constraints and that’s why Stella made a point of explaining the reasons behind not having new parts for the next three races: “What happens in Imola is what you signed off and sent to production either one month or two months ago, depending on the lead time. So, it’s not like if you have a set-up issue, then you can react in the space between now and Imola.

“At the moment we have more issues to do with the specification of the car, with the package, and these have their own lead time time which you have to build, design, produce and so on. So, what happens at Imola is what we decided one month ago. There’s little developments coming for Imola, actually. And they are minor compared to the step that we need to make to be consistently in the points, which is what we want to do.”

F1 CHANGES PROCEDURES AFTER LUCKY ESCAPE A MAJOR oversight by FIA officials nearly led to tragedy at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as last man to pit, Esteban Ocon, narrowly avoiding running over around 20 people who were allowed to cross the entry of the pit lane on their way to the pit wall or a photographer’s stand placed in front of the podium.

While everyone in the know was aware the Frenchman would eventually have to pit to put a new set of tyres, having completed the first 49 laps of his race on the Hard compound (in the hope a late Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car period would gift him a ‘free’ pit stop that would allow him to score one or two points), some at the FIA didn’t realise the Alpine driver was yet to pit and opened the access gate at the end of the pit building.

Photographers flocked in, some to go directly to the stand in front of the podium, others going around barriers that had been just placed there, to take photos of cars and drivers as they stopped in Parc Fermé, right under the podium.

As Ocon was running in P9, 1m20s behind race leader Sérgio Pérez, the Mexican was less than half a minute from taking the checkered flag when the blue and pink car dived into the pits, while more than 20 people were crossing the pit lane – including some race officials who wanted to be on the pit wall to see the end of the race.

Onboard footage taken from Ocon’s car shows he entered the pit lane access road at full speed, to see the pit lane blocked by a lot of people. Braking to 80 km/h to respect the speed limit in the pits, Ocon also had to slow down to avoid running over some of them, a couple who can be seen jumping out of his way at the very last second – a very lucky escape for all.

Ocon, of course, was not impressed, admitting, “it was quite close; I had to lift off, I had to back off, so I would not have liked to have been the in the place of those that were there. I have to say at the speed that we are arriving, especially so close to the line, if I miss the braking point it is a big disaster, so that was a crazy moment.”

The Frenchman explained that, “arriving at 300kph, braking very late and seeing the barriers and the people all around it was crazy. It could have been a big, big one and, definitely something that needs to be discussed as it is something we don’t want to see.”

As a similar situation had occurred in last year’s Australian Grand Prix, when Alex Albon also pitted at the start of the last lap, the FIA took action and called its own representatives to explain what had gone wrong to the Stewards of the Meeting.

While noting, “that it was not unusual for the representatives to allow such persons into the pit lane just before the end of the race, in the usual course of preparation for Parc Ferme and the Podium ceremony”, the Stewards made it clear that, “in this case, there was one driver that had to pit in the last lap and this created a very dangerous situation for those that were in the pit lane at the time.”

Therefore, the Stewards, “considered that it was fortunate that there were no serious consequences on account of what happened today” and “stressed that the requirements of ensuring a safe and orderly event are paramount. This was acknowledged by the FIA team”, and changes to the procedures were introduced for the Miami Grand Prix to make sure there could be no repeat of that chilling close call.

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BRODIE KOSTECKI IS THE REAL

THING HE’S A MAN OF FEW WORDS BUT PLENTY OF ACTION ... BUT WHO IS BRODIE KOSTECKI AND HOW DID HE GET THE ORANGE NUMBERS? ANDREW CLARKE SAT DOWN FOR A CHAT WITH THE SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER ...

IT FELT like Brodie Kostecki burst onto the scene as a Bathurst codriver in 2020 when he mixed it with, and beat, the best when main driver strategies misaligned with the #99 Erebus car. From Perth via California, Kostecki showed he disliked taking backward steps. He wasn’t intimidated by stature or reputation. He wouldn’t get out of the way of anyone … even Jamie Whincup.

After a Safety Car early in the race, Kostecki was left sitting in third with Cam Waters and Tim Slade (also a co-driver, but only just out of a main game seat) in front of him, and Garth Tander (same disclaimer as Slade) and Whincup lined up behind. He defended Tander, who would go on to win the race with Shane van Gisbergen,for eight laps.

Then Whincup moved in, and he seemed a little less patient and, on the third lap of following, stuck his nose up the inside of Kostecki at Griffins Bend. Running the high line, Kostecki held him out. Refusing to concede, Whincup then sat on the outside at the kink heading into The Cutting and drifted into the wall.

Kostecki was now firmly in the spotlight and no longer easily dismissed as an iRacer from the Kostecki clan that had his cousins Jake and Kurt on the track and with whom he raced on debut the previous year.

When David Reynolds and Anton De Pasquale departed Erebus at season’s end, team boss Barry Ryan and his crew turned to Kostecki and fellow main game rookie Will Brown in a bold move that today looks like an inspired decision.

With not even 100 races to their names,

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Kostecki and Brown sit first and fourth in the series, and Erebus leads the teams’ title.

Kostecki’s climb to the top has been rapid, but it is the end result of leaving Australia aged 12 to pursue a career in the States, where he graduated from karts into cars at an age when most Australians would still be dreaming of such a move. It set his path as a racing car driver, and now, he is a serious contender in the biggest show in

Australia and, who knows, maybe he’ll head back soon to take on NASCAR again as a sideshow.

“It’s sort of a bit of a funny one to ask, but yes and no,” he says to a question about whether he is surprised to be leading the series after eight races. “I’m not really surprised at how we’ve gone so far. When I first signed on with Erebus, it was all about Gen3 and not so much about the cars that we raced in the past.

“There’s been a lot of effort and time that’s gone into Gen3 from the Erebus side of things, so I’m not really surprised but very fortunate.”

Quietly spoken and not fond of using too many words, Kostecki is confident in himself in a way that not all drivers are. Sometimes you feel like you are hearing the words, but then you don’t see the words backed up by actions.

Saturday in Perth would be a

Above and left: Co-drivers have morphed into race-winning lead drivers ... and the Erebus team is reaping the reward of its early commiment to Gen3. Images: MARK HORSBURGH Below: Kostecki and Brown support each other and are now both serious championship contenders. Image: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

perfect example, even if he didn’t win.

He knew he was battling a three-time series champion and the ultimate ontrack bullyboy in van Gisbergen with a tyre life difference – ie nine laps older tyres – that should have left him a sitting duck.

And while ultimately it did, it didn’t happen without a bit of a show.

Kostecki defended and van Gisbergen attacked. Van Gisbergen kept trying a tapto-pass routine that normally gets people

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out of his way quickly. But Kostecki stuck to it and ran a defensive line, eventually scoring him a controversial warning. Even then SVG’s passing move that dropped him to second was not without a considerable bump-and-run effort that upset Ryan.

He enjoyed the battle. Van Gisbergen enjoyed it – and we did too.

Born in 1997, he first drove a kart in a car park at the age of four, and he started racing not long after. He began to get

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serious in 2010 with Juniors and raced around Australia with some success. Then he moved with his father to California to see what he could do with a racing career, and the rest of the family moved later. It is a big thing for a family to upend its life on the possibility of a racing career, but there was no hesitation.

In the States, it was straight into openwheelers under the auspices of the United States Auto Club (USAC) on dirt

ovals. His Ford Focus midget was a “300 plus horsepower car that weighs nothing” and it was a great learning time. As a 13-year-old, he won 27 times out of the 35 races and won his first title.

The next stop was NASCAR late models, more powerful sedan-based racers running short tracks across America. He won a few races against drivers that are now NASCAR Cup Series regulars. Then it was NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, and in 2014 he pocketed a pair of pole positions in car #43, running against the likes of current NASCAR series leader Ross Chastain.

“It’s pretty normal over there for guys to be racing cars like that at that age, so it was normal for me at the time. It seems like a head-spin over here because you can’t drive anything until you’re 16.”

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Perth provided the clearest evidence that Kostecki ain’t gonna take any of van Giz’s bump-and-run ...

Right: With engineer George Commins.

Images: MARK HORSBURGH.

He had his eyes set on making the top tier of NASCAR, but when it was clear the young Australian was going to struggle for opportunities, he came home and started eying Super2. In 2018, Kostecki Brothers Racing ran the three sons of the two brothers, with Brodie, in the same team as cousins Jake and Kurt.

Brodie finished the highest in the series with fifth, but more significant were his first wins near the end of the series. He only ran four races in the following two seasons but debuted at Bathurst in the Kostecki Brothers wildcard entry in 2019, which almost ended before it began.

Brodie had qualified the car in 23rd but didn’t finish the formation lap as the car’s driver cooling system was pumping the wrong sort of air into his helmet and by the time he got to Forrest’s Elbow he needed to stop while he was still conscious.

“I didn’t really understand what was happening at the time. I was not really with-it.

I was able to get the assistance I needed to get back to the pits, and then it took a while to get a clear mind and get back in the car.

“I have no idea what happened. I don’t remember anything about it.”

He made it into the race, and the car expired on lap 111. But he was noticed by Erebus, and he lined us with them in 2020 and we all stood and paid attention.

“I had a job to do, and that was to co-drive with Anton and put the car in the best spot to get the highest finish in the race,” he said casually about his weekend. “In the car, we got a bit of strategy thing, and I was in the car with other main drivers at the time, so I just got my head down and got to work. I guess it worked out.

“I don’t necessarily enjoy seeing my competitors crash. I enjoy racing people hard and fairly.”

He was oblivious to the noise he had made in the sport – he says he doesn’t pay much attention to the media. When pressed, he says it would be good if a few others

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decided to race as hard as he does and that people shouldn’t be surprised when he does.

“I think everyone could race a little harder, to be honest, and put on a better show for the fans.

“It took a lot of hard work to get to where I am today. I’m not necessarily surprised; I have confidence within myself, and the team also gives me confidence. It’s a bit of a journey to get here, but proud of how far I’ve come. I’ve still got a lot of work to do and a lot of boxes I want to tick, and I just keep pushing along until I achieve it.”

Self-belief is essential for any athlete, but the machinery can hide a driver’s ability in motorsport. Aside from that early dirt title, he had no championship wins in car racing.

Yet he still carried self-belief.

“When they first approached me to race full-time, we had the same mindset. Barry [Ryan] is a really competitive person as well and obviously really passionate as well. He wears his heart on his sleeve when he goes racing, which is really cool, in my opinion.

“I think he’s not one of those types that is just a boring, old person. The team has a really good dynamic, and everyone is close within the team as well. It’s been a good

time racing the last few years with them.

“I’ve never actually copped a blast from him. It’s pretty straight with him, to be honest. If he feels like he’s surrounded by people that want to win and put in the work and dedication, there’s no problem.”

At the end of the 2020 season, it looked like things were falling apart at Erebus, but in reality, nothing was further from the truth.

Dave Reynolds had signed a 10-year deal but walked away with his engineer, Alistair McVean. Anton De Pasquale left to replace Scott McLaughlin at Dick Johnson Racing, and Erebus turned to its two rookie Bathurst co-drivers.

Gen3 was coming, albeit slower than hoped, and Erebus was planning for it.

Kostecki and Brown were parts of the puzzle. Kostecki was oblivious to the cultural change going on inside the team, so all he could focus on was his new drive.

“Nothing comes easy in this sport. There are only 25 or 26 cars on the grid. In a football team, there’s 20-plus people per team, so there are more opportunities.

It’s quite hard to get into motorsport, and nothing comes easy.

“I had a pretty strong feeling about Gen3.

When I first signed, it was all the teams

spoke about and all the focus was going into Gen3. We’re a fairly small team, so we couldn’t juggle both at the time, so it was more about how we went racing with the old cars and just ‘got by’ for the last two years, whereas Gen3 has been a whole different mindset, which has been really cool.”

He struggled with those two years. The competitive animal inside him wanted to be at the front every week, not just the occasional week. In his fifth race, in the rain at Sandown, he finished second to van Gisbergen. People who are

NASCAR Pro Series in Iowa and (below) Sprintcars back in Australia – which Kostecki continues to compete in where possible – have both been part of the Kostecki pathway.

Bathurst in 2020 – top 10 finish sharing with Anton de Pasquale.

TransAm at QR ...Image: DANIEL KALISZ

Second, in the rain, at Sandown was a big boost ... Image: MARK HORSBURGH fast in the wet are generally pretty good racing drivers – Jim Richards and van Gisbergen here, or Ayrton Senna in F1 – so we all had to pay attention.

But the COVID-interrupted year was hard for Erebus. Kostecki had two more podiums for the year, including Bathurst. He won pole for the second race of 2022 and then finished second, but again the season was up and down.

Then enter Gen3. We’re nine races into the season, and he has climbed onto the podium in eight of the races, has won two, and leads the championship from Chaz Mostert and van Gisbergen.

“I didn’t cope,” he said of the two final seasons of the Gen2 cars. “It’s not a great feeling going there knowing you’re fighting with one hand behind your back, but it is what it is. I was just happy that when I jumped into the Gen3 car for the first time for a test drive, I saw how much work had gone into the car and how beautifully they were built.”

The year has started as a bit of a blur. A hard-charging enigma, Kostecki was now able to show his craft at the front of the

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pack where everyone looks. Back in the muck, plenty gets missed. His first win was the second race of the Grand Prix weekend with that shortened race.

“There wasn’t really much emotion at all, to be honest, after my first win – that race was short and weird. I think there was more emotion at the end of the weekend when I was leading the championship. That meant quite a lot to me and also to the team.

“It was great to get the orange numbers put on the car and then go to Perth and extend the lead a little bit more. It’s pretty cool, but it’s still very early in the season.

When the cars go back to the workshop and the mechanics and engineers get to see them [the orange numbers], it just shows that all the hard work meant something.”

Kostecki, however, says he is now confused about what is and isn’t allowed on the track after Perth. He doesn’t understand why he was warned for blocking, and he didn’t even know about that until after the race because he was so engrossed in his battle with van Gisbergen. He will seek clarification on that at Symmons Plains this weekend and also on the ability to bump and run, to gain a lasting advantage through body contact.

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On Sunday morning before the race, he effectively said if they’re the new rules, he’ll race that way, indicating the potential for an even more interesting battle with van Gisbergen when they are next together.

“I want to race hard, and I was pretty disappointed that I got the bad sportsmanship flag in the last few laps there. We should have just been able to play it out and race. A bit frustrating that I received that on just the grounds for what I got told it was for.

“A car behind me was drilling me for two laps straight. It doesn’t make sense, no matter how they try to explain it. It’s a bit disappointing, but honestly, I don’t care. I like hard racing, and I was fine with it. I just don’t understand where some people were coming from.”

Brodie is one of the bigger drivers in the field and works hard on his fitness to be in the best shape possible to race hard.

“It’s pretty hard for me. I’m quite tall, the same as Chaz and Shane. I’m also quite wide so I’ve always been on the heavier side of things. I train every day as much as I can.

“I’ve lost a bit of weight going through the season, which has helped out a little bit.

But that’s always been something I struggle

with, so I try to put in as much effort as possible to be the best I can be.”

This season he’s leaner and meaner. He doesn’t do anything on the mindfulness side of racing, just a lot of iRacing to keep his racecraft sharp.

He’s still exploring some options to do a road course NASCAR race or two, but he won’t do anything that impacts what he is doing here. Chicago and the Brickyard 200 at Indianapolis are on weekends before a Supercar race, and Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval clash with Supercar races.

The options are limited.

“I’m trying to see if the stars will align and if I can do a few races in America this year – it really depends on a few things. I want to make sure I have enough recovery time afterwards for when I jump back in the Supercar, I don’t want to do anything to compromise that. That’s my main priority.

“If it doesn’t swing my way, I guess it’s not meant to be for this year. I’ve got plenty to focus on here at the moment.

“I’ve been racing my sprint car here as well, so I’ve been staying quite busy at home. We get a two-month break without a Sprintcar race, but then it starts again, and I’ll jump in and keep driving.”

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From Sebring (above), to Atlanta (right), to NOLA (opposite bottom), Nathan Herne has been getting a taste of the high level of competition in US Trans Am.

FROM LISMORE

TO CHICAGO AUSTRALIA’S TWO-TIME NATIONAL TRANS AM CHAMPION NATHAN HERNE IS ON A STEEP AND PRESSURISED LEARNING CURVE IN THE USA, WHERE THE ‘LISMORE BULLET’ IS FIGHTING TO MAKE HIS WAY TO THE FRONT OF HIGHLY COMPETITIVE AND INTENSE TA2 AMERICA GRID. TIMOTHY W NEAL REPORTS …

HERNE RECENTLY came home to compete in the national TA2 series in Darwin whilst on an early season break, where he took out two Sprint Races in a Dodge Challenger, and he and his co-driver finished second overall in the world’s first ever twin-driver TA2 round.

Between a quick trip to his home in Lismore for his mothers birthday, and jetting back to his new home in Chicago to prepare for Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park on May 29, Auto Action caught up with the StevensMiller Racing Cube3 Mustang driver to talk about his progress in the States.

So far this season, despite the clear pace advantage of #29 Mustang, he’s collected just the one podium after three rounds, with himself, and the team having a few teething issues which they’re desperately sorting through to grab his maiden victory and push for a championship.

In Round 1 at Sebring, a frame height issue in the tech shed relegated him to the back of the 42 car field from P3, but he thrilled the commentators when he charged through the field at will, twice getting up to the top-10 before his tyre got cut.

Round 2 in New Orleans saw him take a strong P2 after having to come from P15, and in Atlanta,

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after qualifying in P3 he hit the front early with space to burn before an uncharacteristic error left him shattered with a forced retirement.

The Lismore born TA2 driver described to AA the challenges he’s been going through to settle into the high intensity atmosphere – on and off the track.

“It’s been a baptism of fire, I’ll say that much!” Herne began.

“On paper it’s been the worst start to a year I’ve had, which is a bit of a shame, but I’ve learnt more in these three events than in my entire racing life.

“I’ve just been trying to make sure everything’s ticked off, and not just the ontrack stuff. The biggest change for me in being in America has been the off-track challenges.

“The amount of work required to make sure everything is running smoothly has definitely been a different experience to go through, and a bit of a shock at first.

We had three races on the trot to start the season, so to sort out the teething problems as well as being in a team that’s had a big restructure internally … honestly, for the things that have gone wrong I think we’ve done a good job, but we need to start getting the results.”

The short turnaround for the team between receiving the car and the first race at Sebring was a big factor in some of those hurdles, but the break has allowed both him and the crew to delve into finding solutions to those problems.

“The timeframes we had just weren’t realistic at first. The car was built just in time for a test before Sebring in Round 1, then after a quick service we didn’t even see the thing prior to NOLA (New Orleans), where I didn’t lay eyes on it until I got in it for Friday practice.

“But now we’ve had the time, and I’ll be getting off the plane and going straight into some research and development to see what we can find in this thing. There’s little intermittent problems that we can fix which will give us over a tenth of a second per corner, which all adds up.

“It’s so well built that the issues are, and have been, the same everywhere we’ve gone – which is good because we know how to attack the problems to move forward.”

On the clear pace advantage that Herne and the SM-R team have on track, not getting the win at Road Atlanta left him gutted, but he’s confident the floodgates will open once they crack the formula.

“They’ve built a bloody fast car – it just hasn’t been the ideal start with too many mistakes,” he continued.

“Those errors have been shared between myself and the team, but you have to move on. But in saying that, I’m still filthy about Atlanta … I don’t normally make mistakes like that, and it was my first for a

while, and it hurt our momentum after the podium.

“We’re somehow still in the championship hunt, and everyone there knows we have the fastest car, so once it all comes together … The first win is the hardest, so when we get that, the momentum will come and it’ll be a different story to tell.”

Between himself and the team, Herne highlighted some of the issues that have plagued them so far; they sit 15th in the standings, however with plenty of room to move in a 13-round season.

“Atlanta was honestly just a brain fade!

I wasn’t trying to push because I had a two second lead, and I didn’t need more. I really can’t explain what happened there – I just backed off, then I speared off.

“In Round 1, at Sebring, we actually failed tech (frame height) due to a right front shock absorber that was stuck down, which should have been avoided – and that’s how we had to start the year after qualifying in P3 and topping practice.

“Then, at NOLA, we had the front-end of the car mounted wrong which stuffed our qualifying … so it’s just been making mistakes in important sessions – but it’s a whole new deal for everyone at S-MR this year – new drivers, new team, new car.

“Everyone’s saying that we’ll be hard to catch once we put it together, and now that’s just got to come to fruition, because we’re definitely making everyone nervous with the obvious speed.”

After a long two month break, Herne and the team now get the chance to right the wrongs on a track that he’s most been looking forward to tackling: Lime Rock Park.

“I’m looking forward to it the most, more than all the other tracks. Unfortunately I will be going in raw again as we couldn’t get a test session booked.

But it’s the same story as Atlanta and Sebring where, despite that, I topped practice sessions at both.

“It’s a really quick track but only six corners on our TA2 layout, so it won’t be too much to learn … it’s basically a backwards oval with a ski jump in the middle!” Herne quipped.

The other major factor that Herne recognises is the immense amount of talent in the field, which includes 16-year-old Connor Zilisch, who won at Atlanta, and the ridiculously young US prodigy Brent Crews, who at 14 won his fourth Trans Am race at NOLA by 1.219 over Herne and former IndyCar racer Rafa Matos.

“It’s certainly the most talented field of drivers I’ve ever had to deal with. Some of these American kids have been professional drivers from the age of four – they’re bloody good!

“You’ve got Brent Crews who was a three time karting world champion, and Zilisch who’s a Chevy junior

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driver. They’re young NASCAR kids who are being fed through TA2, and they’ve got the world behind them just pushing them along, because they’re seriously good drivers.

“It’s pretty crazy to think that I was only that age a few years back and considered a young bloke. And now I’m 20 racing against some 14-16 year old’s and I’m considered an older bloke!

“The TA2 series is certainly getting bigger and more competitive around the world, but in America, everyone’s looking at it because of the quality in the field and the young talent that’s in it.

“There’s also guys like Rafa Matos, an IndyCar driver that won everything on his way to Indy and is still winning.

Then there’s Mariano Werner - who is super-experienced and who’s also won everything … So, like I said, it’s a baptism of fire no matter where you look over there.

“But off track, I get along with all of them really, so it’s pretty fun in the pits in that regard.”

Herne gave an indication of what the mental side of it is like on track, where nothing but pure, high-class pressure racing, will get you over the line.

“With all of these guys, you get out there and you can’t play any mind games, which I felt you could in Australia. They’re a lot mentally stronger and they don’t make any mistakes, so it’s very hard to put one on someone over there.

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“ ”

Atlanta was honestly just a brain fade!

I wasn’t trying to push because I had a two second lead ...

It’s been a steep learning curve.”

And finally, what was it like for him coming home to race?

After racing S5000s at the Adelaide 500 – where he won the Tasman Series – a whirlwind offer was tabled and formalised whilst in SA, before he rushed off to the States, leaving behind a bevy of championships.

“It was different. TA2 was where I started my career I guess, where I made a name for myself as a young bloke coming through against all these experienced drivers, some of whom were racing in Darwin.

“So it was a bit surreal in a way, and to know I’m going back over with a whole American season in front of me with all these amazing tracks ...

“I have to pinch myself sometimes, to think I’m living out a lot of people’s dreams and racing in the States … it’s pretty damn cool.”

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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SPEEDWAY

WILSON STRIKES FOR SUPER SEDAN A1 A FIELD of 34 competitors came from far and wide for the 2023 Cush Clothing Speedway Sedans Australia National Super Sedan Title held at Corbet’s Group Gympie Speedway in Queensland. Trent Wilson put in a strong performance through the qualifying heats to start the 40-lap final from pole position alongside Tyson Moon while the second row consisted of Justin Randall and defending Champion Matt Pascoe with the next best 18 runners tucked in behind.

With clear track ahead, Wilson skipped out to an early race lead while others behind him jockeyed for position over the first five laps – before Sam Roza brought on the first caution period while trying to make a pass on the uniquely undulating kidney shaped 400m Mothar Mountain track that incorporates a tight hairpin bend.

Wilson led the restart and continued to open a comfortable lead while the fellow contenders battled for the minors. By half race distance Wilson held a favourable two and half second gap over Randall, Sean Black, Brad Pascoe and Hayden Brims and Matt Pascoe rounding the top half dozen.

Black’s run soon came to an end as his tyre start deflating, allowing those behind to make their way forward.

Lapped traffic would then come into play for Wilson – with 15 to go Randall began to close the gap and challenge for the lead. After dicing for several laps through

SPEEDWAY NEWS with Paris Charles the traffic, Wilson eventually cleared his path while the race for the minors proved a thrilling affair, battling at times four-wide in a bid to go forward. Wilson soon got a reprieve from the congestion as the lights went yellow with seven to run.

Wilson made the most of the clear track he had been desperately trying to find until a tangle between second-placed Randall and Matt Pascoe spun the forementioned around to bring on the next caution period.

Pascoe was deemed the cause of the stoppage, relenting his title defence as he rolled back to the pit area. Wilson again led the field away and Matt Williams came on strong using the top-side of the track moving from 17th to fourth to second before the final stoppage would play its part.

Randall reclaimed the second position for the restart, while Wilson raced green, white and chequered flag, producing a faultless go-to-whoa display of driving to claim his maiden Australian Super Sedan

Trent Wilson on his way to victory in the Australian Super Sedan Championship. Image: TONY POWELL Championship. Joining Wilson in the top five podium celebrations was Randall, B Main winner Williams, Brims and Brad Pascoe.

Sixth to the line was Moon followed by Zac Pascoe, Lucas Roberts, Darren Kane, Steve Jordan, Luke Gunn and JJ Hamilton on the lead lap with Barry Craft the final finisher, one lap behind. Joining Matt Pascoe on the non-finishers list was Zac Brims, Jamie Collins, Mick Nicola Snr, Black, Callum Harper, David Much, Roza and Michael Gee.

SUPPORTS

RORY EVANS led from green to chequered to claim the 20-lap Mountain Magic final for Production Sedans. Chris Pagel and Queensland champion Daniel Henshaw were next and rounding the top five were

Hayden Turner and Sarah Franz. The Modlites final saw Corey Stein, Nathan Politch, Joshua Herne, Callum Beerling and visiting South Australian Michael Miller in his final drive as a full time driver completing the top five. Steve Cook proved the best of the Street Stocks, taking the win over Ken Carroll, Luke Gray, Peter Thompson and Brandon Stoward.

The Junior Sedans were divided into Top and New Stars. Australian Champion Aidan Rigby proved his worth in the Top Stars over AJ Macdonald, Cooper Flynn, William Pagel and Braydon Steffens while Jackson Kunny led flag to flag in the New Stars final – chasing him to the line was Lucas Welke followed by Claire Vuichoud, Ethan Jenner and Isaac Vandenberg.

TY TAKES SUNLINE BY STORM WAGGA WAGGA’S Ty Galley made every post a winner to claim Round 4 of the South Australian Modified Sedan Series staged in front of a healthy crowd at Waikerie’s Sunline Speedway. Galley claimed two of the three heat wins with fellow front row sitter Trev Logan the remainder.

From Pole position Galley made the most of his front row start, running express aboard his Tri Lubricants entry to the chequered flag, finishing a mere one tenth of a second short of creating a new 15-lap record and lapping up to third in the process. Logan and Robert Uren finished where they started for second and third while David Haseldine journeyed from seventh to round off the final podium placing in fourth. One lap down was Trevor Raams followed home by Brendon Elphick, Jason Demaine and Shelley Hardy for the depleted field of finishers.

Mark Janssan and Justin Richter failed to travel the journey while Heath Thorne, Justin Demaine, Paul Hayes and Marty Raams would not trouble the lap scorers in the final.

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Jason Bolitho takes the Pro Sprints final.

Images: PARIS CHARLES

Ty Galley celebrates with a victory lap.

SUPPORTS THE 360CI powered Pro Sprints were dominated by Jason Bolitho who was

never headed from the get-go setting the quickest lap time in hot laps before taking both heats and running flag-to-flag in the 15-lap final, Darryl Bottoms and John Henderson rounding out the three.

The Modlites produce some fantastic racing with the fastest-to-rear format for the final. Jake Armstrong came from the back of the field, thrilling the crowd to win the final. Jacob Carlier and Justin Chadwick rounding out the top three.

The Street Stock feature would see

Jason Gantz take the win over the Mildura duo Jack Littlehales and Matt Lepoidevin, each of the competitors finishing in their starting positions.

While others fell before him, Deklan Bolitho sliced his way through the combined field of New and Top Stars in the Junior Sedan final, Ryan Burns and Max Richter sharing the podium.

The crowd were entertained by a solid field of combined Classic Saloon and Super Sedans as they turned back the hands of time with a series of spirited demonstration runs and finally Super Sedan newcomer Darryl Schultz was gifted the opportunity to get in some valuable learning laps over the course of the night.

Before a lap was run, the venue held a minutes silence for three South Australian Speedway icons who had recently passed. Toby ‘Wally’ Francombe, one of the State’s most memorable Super Sedan competitors; ‘Zeke’ Ian Agars, the inaugural winner of the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, and Dave Redmond, former Australian Modified Sedan champion.

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Newly-crowned Victorian Modified Sedan Champion Matt Nelson.

NELSON NAILS V1

55 Mark Allcorn leads 33 Jimmy Keane.

Image: SCOTT KERNAHAN

TOP END FIRES UP DARWIN’S NORTHLINE Speedway, nestled in the Hidden Valley Motorsport Complex, roared back into life for its 2023 season – the opening night of competition would see a mixture of five divisions as the AMCA National, Street Stock and Junior Sedan competitors blew the cobwebs off the clay-way while, on the infield track, the Speedway Karts and Solo bikes provided the crowd with some fantastic action.

The V8 powered AMCA Nationals was dominated by Mark Allcorn, taking two qualifying heats, while the remainder went to Jimmy Keane, setting the duo up with the front row start for the 15-lap final.

Allcorn led from green to chequer, while young gun Deegan Sherwood quickly advanced to second, relegating Keane to third – it would remain in that order to completion, Paul Carmody rounding the

top four while Sarah Gordon was an early retirement.

Reigning Northern Territory Street Stock champion Justin Brumfield proved his worth, running undefeated in the three qualifying heats aboard his Holden Commodore. For the final, Brumfield would start from a handicapped position, half a lap (200m) behind the rest of the field for the 15-lap final. From there, Brumfield would advance to second but was unable to pass Kane Lloyd who ran at the front from go to whoa. Megan Henderson took the final podium placing, leading home Michelle Gill in fourth while Samantha Radford failed to trouble the lap scorers.

Junior Sedans provided the largest numbers for the evening with nine keen kids to do battle, including a good mix of newcomers to the class. However,

experience would come to the fore as River Spitzbarth claimed all three heats and was never headed in the 15-lap final. Blake Overend, Caiden Weaver rounded out the Top Stars podium while Brodie Costello and Rhys King were the best of the New Stars.

The Browns proved strong in the Karting class with Tony and Michael sharing the front row in the 15-lap final. Tony would go on to take a flag to flag victory while Yazmin Brown relegated Michael to the final step of the all Brown podium – completing the top five was Isaiah Strong and Bradely Fitchner.

The two-wheeled action from the five Solo riders on hand provided the crowd with some fantastic elbows-up action.

Connar Bridgeford claimed the ‘A’ final over Bradley Niven. Steven Hutchinson led the B final before snapping a chain, gifting Kurt Baxter the win. Ray Niven, the fifth rider.

TODD TAKES A1 A STOUT field of 72 Wingless Sprints competitors coming from almost every part of the nation ventured to Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway, for the running of the 2023 Australian Wingless Sprints Championship and what would be the final time the iconic venue plays host to a national championship. From the 72 competitors the top 20 runners would square up for the marathon 40-lap final after an epic two nights of competition that included 24 heats, preliminary final, two C Mains and two B Mains.

The front row would consist of Jason Bates and Jacob Jolley. The duo started well, with a solid dice for the lead over the first five laps before second-generation Victorian racer Todd Hobson advanced from sixth to lead the charge on the seventh lap, and from that point forward he would not look back despite the challenges from behind in the run to the chequered flag. Hobson placed the Fitzpatrick family LFA team entry into Victory Lane. Jolley would finish where he started in second position, while taking the final step on the podium was the reigning Queensland champion Scott Thomsen who also finished in his qualifying position. Tyson Williams was next followed by Jack McCarthy from Tim Harris, while the biggest mover in the field was New South Welshman Michael Butcher advancing from 19th to seventh. Rylan Furler, Travis Millar and Pole sitter Bates squared up the top 10. Tasmanian champion Brad Whitchurch and Kirby Hillyer were next,

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trailed by the outgoing national champion Kyle Mock for the Baker’s dozen. Cooper Wilson, Mark Blyton, Lachlan Robertson and Mitchell Broome finished on the lead lap while one lap in arrears was the highest placed female racer South Australian Jenna Kervers. Brody Thomsen and Casey O’Connell failed to travel the journey.

Luke Oldfield racks up victory in the Sprintcar track championship

Damien Miller, winner of the Dirt X Industries Sports Sedan Power Series final.

LUKE LICK’S EM!

THE WEEKEND’S activities were coheaded, as it read also Round 8 of East Coast Logistics Series for Sprintcars on the marque. For what is closing in on the final time that Sprintcars take to the 400m Brisbane track in anger, a strong showing of 32 competitors was keen to stake their claim on the victory.

Luke Oldfield dominated proceedings from the outset to take a flag-to-flag victory in the 30-lap final. Joining the local gun on the podium would be Brent Kratzmann showing a welcomed return to form with a well-deserved runner-up placing and teenaged sensation Jy Corbet rounding the top three. Kevin Titman was next chased

by Taylor Prosser who went backwards despite qualifying on the front row. Aaron Kelly, Mitch Gowland, Tim Farrell and Adam Butler were next while, one lap in arrears were Mark Pholi, Jack Bell, Kaydon Iverson, B Main winner Darren Jensen and Andrew Corbet the final finisher. On the DNF list was Kevin Britten, Trent Vardy, Tyler Stralow, Ben Atkinson Jnr and Brad Ayres.

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VICTORIA’S ALEXANDRA Speedway became an all-Sedan sanctuary, hosting three different varieties of the tin tops. Heading the show was the SJS Glazing Victorian Modified Sedan Championship with a stacked field of 32 competitors doing battle. Also on the card was the final round of the 2022/23 Dirt X Industries Sports Sedan Power Series and the Standard Saloons.

Home-track knowledge played a vital role for Matt Nelson who qualified on Pole for the epic 35-lap final.

Alongside was rookie driver Dylan Barrow while defending champion Kye Walters tucked in behind on grid three with Brad Wicks squaring off the second row.

At the drop of the green Barrow would win the arm wrestle using the top side to his advantage as the cars settled into rhythm for the first seven laps before the cautions were sprung to bring the field back into line for the first of three Indian file restarts. On each occasion the lead duo would open handy real-estate over the field.

With 10 laps to run things began to intensify for the lead duo as they negotiated traffic. Nelson was able to edge to the lead before Barrow fought back to the front, but with five laps to run the fire would go out as he pulled to the infield, gifting Nelson the prime position – but with three laps to run there would be two more caution periods to play their part.

With clear track ahead, Nelson would charge his way to the Victory Lane, from 12th. Darcy Wilson sliced his way through the pack to earn the runner-up mantle; next was the outgoing champion Walters and completijng the five-place podium was Wade McCarthy and Andrew Dike.

Next was Kasey Garlick, followed by Jamie Paull and the iconic Torana of Graham West the final runner on the lead lap. Mick Johnson, Bella Rizzoli, David Barrie and in 12th Kasey Ferguson rounded out the finishers in the depleted field as the DNF list would include Brody Chrystie, Daniel Simpson, Barrow, Tristan McGraw, Shane Roycroft, Brad Wicks, Kayla Knox (Best Presented), Dale Hallet, Darren Cockerill and Cameron Dike.

Victorian racer Todd Hobson pumps the fist as he takes victory in the Australian Wingless Sprints Championship.

Images: MATTHEW PAUL/CHRIS METCALF

SUPPORTS

BRUCE MARSHALL and Steve Potts would share the front row and run in that order for the 20-lap AMCA National final, Tony Blanch taking the final step on the podium. Next was the reigning Queensland champion Steve Price and Tim Gamble for the top five.

The recently crowned Australian Compact Champion Harry Stewart proved his worth, taking victory in the final from Luke Williams, Dave Collins, Richard Treanor and state champion Andrew Parkes fifth. Finding the quickest way home in the Lightning Sprints final was Andrew Kimm over Victorian Ally Moore, Darren Baldwin, Wayne Iacono and Michael Gollagher. Liam Williams remained undefeated in both heats and the feature event in the Formula 500s. Brodie Davis, Bailey Leeson, Brady Argles and James Kennedy completed the first five home.

Images: LOUISE NORMAN / NAPIER PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPORTS THE BELKBLAST Protective Coatings Cup for Standard Saloons went to Warrick Howie with a flag to flag drive in the 15-lap final. Wayne Sheerman, Bradley Hill, Mark Miles and Brodie Ardley the first five home. The Beach Earthmoving presented Dirt X Industries Sports Sedan Power Series Final would go to Damien Miller followed to the line by Pole sitter David Donegan, third to the line was Daniel Knight and rounding out the top five was the reigning state champion Josh Service and Dale Smith.

After a hard fought series contested by a whopping 81 competitors, the 2022/23 champion is Zac Swanson (948 points) followed by the reigning Victorian champion Josh Service (885), Caleb Lincoln (868), Felicity Roycroft (834) Dale Smith (822), Tom McDonald (682), Jamie Thomsen (671), Corey Lincoln (591), Russell Smith (590) and Rhys Meakins (589) rounding out the top 10.

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NATIONALS WRAP SARC OPENS WITH TRIUMPHANT

RALLY HEARTLAND

THE RALLY of the Heartland made a triumphant return to kick off the 2023 South Australian Rally Championship season recently.

After inclement weather washed away all hope of hosting the event at the final minute last year, a strong field took on the 2023 edition, which was just the second Rally of the Heartland held in four years.

Taking out SARC honours were Jamie Pohlner and Adam Branford (below), who kicked off their title defence in ominous fashion.

The 2022 SARC champions won the opener by the comfortable six-minute margin ahead of fellow Mitsubishi Evo combination David McDonough/Steven Hiser.

They won a tight fight for second ahead of the Mercedes 450SLC driven by Stuart Bowes and Mark Nelson.

Despite Pohlner and Branford going onto another win, they were not in control of the entire rally.

The fast starters were Bowes and Nelson, who took out the first two Special Stages.

These results ensured they finished the

first day on top despite and Dwyer edging them out in the third and final stage of the day.

Just four minutes split Bowes/Nelson and the Dwyer duo at the top, while Pohlner/ Branford kept their noses clean to sit a further nine minutes back in third.

But the #1 EVO made its move when the distances increased on the more taxing day two where five cars dropped out of contention.

Pohlner showed his expertise to be the only driver to complete the two 61.57km stages in under 30 minutes.

Despite being edged out by Dwyer in Stage 6, the earlier successes were enough to vault Pohlner/Branford into the overall lead.

Their lead was just shy of two minutes from the Dwyer duo as Bowes/Nelson slipped to third.

A busy final day opened with the longest stage of the rally at 71.74km and once again Pohlner proved his class.

He extended his lead by almost another minute as the Dwyers’ rally came to an early end.

This opened the door for McDonough/ Hiser to surge to second across the sixstage final day.

In the Classic category, Thomas Dermody and Eion Moynihan (below) were a dominant force in their Ford RS 1800. They finished 19 minutes ahead of VL Commodore runners Brad Luff and Jamie Luff.

The next SARC round is the Walk 100 on August 12. Thomas Miles SARC ROUND 1 RESULTS 1 Pohlner/Branford 2:28.28.2 2 McDonough/Hiser +6:00.3 3 Bowes/Nelson +7:12.8 4 Hunt/Hunt +10:24.4 5 Crozier/Crozier +12:46.7

Images: WAYNE HOUGH MOTORSPORT PHOTOGRAPHY

REEVES PREVAILS IN RIVER RALLY BRENDAN REEVES and Kate Raymond (right) have taken out a tight second round of the 2023 Victorian Rally Championship.

The pair drove their Datsun P510 to glory after an hour and 47 minutes behind the wheel in the Ada River Rally.

It went down to the wire with Reeves and Raymond winning by just 16 seconds ahead of Justin Dowel/Tracey Dewhurst.

They were the only combinations to break the 1:50.00 barrier ahead of Peter and Chris Schey taking out third in their Ford Escort.

The rally was one of attrition with nine combinations failing to finish, including an early contender.

Tim and Leonie Clark started strongly, winning the first stage by just three seconds before Darren Windus put the foot down.

Windus’ Ford Fiesta was in dominant form, topping three of the first four stages.

But his charge came to a sudden halt in Stage 6, where an engine failure struck.

Tim and Leonie Clark took control in their Subaru Impreza, but their time at the top did not last long.

The Clark duo lost a minute and 14 seconds on Stage 7, which is where Reeves and Raymond made their move.

They edged out Dowel and Dewhurst by five seconds in the stage to increase their

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PANORAMA MOUNTAIN MEN PREVAIL IN SLIPPERY SIX HR

Image: CRAIG O’BRIEN overall lead to 17 seconds.

Just a couple of stages earlier Reeves/ Raymond trailed Dowel/Dewhurst, but they turned things around across the final four stages and by Stage 7 they were in front.

However, with little separating the leaders, the rally was still on the line on the eighth and final stage.

Just 14 seconds split the top four in the final stage, but on top were Reeves and Raymond.

Amid the pressure of trying to fight for the rally win, the pair collected the victory in style by winning the stage.

Reeves/Raymond beat the Dowel/ Dewhurst and Warren Lee/David Lethlean

combinations by four seconds in the sevenminute stage.

It ensured Reeves and Raymond held off the Fords in their Datsun after an eventful River Rally.

The third round of the Victorian Rally Championship is the Gippsland Rally on August 26.

Thomas Miles VICTORIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 2 1 Tim Clark 70 2 Brendan Reeves 46 3 Justin Dowel 43 4 Brad Til 39 5 James Leoncini 35

THE PANORAMA Mountain Men have overcome mother nature to record back-to-back wins of the NSW 6 Hour Regularity Relay.

For the fourth time in a row, the race staged by the NSW Road Racing Club was held at a soaked Sydney Motorsport Park.

But the persistent rain did not stop Panorama Mountain Men from claiming a 27-point win over historic rival Phoenix Racing.

The 28 teams were greeted with wet and wild weather when the seventh NSW 6 Hour Regularity Relay commenced on Saturday.

This caused difficulty for drivers trying to nominate their lap time for the main event during practice where five red flags were waved.

Each team driver must set a time in Saturday’s practice to maintain during their respective 20-lap stints in Sunday’s 6 Hour race – the closer race laps are to the nominated time, the more points there are on offer.

Although the wet weather forced the cancellation of the Cars Under The Stars Show and Shine event, the green flag dropped at 10.30am.

Soon the rain cleared and a dry line started to appear and drivers were able to change their nominated times early Sunday morning with the track now declared as dry.

The Road Runners team led for the first hour before Phoenix Racing hit its stride.

Although Phoenix Racing held the lead for most of the day, but a pair of pit lane dramas proved costly.

Two 15-point penalties for speeding in pit lane meant Phoenix Racing finished with a 322-point total, 27 less than Panorama Mountain Men, which performed when it mattered most.

Barge Racing completed the podium in third having edged out Southern Motorsport and Road Runners.

The next NSW Road Racing Club meeting is the NSW SuperSprint Championship on August 27.

Thomas Miles

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ORANGE GOES TO REDHEAD JOSH REDHEAD and Ray WinwoodSmith (pictured) took their Lancer Evo to a dominant win in the first round of the AMSAG Rally Series, The John Giddings Memorial Orange Rally. Redhead won all but one stage in the event. Their win, on May 6, was not without challenge, as a suspension failure mid-event put the result in some doubt.

Redhead opened the day with fastest on the first five stages, opening up a gap of 1m15s over Riley Walters / Andrew Crowley (Subaru WRX). Walters was first on the road for the first time and was finding sweeping the road a new challenge.

Stage 6 saw Redhead strike trouble.

“The rear right lower control arm mount ripped out of the K-frame so we had to limp through the stage. We managed to do some quick repairs with some ratchet straps at a remote refuel that got us through SS8, then to service park where it was all hands-on deck to replace the rear K-frame with a spare.” Redhead said.

Redhead had dropped over a minute and was now just 12s ahead of Walters, who had taken fastest time in that stage. Third was

held by Sean McAloon / Muiranne Hayes (Escort), first of the 2WD cars.

Local Ron Moore, with son Lachlan on the notes, had a big hit on SS7, causing that stage and the next to be downgraded. Ron was taken to hospital for checks, but was home by Sunday, with Lachlan unhurt.

Walters’ WRXs developed a clutch drama on SS9, leaving Redhead in a much safer place, with Chris Stilling / Tim Batten (Evo 7) moving into second, just 5s ahead of McAloon.

Redhead took the last stage, running out the winner by 2m31s from Stilling, with McAloon 15s back and first 2WD. Bruce Moxon

Image: ROY MEURONEN PHOTOGRAPHY

WRIGHT DUO WRAPS UP MT BAW BAW Image: DAVID BATCHELOR

PARILLA ENDURO GOES DOWN TO THE WIRE NIC HICKS, Christian MacIntosh and Michael Shipton (pictured) took a nail biting win in the Symmons and Clark Logistics Richard Bennett Memorial Enduro at Parilla on May 6/7.

Hicks showed some good speed in 2022 and found the reliability required at Parilla to taste victory alongside Macintosh and Shipton in their Element Prodigy/Nissan turbo in round two of the SAORRA Multi Club Series.

The trio hunted down early leaders Roydn Bailey and Dean Elbourn (Element Prodigy/ Chev) snatched the lead off them in the dying laps and eventually crossed the finish line 14 seconds ahead.

David Hall and Corey Hayworth (Murphy/ Nissan) had good pace and kept out of trouble to finish P3 and complete the podium.

Toby Reimann and Greg Redding (Scorpion/Volvo turbo) were just off the pace on day two, but fourth was still a good result, narrowly fending off fifth placed Brenton and Matthew Gallasch (Southern Cross/Chev).

There was a bit of gap back to Pat Byrne and Tamara Amber (Byrne Truck/Chev) in sixth, but just just over four seconds covered the next three cars.

Stephen, Jack and Naomi Brown (Chenowth/Nissan) were hot on Byrne’s heels followed closely by John Smith and Grant Manion (Nissan Patrol) and an unlucky

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Andrew and Shannyn Fitzgerald.

The pair, driving an Element Prodigy supported Chev, started the last section running in the top three but a misfire late in the day dropped them back to ninth.

Matt Ridley (RIDS Joker/Honda) rounded out the top 10.

Aaron and Jordan James (Alumi Craft/Ford turbo) were another hard-luck story, vying for the lead until breaking an input shaft in Section 3.

Hicks claimed the Pro Buggy win with Hall on top in Pro Lite. Sam Vanstone and Brad Cheer (RIDS Joker/Toyota) took out Super 1650 and were 11th outright, while Jodie Veron and Doug Carthew (Can Am Maverick) were next home outright as the SXS Pro winners.

Smith was the Extreme 2WD winner with his opposition all breaking axles.

Ridley was the only survivor in Sportslite, while Hamish Lochert (Digright/Suzuki) had set a blistering pace on Saturday only to drop out early on Sunday with overheating problems.

Ben and Heath Fatchen (Can Am Maverick) had a comfortable lead in SXS Pro, but broke a drive shaft with three laps remaining.

Darren and Lewis Oliver (Tiny Built/Suzuki) had been running away from the rest of the Super 1650s until they broke a front arm.

David Batchelor

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leaderboard at the end of the opening day after their Mitsubishi EVO 9 ran into overheating issues.

This meant the early leaders had to withdraw and did not show up for the final seven stages.

This set the stage Image: ATR-ANGRYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY for a fascinating final day between Close’s THE FIRST round of the 2023 Australian Audi TTRS Sport and Wright’s Skyline, but Tarmac Rally Championship belonged Sunday’s action was dominated by the latter. to Jason and Fiona Wright (above), who The Skyline combination stamped their conquered the Mt Baw Baw Sprint. authority by taking out the first stage of the The pair snatched the lead early on day second day. one and never looked back, and drove their Although Close hit back by taking out the Nissan Skyline R35 GTR to a comfortable next two stages, he was no match for Wright 55.7s win over series rookie Matt Close and as the rally went on.

Cameron Reeves after more than two hours The Wright pair won the final six stages to at the wheel. storm home to a convincing win over Close’s A total of 46 teams took on 32.3km of twisty Audi. road from Porcupine Creek to the summit of Porsche pair Paul Dowie and John Allen Mt Baw Baw. were a distant third, four minutes and eight Awaiting competitors at the end of 14 seconds off the pace.

Special Stages was the steepest tarmac rally They led a tight bunch of cars which section of road in the country. included Neil and Sue Cuthbert (Lotus With such a tough finish lying ahead, Exige 350 Sport) and Allan and Kerry Hines competitors knew they were in for a (Mitsubishi EVO X). challenge and the first combination to They were the beneficiaries of Brent and overcome the elements was Danny Traverso Gary Coleman’s misfortune, who were settled and Jason Page. in a consistent third before being forced They opened up a 14s off the bat in to retire with mechanical issues on the the opening stage, but Close and Wight penultimate stage. managed to close the margin across the next The next Australian Tarmac Rally two competitive stages.

Championship round is the Snowy River Despite taking a hat-trick of stage wins, Sprint on September 9-10.

Traverso and Page slipped down the Thomas Miles

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NATIONALS WRAP SUBARUS PREVAIL VHRR HISTORIC ROB ROY

THE FIRST weekend of April saw the running of the Victorian Historic Racing Register’s annual Historic Rob Roy, where two Subarus stole the spotlight.

David Bell held off fellow Subaru driver Jayden Cresswell to take out top honours.

The weather leading up to the event was not looking good, but come the day things improved to set the scene for historic cars to shine.

The event was conducted on both the long course (including chicane ‘Bus Stop’) and the short course (original), with competitors enjoying three runs on each.

The competitors fastest times from each course were added together for the final results.

Despite not as many entries as hoped for, taking on the event, there was still a good mix of historic and modern cars.

Ivan Stephens had his very pretty replica Jaguar SS100, while Colin Kirkpatrick was in the ex Ron Townley Type 37 Bugatti (replica) Holden Grey motor, complete with Repco Hi Power head.

Spencer Lambert had a special connection with his Elfin Mono with Cosworth power as his father Ron worked for Gary Cooper building the Elfin Mono’s back in the 60’s.

Conor Ryan’s supercharged MG TA sounded great when running, but unfortunately the MG stripped it’s Magneto on the second run of the day, putting it out of the event.

Ian Motley (pictured above) drove over from South Australia to compete in his Austin 7 Special.

The fastest time of day for historic cars was set by young Josh Lowing in the Daveric FV, earning him a creditable seventh place outright The fastest female was Emma Collyer in a Subaru WRX, who did enough to take a solid third in class and fourth outright.

But the man to beat was Bell, who was fastest on both courses in his Subaru.

Another Subaru driver, Cresswell, won the battle for second position, which relegated Elfin Clubman runner to the final step on the podium.

Of the two, Cresswell was quicker on the short course, but Barker was quicker on the long course.

Mike Barker

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TIGHE SOARS TO NEW HEIGHTS DEAN TIGHE (right) stole the show at the fourth round of the NSW Hillclimb Championship by smashing records.

Tighe set a scorching time in his #1 Empire Formula Libre open-wheeler to dominate the event held at the Kempsey Sporting Car Club.

His 22.200 second time proved to be an untouchable figure for the rest of the field, being 3.7s faster than the next best.

Matthew Brown (lower right) had to settle for second overall having edged out fellow Audi RS4 driver Jason Hickey by two tenths of a second to win the RR Images: Don J. Gragham NLB All Wheel Drive class.

Brown not only received the silver 27.362s benchmark to top 3C Rally Cars trophy, but he did claim fastest tin top 4WD, while David Hussey also broke the honours.

30s barrier to take out 3jn including AWD Dave Morrow also set a fast time to and FI over 3000cc in a Ford Laser. receive the second FTD award in his Rick Yates showed good pace in his Mini Krygger Suzuki, while Kyle Boaden was Cooper to win 3jb including AWD and FI the leading junior after putting in a 36.9 in 2001-3000cc. his Mitsubishi Lancer.

Others to set new records were But all of the attention was on Tighe, Cameron Brown in his Renault Cleo who set a new record for the Kempsey in 3jb Improved Production Cars 1601Sporting Car Club, which was established 2000cc and James Graham, who won 3jb in 1956.

Improved Production Cars to 1600cc with His 22.220s time eclipsed the previous a 35.498 in his Hyundai Excel. benchmark of 22.313s set by Malcom Jason Perkins (RR NLB over 2500cc) Oastler in an OMS 2B in May 2019.

Harry Doling (RR NLB under 2500cc) With the new classes on show, five Colin Mayman (3J Improved Production other drivers also got their names on the Cars 1601-2000cc) Tim Blake (3D Sports honours board.

Sedans over 3000cc) Paul Finch (2B Micheal Boaden’s Mitsubishi EVO set a Marque Sports over 1600cc) Greg Jones

(2A O/C Sports Car over 1600cc) Gavin Parker (Formula Libre 1301-2000cc) and Brian Cox (Formula Libre to 750cc) were the other class victors.

Round 5 of the NSW Hillclimb Championship is at the Mountain View Motor Sport Complex on June 10.

Thomas Miles

AMOS BACKS UP WITH MGCCQ HILLCLIMB ROUND THREE WIN IT WAS a case of Dean Amos (right) continuing his recent form with another outright fastest time at round three of the MGCCQ Hillclimb Series held at Mount Cotton over the weekend 29/30th of April.

Amos, driving his Gould GR55B Nicolson McLaren V8, set the fastest time of day during Round 3 with a 36.83 second run.

David Quelch was second-quickest in his own homebuilt DPQ03 with a 40.96, with Luke Weiks clocking 42.81 seconds in his 999 ccs Empire 1 racing car.

The Sedan cars saw the usual close times within the Anable family in their BMW cars.

Scott Anable (45.24 seconds) led Doug Anable (45.82 seconds), then Chris Ryan (turbocharged Volkswagen Golf R, 46.82) and Glenn Anable (BMW, 47.24), Jeff Daniels (turbocharged Ford Escort, 49.14) with Waco Hamlin (Honda Civic, 49.15 seconds) being the top six in the Sedan classes.

Mark Crespan recorded the quickest time for the Sports Cars with a 45.75 time in his 5-litre Ford RMC Cobra with Jim Heymer (Farrel L 1300 ccs Clubman, 46.60), Ryan Campbell (Westfield SEi, 47.81), Rod Thomas (Mazda MX-5, 48.43), Jeff Graham

Image: IAN COLLEY PHOTOGRAPHY (Supercharged Mazda MX5, 48.52) then Dave Roberts in his MGB V8 with a best run of 49.15 seconds.

The event was however cut short following a number of incidents which required repairs to the catch fencing.

Unfortunately, effective repair was unable

to be carried out in a time that would have allowed for competition to recommence.

The next event at Mount Cotton is the 2023 Cottons Creations/SEQ Towing Queensland Hillclimb Championships on the weekend of 27 and 28 May. Bruce Williams

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Will Twining and Jeremy Bennett go hard in Excels. Below: Dyer heads Gray in the Vee contest.

Bottom: Toth and Bird went at it all weekend in HQs. Images: DMAC PHOTOGRAPHY

POINTS GO MISSING IN TASSIE

THE SECOND ROUND OF THE TASMANIAN CIRCUIT RACING CHAMPIONSHIP TOOK A BIZARRE TWIST AT SYMMONS PLAINS ON APRIL 29 AND 30, WITH MANY DRIVERS ROBBED OF THE CHANCE TO SCORE MAXIMUM SERIES POINTS SPORTS GTA/B

By Martin Agatyn A PARAGRAPH under Item 10 in the sporting and technical regulations for the series under the heading Designated Championship Races states, “If the double points race for a category is not held, for whatever reason, double points will not be awarded to any category at that round.”

In this case, a high attrition rate in Sports Sedans saw officials cancelling the category and invoking the somewhat obscure rule.

Weird or what?

What makes it even harder to understand, is that on previous occasions where numbers are low in a particular category, their races have been combined with another class, with points counting.

Even when there’s only been one finisher in the smaller class, they have still been awarded double points.

No-one would have been more disappointed with the issue than Sports Sedan driver John Douglas (Chev Camaro Z28), who survived the high attrition rate, was unbeaten in his new car for the weekend, when the rug was pulled out from under his class. Some drivers are already suggesting the regs need a bit of a clean up before next year’s series.

Apart from the all the drama with points, the meeting was a memorable one for some great racing from the one-make and formula classes.

HYUNDAI EXCELS

UNDOUBTEDLY, THE best racing was once again from the unassuming Hyundai Excels, which had the biggest number of competitors and provided many entertaining battles right down through the field.

Will Twining won the weekend with four wins and a second, and it would be easy to assume from just reading the results that he dominated – but that was far from the case.

In almost every race it was the usual

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suspects – Twining fending off Jeremy Bennett, with Dylan Cooper and Jackson Shaw – in the mix. The racing was entertaining with multiple lead and positional changes, but in most races, Twining timed his run to perfection to take out all but the fifth race.

Bennett was consistent with a win, three seconds and a third to maintain his series lead.

FORMULA VEES

DESPITE ONE of the smallest fields of the weekend, there was plenty of great racing, lead swaps and positional changes throughout.

Jeremy Dyer (Elfin Crusader) scored three wins and was well-placed in other heats to win the round and take over the series lead from Richard Gray (Bee Cee Jabiru).

Gray didn’t win a race but was right in the mix in most of them, finishing with three second places and two fourths to finish third for the round.

Michael Vaughan (Spectre) managed two wins and three thirds to finish second for the weekend, keeping him in touch with the series leaders.

HQ HOLDEN

THE HQ racers proved big fields aren’t required for great racing with reigning Tasmanian champion Andrew Toth and former multiple champion Andrew Bird going head-to-head all weekend.

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Toth was fastest qualifier ahead of Bird, and there was never much between the experienced pair – usually breaking away from the field in the opening laps to get involved in their own scraps.

The fourth race providing the closest race of any category all weekend. The pair raced sideby-side for more than a lap in the latter stages of the race with Bird looking the goods with 100 metres to go. However, a desperate lunge at the line saw Toth snatching the win by 0.003 secs (that’s three-thousandths of a second).

By the time the dust had settled at the end of the meeting, it was Bird with two race wins, and three seconds. But it was Toth who won three races and finished second in the other two, who won the meeting by only two points.

Bird maintains the series lead by just 15 points, with up to 160 points available in each round of the four remaining.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

SERIES LEADER Shane Bond (Datsun 1200 Coupe) had a blistering first round in the series, but it was blisters of a different kind which robbed him of a clean-sweep in round two.

Tyre issues and a DNF in the first race of the weekend were quickly put in the rear-view mirror, with Bond dominating the remainder of the meeting, to extend his series lead.

Scott Arthur (Holden VX Commodore) won the opening race and was a consistent second to Bond to take the round win.

BEAU JOHNSON (Porsche GT3) had a perfect weekend, top qualifying and winning every race, with no serious challengers.

Second and third places were shared between his brother Troy Johnson (Porsche GT3) and Stephen Noble (Nissan 350Z), with a DNF to both of them in different races balancing out.

Johnson remains second in the series, maintaining the brotherly quinella at the top of the leader board, with Noble the main danger in third place, only 17 points behind Troy Johnson.

Further back in the field there were four different winners in five races for the Sports GTB category.

Mike Hamilton continues to amaze in his Subaru Legacy and won the round, to take over the series lead from Vlad Gala, who struck problems in his Holden Commodore Ute. Jason Lemon (Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo) won the first two races before also striking trouble, while Steve Gangell (Holden VX Commodore) kept his nose clean a bit further back and finished second for the round.

SPORTS AND RACING CARS

THE NEWLY introduced category has reached an interesting stage after Round 2 of the four rounds to be contested during the TCRC this season, with the April meeting signalling the half-way mark for the season.

Rod Bender (Radical SR3 RSX) just about had things all his own way with four wins and a second for the round. While Bender’s starts were far from impressive and he was frequently forced to play catch-up in the early stages of races, he usually won out.

Series leader Phil Sutton (Ralt R35) had gearbox issues for most of the weekend, but sensibly circulated off the pace a little to protect his points lead – he ultimately finished second overall, to stay 12 points in front of Bender.

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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

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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

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NATIONALS WRAP

HYUNDAI MAKES THE ISLAND ITS OWN

THROUGH JOSH Buchan’s pair of dominant drives and Bailey Sweeny’s consistency to continue leading the championship, Hyundai took the TCR honours at Phillip Island.

The SuperCheap Auto TCR Australia Series ventured south for the second round of the season where the well-known South Korean manufacturer and a new Spanish arrival stole the show.

Another new brand in Lynk & Co made its Australian debut, with Brit Tom Oliphant at the wheel, but Honda looked to write a familiar script.

Reigning champion Tony D’Alberto started the weekend in strong fashion by topping both practice sessions.

The battles of his 2022 rival, Will Brown continued, with the Supercars star suffering electrical dramas in his Audi RS3 KMS TCR. Brown was able to get onto the track in qualifying, but could only manage seventh, while D’Alberto also missed out on pole and had to settle for P3.

The fastest time went to the dominant Buchan, whose 1:36.7976 was three-tenths faster than next best, Zac Soutar.

Buchan’s grip on proceedings only strengthened as others dropped like flies around him. The #30 i30 charged away off the line and enjoyed a solid gap over D’Alberto through Doohan Corner.

Ben Bargwanna was the big mover, charging up six positions on the opening lap alone.

Buchan and D’Alberto lead the pack into Turn 2.

Image: DANIEL KALISZ - ARG The latest chapter of Brown’s bad luck arrived on Lap 2 when his right-rear suspension failed.

Mechanical misfortune also struck Soutar, with an electrical issue robbing him of third place and Oliphant as the Lynk & Co debut lasted 10 laps which ended in a cloud of smoke.

But the biggest casualty was D’Alberto, who moments after losing second to the charging Lachlan Mineeff, suffered a rightrear blow out down the Gardner Straight.

This meant the #1 Honda was the fourth DNF ... just nine cars finished the opening race dominated by the untroubled Buchan.

The reverse-grid race was easily the most memorable, being a final-lap showdown

between Michael Clemente and Jordan Cox. Despite a monumental Sprintcar slide across Lukey Heights, Cox’s Peugeot 308 had led for the first 11 laps.

But a probable victory slipped away at the Southern Loop, where Clemente muscled his way by to secure a maiden win for Cupra Leon.

Bargwanna put in another daring drive to take third as D’Alberto’s struggles continued, finishing last.

Despite the excitement, normal service resumed in race three where Buchan’s Hyundai enjoyed a commanding victory.

Buchan led every lap of the final race with Clemente crossing the line less than a

second away with Bargwanna keeping hold of third.

But the big story was D’Alberto, who could not crack the top 10, dropping from second to ninth in the championship standings.

He hopes to bounce back when the SuperCheap Auto TCR Australia series returns at Winton on June 9-11.

Thomas Miles SUPERCHEAP AUTO TCR AUSTRALIA SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 2 1 Bailey Sweeny 252 2 Jordan Cox -22 3 Aaron Cameron -23 4 Josh Buchan -29 5 Michael Clemente -38

EMERY/TALBOT CHARGE TO GT WIN A DOMINANT Sunday drive pushed Geoff Emery and Maximilian Hofer (right) to the championship lead in GT World Challenge Australia’s visit to Phillip Island.

The Emery/Hofer’s big win ensured he jumped two points clear of Liam Talbot (who struck trouble with Yasser Shahin late in the piece) in the standings.

Just a fortnight after the previous Perth round, the GTs were back in action on the other side of the country at Phillip Island for a pair of hour-long races.

However, the 21-car field appeared slightly different to the one that took on Wanneroo, with the Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes AMGs notable omissions.

They were busy contesting the opening round of the GT World Challenge Asia season at Thailand, where Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim took out the first race.

There was nothing in it in opening practice with just 0.0632s covering the top three, headed by Emery/Hofer.

After finishing third best in Practice 1, the Justin McMillan and Glen Wood Mercedes found some extra speed in the following session, going four-tenths clear of the rest.

Qualifying saw two contrasting sessions take place, where the EMA Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R had to settle for second

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Image: DANIEL KALISZ - ARG best on both occasions.

The first segment featuring the main drivers was dominated by Talbot, who took pole by a huge 0.5s margin with a 1:28.4163.

The second session was much tighter with Ojeda sneaking to P1 by a tenth.

One car that did not set a time was the Brenton and Stephen Grove Porsche, which was held back by gear dramas.

The Saturday hour-long race proved to be a thriller with just three-tenths the difference at the chequered flag.

Patterson’s Porsche pushed forward off the rolling start to take an early lead ahead of Talbot.

A Safety Car for the bogged Andrew Fawcett Audi created the ideal chance for compulsory pit stops around the halfway mark.

Talbot dropped down to sixth due to penalty time in the pits as Patterson extended his lead to 7s.

But this disappeared when the Safety Car returned for David Wall’s stranded Lamborghini at Stoner Corner.

At the restart Brenton Grove completed his charge from last to third with a daring move around the outside of Hofer at Doohan Corner.

Up front, Ojeda was all over the back of Patterson, but could not stop the Porsche from collecting a tight win.

Another EMA success was on the cards in Race 2 when it led the first five laps before Ojeda overcame some first-lap dramas to soon snatch the lead.

A smart early stop by Emery/Hofer promoted their Audi to victory, while behind them chaos unfolded.

Shahin crossed the line second, but dropped to third after shoving Talbot wide at Miller Corner.

Despite being promoted to second, Talbot was not afraid to voice his frustrations postrace.

Their next on-track battle will occur at Sydney Motorsport Park on July 28-30.

Thomas Miles GT WORLD CHALLENGE AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 3 1 Geoff Emery 103 2 Liam Talbot 101 3 Yasser Shahin 94 4 Ross Poulakis 73 5 Prince Jefri Ibrahim 55

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WEBSTER BRINGS EUROPEAN FORM TO THE ISLAND COOPER WEBSTER (right) returned home to race in the second round of the S5000 championship at Phillip Island, and didn’t disappoint after flying in from the UK. Fresh from his GB4 podium at Silverstone, Webster traded blows with two-time gold star winner Joey Mawson at the Island, which disappointingly for the category, saw nine cars take to the grid.

For all three races, it was a story of Image: Ross Gibb Photography the front row, with three entertaining drags into Turn 1 setting up a win for Mawson, and two victories for Webster That now makes it nine S5000 podium after his podium sweep at Tasmania earlier finishes in a row for the Victorian Versa in the year.

20-year-old, who also upset the apple cart “Im super-stoked with that weekend, and on Mawson’s attempt at a Big Banger winreally happy to come away with two-wins,” streak record.

Webster said after Race 3.

Although it was a modest grid it was “It was on at the start there, I didn’t get a talented field, with the Likes of James my best jump, and he (Mawson) gave it Golding, Aaron Cameron, Jordan Boys, everything into Turn 1 and I knew it was on.

Blake Purdie, Nic Carroll, Mark Rosser, and But I nailed the rest of that race to make it debutant Winston Smith. game over.”

Webster took pole over Mawson by

0.265s, with Golding and Cameron taking the second row.

Mawson got the jump on Webster in Race 1, with a yellow called after Rosser went off early. Despite having a second crack at reeling Mawson in, the Sydneysider got it done for a fourth straight S5000 win, with Golding in P3.

Race 2 saw Webster take the first corner, as Mawson went for a category record five-straight.

After Smith went into the gravel at Turn 2, a restart saw Mawson called up by the Stewards for overlapping on the restart and, despite coming home in P1, was relegated into P4, giving Webster the win over Golding and Cameron.

Race 3 saw Webster earn it with aplomb, leading Mawson home by 2.412s, and he rammed the #37 home with the weekend’s fastest lap.

After getting a good start from P1 and squeezing Mawson wide at Turn 1,, he wasn’t to be topped in the 12 lap finale, and was assured in putting some distance on Mawson throughout, with Golding claiming a P3 sweep – his fifth podium on the trot.

After two rounds, Cameron is the only other driver to have been to the podium, as Mawson keeps his championship lead over Webster with a 29 point advantage.

The next round is at the Winton Motor Raceway on June 9-11, which is also another gap in Webster’s GB4 calendar.

TW Neal

MORRIS SALUTES IN TRANS AM RETURN NASH MORRIS has taken the points in an eventful Round 2 of the National Trans Am series, with the flowing Phillip Island track providing some close and thrilling battles.

After missing Round 1, the Super2 competitor returned in the Supercheap Auto #67, and despite qualifying in P9, managed to sweep the podiums, with wins in the final two races after Owen Kelly opened his 2023 account in Race 1.

In all, the podiums were close and hard fought, with six different drivers filling the steps.

After taking the finale from a pole earned by his race two salute, Morris praised the quality of the on-track action.

“That was bloody fun, I’ve been missing good racing like this so it’s just great,

especially against guys like Moff,” Morris described.

“That was probably one of the best races I have ever been in; the car was great so thanks to my sponsors and the team for getting me here.

“I thought I had lost it all on the final corner, but I just stuck it back in there and hoped for the best.”

After dominating at Symmons Plains, James Moffat looked like marching on again, taking the Race 1 pole over Kelly.

He was also in control of the opener until a mechanical black flag forced him into the pits, which Kelly took advantage of as Holdsworth, Dalton and Morris battled for the remaining two spots.

After Dalton also suffered a black flag,

Morris and Holdsworth filled the steps.

Race 2 saw Morris take his maiden Trans Am win on his 20th birthday, leading Edan Thornburrow and Moffat home under a safety car after Tyler Everingham went off on lap 10.

Morris took the lead from Kelly early, who fought back before Thornburrow tagged Kelly, putting him into the tyre wall.

Moffat’s podium was earned, from last place, in a huge effort, with Thornburrow taking his first Trans Am podium.

Race 3 saw the closest Trans Am finish in recent history, Morris nicking the win by 0.048s over Moffat, with Lochie Dalton taking his third podium of the year.

Ben Grice threw the challenge at Morris early, but a poor corner exit after an inside

move saw him losing out to both Morris and Moffat.

Moffat briefly got his nose in front before the #67 Mustang hit back with a late braking dive, with Everingham stopping on track to bring out a Safety Car. A now timed race had Morris steady on the restart, fighting off the searching looks from the #34 GRM mustang.

As they came around the final corner, a door-to-door affair had Morris just edge out the championship leader, with Dalton only 0.793s back.

Round 3 sees the field remain in Victoria, with a June 9-11 visit to the Nation’s Action Track at the Winton Motor Raceway.

TW Neal

Morris (left) and Moffat were as evenly matched as you could get ...

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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.

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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

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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.

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“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

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MOTOGP

BRILLIANT BEZZECCHI WINS CRAZY 1000TH GP

Bezzecchi hits the front, from Miller and Marquez.

Left: Vinales and Bagnaia’s contest ended badly ...

Bottom: Alex Marquez , stranded in mid-track with Marini’s bike ... Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES THE 1000TH world championship Grand Prix at Le Mans, France, featured everything that makes motorcycle racing great.

A thrilling multi-bike battle for the lead captivated all until it was decisively won by a blazing ride from rising star Marco Bezzecchi.

In contrast to Bezzecchi’s ecstasy, there was plenty of agony as eight riders fell in a crash-filled 27-lap race.

And to put the cherry on top, it was watched on in awe by the biggest MotoGP crowd ever of 278,805.

It was not an occasion that will be fondly remembered by Australia’s Jack Miller however, who ended both the Sprint and Grand Prix in the gravel to drop from fourth to eighth in the standings.

What made the crashes all the more disappointing for Miller was the extreme pace he had shown on his KTM. The Aussie topped both Friday sessions to head into Saturday as one of the favourites, while Marc Marquez marked his return from injury with two big crashes. But the Spaniard did not let the falls deter him as he came 0.058s away from taking an astonishing pole claimed by Francesco Bagnaia.

The #1 Ducati enjoyed a perfect start in the Sprint with Jorge Martin and Miller in behind, but the Aussie’s day was about to come to an early end.

Miller crashed at Le Musee on lap two as his KTM teammate Brad Binder enhanced his Sprint specialist reputation by beginning his climb from 10th to second.

By lap four Martin stole the lead from Bagnaia with a big move at Turn 2 and enjoyed an untroubled run to the chequered flag.

After some juicy scraps, Binder and Bagnaia joined Martin on the podium, while Marquez had to settle for fifth behind Luca Marini and home hero Fabio Quartararo crashed out.

When the big day arrived France turned it on with sunny skies, packed grandstands and a classic Grand Prix.

After Marquez, Bagnaia and Miller went side by side through Turn 1, it was the #93 Honda, which took the lead from the second row as the #1 dropped to fifth.

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2023 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 5 1 Francesco Bagnaia 94 2 Marco Bezzecchi 93 3 Brad Binder 81 4 Jorge Martin 80 5 Johann Zarco 66 8 Jack Miller 49

After a clean first lap, the race took off as Marquez and Miller produced a stunning fight for the lead.

P1 changed hands four times in two corners until the Aussie finally made it stick with a nice move at the Dunlop Chicane on Lap 3.

Behind them things were also hotting up as Bagnaia returned to the top three and Maverick Vinales came within striking distance.

The Aprilia rider launched an attack into Turn 11, but ran wide which left him vulnerable for the following right-hander at ’S’ du Garage Bleu.

Bagnaia cut back to the inside, but the pair made side-to-side contact, sending both bikes and bodies flying into the gravel.

Vinales stormed up to Bagnaia and sparked a heated confrontation before the pair declared peace by riding the same scooter together back to the pits.

Seconds later an even scarier crash unfolded at the Dunlop Chicane.

Marini had a slow exit of Turn 3 and almost came to a standstill as he battled to regain control of his VR46 Racing Ducati.

Although Bezzecchi narrowly avoided his teammate, an unsighted Alex Marquez was not so lucky and careered into the slow moving #10.

The impact took both out on the spot and saw the #73 Spaniard crawl for safety as bikes flew either side of him.

Up front Miller was still in the lead as Bezzecchi forced Marquez wide at Garage Vert to vault Martin to second.

But by Lap 11 the Australian’s reign came to

an end as the VR46 Racing Italian flew past on the main straight.

Having chewed through his tyres, Miller quickly slipped to seventh before he had no grip left and crashed for the second time in as many days.

As Marquez and Martin scrapped for second, Bezzecchi blazed more than 3s into the distance with a string of fastest laps.

Despite repelling the Pramac Ducati’s attacks, Marquez had a wobble on entry to Chemin aux Boeufs and crashed out two laps from home.

He joined fellow Honda riders Joan Mir and Alex Rins on the sidelines.

But two riders that avoided the chaos were Johann Zarco and Augusto Fernandez.

Zarco was able to ensure the French flag was seen on the podium in third behind teammate Martin, while Tech3 rookie Fernandez impressively climbed up from 12th to fourth.

The biggest impact was made by Bezzecchi, who cut Bagnaia’s championship lead from 23 points to one ahead of their home race at Mugello on June 9-11.

Thomas Miles

MARQUEZ ‘VERY HAPPY’ WITH COMEBACK MARC MARQUEZ came within two laps of scoring a stunning podium on return from injury.

After missing the previous four races due to breaking the first metacarpal on his right hand at the season opener, Marquez made a long-awaited return in France.

Despite some Friday incidents, the Spaniard appeared back to his best, fighting for the lead until heartbreak on Lap 25 of 27.

Marquez’s grit was not enough to stop his #93 Repsol Honda from sliding into the Chemin aux Boeufs gravel moments after losing second to Jorge Martin.

Despite missing out on a heroic podium, he was pleased with his performance.

“Honestly I am very, very happy about the race,” Marquez said post race.

“It was a long time ago that I felt like this.

“I am unhappy about the result, but maybe we are not ready to fight for the podium.

“I prefer to lose a race like this (fighting for a podium) and not to finish 10th.”

WRC

Rovanpera’s Toyota flew to victory ... Dani Sordo (opposite) took a steady second for Hyundai.

KING FINN OF PORTUGAL KING KALLE Rovanpera has sent an ominous warning to the WRC field by taking out his second straight Rally de Portugal in Matosinhos to return to the top of the championship standings.

As per-usual, the Portuguese rally was a battle of attrition in the extreme dust and heat, with only five of the top Rally1 cars filling the top-10.

The flying Finn was irresistible on the rocky gravel roads, and with Portugal kick-starting a seven-rally stretch on gravel, Rovanpera and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen will head to Sardinia with a head full of steam after another royal performance In Portugal’s north-west.

Hyundai i20N part-timer Dani Sordo came through for a comfortable P2, 54.7s behind the GR Yaris, with Esapekka Lappi taking home a twin podium for the South Korean brand.

After again finding trouble on the first day, Ford M-Sport’s Ott Tanak had to settle for P4, but moved into second in the title chase after early Sunday morning troubles relegated Thierry Neuville into P5, with the WRC2 front runners filling out the top-10.

In the absence of Sebastien Ogier, Toyota was saved by its ‘King Finn’, as Elfyn Evans was forced into a Day 1 retirement, whilst alternator issues also put Takamoto Katsuta out of the running early.

But for Rovanpera, it was his first win on the circuit since he clinched the 2022 title seven events ago at Rally New Zealand,

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with the #69 Yaris finding its first major points haul at the perfect time.

“It has been too long coming, but finally we are back. I have to say a big thank you to Jonne (Halttunen) and the team. They have been pushing all the time and going forward,” Rovanpera said; short but sweet and a driver of few words.

With the heartbreak of Craig Breen’s death and an emotional Rally Croatia being negotiated, Portugal’s Round 5 opened with Evans maintaining his ascendency in the shakedown – but being the first runner on the tough gravel roads of Matosinhos for Day 1 is always fraught with danger.

And so it proved, with an intense noservice opening day claiming the GR Yaris championship leader with a retirement crash on Stage 7 in Mortagua.

Katsuta came to grief on Stage 3, whilst Ford’s luckless Pierre-Louis Loubet had his strong performance set back by an exhaust fire.

Tanak led early, but he too came unstuck with wheel damage, as Rovanpera claimed three of the eight stages to lead Sordo by 10.8s after 120km.

Saturday was the moving day with an intense 150km over 7 Stages, and the frantic gravel proceedings claimed another victim in the French #7 M-Sport.

Loubet clipped a left bank tree which speared him hard into the right bank, destroying his steering to end yet another rally for the full-time debutant.

Lappi looked dangerous early, but

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dropped pace to see Neuville hold P3, whilst Tanak inherited P5 at the expense of his teammates troubles.

Rovanpera was beautifully clean in the gruelling conditions, taking five of the day’s stages including four straight, pushing the overnight lead out to 57.5s over the Spaniard, who took the other 2 Stages to hold a 11.1s buffer over Neuville.

The final day saw an incredible party Atmosphere gather at the famous Fafe stage where the iconic Pedra Sentada jump (right) saw the drivers pass through twice.

With only 55.42km to cover over four stages, it would’ve taken a disaster to un-seed the 22-year-old star, but again he was too clean, taking both the Fafe stages to power onto a 54.7 victory.

He also took out the double point Wolf Power Stage to give himself an even bigger lead over Tanak in the pointscore.

Katsuta restored some pride with a stage win, whilst Tanak took the other, performing strongly in the final power stage to lift himself into P4, whilst both he and Lappi benefitted from Neuville’s turbocharger failure to move up one spot each, with the Belgian 8:22.5s in arrears of the lead.

The WRC2 battle provided an exhilarating finish, with former Ford M-Sport driver Gus Greensmith coming from the clouds to overhaul the seemingly unstoppable Swede, Oliver Solberg, for the win by just 1.2s in a battle of the Skoda’s.

Solberg led by 35.4s going into Sunday,

but a one minute time penalty saw the scrap come down to the wire over the Fafe finale.

Andreas Mikkelson filled the tier two podium, with Yohan Rossel and Teemu Suninen rounding out the overall top 10.

The anticipation now builds towards the WRC Rally Italia Sardegna on June 1-4, where Sebastien Ogier returns for Toyota to bring the fight to Rovanpera, whilst Tanak will enjoy a good starting spot for Day 1 as he remains within points reach of the outright lead.

As the first of seven-rally stretch on gravel, the championship next heads to the iconic Rally Italia Sardegna on June 1-4.

TW Neal WRC CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER 5 ROUNDS Rovanpera 98 Tanak 81 Ogier 69 Evans 69 Neuville 68

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INDYCAR

PALOU FIRES AT INDY THE QUIET spaniard, Alex Palou, finally saluted the chequered flag at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a dominant win at the road course GMR Grand Prix.

The Chip Ganassi Racer won by 16.8s in his American Legion Honda, taking the flag over an Arrows McLaren 2-3, with Pato O’Ward in P2, and Alexander Rossi taking P3 – his first podium since leaving Andretti AutoSport after seven seasons.

The 2021 Astor Cup winner became the fifth different winner from five outings this season, as well as becoming the new series leader with an already gripping championship fight turning its attention to the greatest spectacle in motorsport: The Indy 500.

The 26-year-old has been close in Indianapolis before, taking two month of May podiums in his championship year, with this win being his first since the 2022 Laguna Seca season finale.

“We honestly knew we had a fast car since the first practice,” Palou said.

“The car has been amazing all weekend.

Once we knew we were starting on Reds (Firestone’s alternate tyres), I think we knew we were going to fight for the win.

“Amazing work by these guys. I just had to execute.”

The weekend started with an IndyCar first, as 21-year-old Christian Lundgaard became the first Danish driver to score an IndyCar pole, with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing international eventually taking P4.

The tyre strategy was a head scratcher for teams, with six of the top-10 going for primary Blacks, and the other four taking the Reds to start the 85-lap race.

On the tyre strategy, Palou was surprised that all the drivers around him chose to start on the harder compound option.

“We knew starting on the alternates we needed to go hard and try and get the lead as fast as possible,” the victor commented.

“I think the alternates had two, three laps that they were a lot better in. Afterwards, you kind of got stuck behind.

“We were struggling a little bit more than some of the guys who used Reds in the warmup.

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From the front row (above), Palou chose the right tyre strategy and took a well-calculated win. Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

“But still it’s not like they were amazing. We knew that we didn’t want to use used Reds.

That’s why we started on new alternates, tried to get the lead and a big gap, like two, three, four, seconds, then worked on our pace on Blacks.

“Once I saw the starting grid with the tyres, we were, ‘OK, we’re in a good place.”

As the CGR charger stated, the alternates proved the right call early, as Palou ran down the Dane on primaries from P3 by Turn 13.

An early caution, the only of the race, came on the second lap with a disastrous tangle up between Dale Coyne teammates Sting Ray Robb and David Malukas.

What followed was 65 laps of lead swapping through strategy plays over tyre

and fuel speculation.

Though Palou would finish with a race high 52 laps led, Lundgaard, O’Ward, Rosenqvist, Rossi, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal and Marcus Ericsson, all waxed for the lead.

With no further cautions, it all came down to pit-strategy execution, and Chip Ganassi did it best, with Palou going onto scuffed primaries after his final pit on lap 60.

By the time Rossi pitted from the lead on lap 65, Palou put his head down in the lead with O’Ward his closest challenger some 10.05s in arrears and, despite having the grippier alternates, couldn’t contest with the Spaniards consistent lapping.

The final podium spot provided an entertaining chess match, with Rossi,

Lundgaard, Rosenqvist and Herta all in the frame.

That was decided on lap 81 with Lundgaard depleted on his push-to-pass boost, and Rosenqvist making it a strong outing for McLaren with a P5 after Herta was forced to cede his position to the Swede after being called for blocking.

Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Ericsson, Herta and Graham Rahal made up the top10.

Australia’s Will Power fought back into P12 where he started, after he was turned around early the piece by Kyle Kirkwood, whilst last round Barber winner Scott McLaughlin endured a frustrating race.

The Kiwi star got caught in the early caution after sustaining wing damage trying to avoid the clash, before running out of fuel on the last lap to finish in P16, whilst his compatriot and Indycar rookie Marcus Armstrong took P15.

All the anticipation now turns to the 107th Indianapolis 500, which starts on May 16, running through to the final Sunday in May on the 28th. TW Neal INDYCAR STANDINGS AFTER 5 RDS 1.

Palou 174 2.

O’Ward 168 3.

Ericsson 155 4.

Grosjean 134 5.

McLaughlin 133

NASCAR

BYRON TAMES THE LADY IN BLACK WILLIAM BYRON (right) became the first three-race winner in this season’s NASCAR Cup Series, taking advantage of some late drama between Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain.

Byron took the Darlington 400, in South Carolina, by 0.781s over Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliot, with the Larson/Chastain incident relegating the pair to P20 and P29 respectively.

The incident between the leading pair came on lap 288 after a restart with 13 to go had them jostling.

Tempers flared, with a war of words afterward, as Chastain squeezed Larson into the wall before turning into his path, as Larson kept pushing the #1 Chev hundreds of metres down the track.

After Byron was denied by Larson in a bump-n-run at Darlington last year, it was sweet redemption for the Hendrick Motorsport #24.

“It’s pretty amazing, My grand-dad passed away on Thursday, I wish my family could be here,” an emotional Byron said.

“Things have a way of working out. We just kept battling, and things just kind of came back around.”

Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES A week after Chastain got in some hot water after punching Noah Gragson in the head a week prior, the Hendrick team made it clear he’s got it coming.

“He’s got a lot of enemies now – it’s hard to win a championship when you got a lot of pay-backs out there … If you wreck

us, we’re gonna get you back!” said team owner Rick Hendricks.

Byron led for only seven of 295 laps, and after starting on pole, Truex Jr led for a race high 145, but when Chastain also ran him into the wall, he dropped back to P31, with the tangle giving the Trackhouse pariah

and championship leader his fifth stage win of the year after Truex claimed the first.

The next outing is the NASCAR All Star Race at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, with the action staying in North Carolina for the epic Coca-Cola 600 on May 28 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. TW Neal

HAMLIN TAKES EDGEY KANSAS THRILLER

TRUEX JR CAPTURES FAMILY DOVER DOUBLE JOE GIBBS Racing #19 Toyota veteran Martin Truex Jr. (above) took out NASCAR’s rain-delayed Wurth 400 at the Dover Motor Speedway for his first points victory of the season in Delaware.

Not only did Truex Jr. end a 54 race winless streak to pick up his 32nd career win, he did it on the same weekend that his brother Ryan took out the NASCAR Xfinity Series win to make it a family-double.

In the delayed race on the 1-mile oval, Ross Chastain came in at P2, 0.505s behind the victor, with Ryan Blaney coming in P3 for his second straight podium.

The 42 year-old from Jersey took the lead for the first time with 69 laps to run, claiming all but one of those laps to take his first win since 2021.

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“It feels incredible, I feel like we’ve been close a bunch of times, that’s for sure,” Truex Jr. said.

“It’s just special – this is a special place.

Good day for my family and to see Ryan win Saturday, he’s worked so hard for so long to get good opportunities and it’s awesome.

“And then for us, we’ve given away a few here over the years so it’s nice to see it come around our way. Just excited, we had a hot rod, and just needed to get it out front.”

For the second time this season, William Byron led a race high 193 laps, without getting it done to finish P4, whilst race favourite Kyle Larson was taken out for the second race running, when Chastain turned Brennan Poole into his path, finishing 32nd after extensive repairs. TW Neal

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DENNY HAMLIN snapped a 33 race losing streak at the Kansas Speedway to a chorus of boos after edging out Kyle Larson in a last lap battle.

The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver made contact with Larson on the final lap after the two were battling it out, with the slight contact turning the #5 Chevy driver into the wall from which he recovered to take P2 over his Hendricks team-mate William Byron.

Hamlin’s 49th NASCAR Cup victory was greeted with disdain from the audience, as the action then continued to heat up post-race with a track-side bust up, when Ross Chastain connected a cheapshot on Noah Gragson following some disagreements about some on track contact.

“Yeah, I got position on him there, tried to side-draft him and clipped his left rear,” said Hamlin, “But I’m glad he was able to at least finish.

“Credit to my team though, four hundred wins for Joe Gibbs Racing (203 in the NASCAR Cup Series, 197 in the Xfinity Series) it’s such a great accomplishment for them.”

Larson himself didn’t get much of a word in, with the bust-up cutting his version of events short.

“I haven’t seen a replay, but obviously, he was side-drafting really aggressively, like he would. He was touching me, and it had me really out of control. I wish we could…” (Cue Chastain’s hard right jab after Gragson grabbed his race suit).

Of the 267 laps Larson led for a race high 85, whilst Hamlin led for 34, with their battle beginning on lap 221, when Hamlin started chasing him down.

In all, the race featured an astounding 37 lead changes shared between 12 drivers (the most in NASCAR history in a 400-mile intermediate speedway race).

TW Neal

Hamlin, on the inside, eventually got the better of Larsen.

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Formula 1 Round 05 MIAMI Grand Prix - Race report

Any thoughts of Verstappen being challenged by his team-mate are out the window after a dominant race. Tom Cruise (below) was among a sea of celebs ...

MAX ESTABLISHES JUST WHO’S BOSS ...

By LUIS VASCONCELOS Images Motorsport Images

MAX VERSTAPPEN has dealt a devastating blow to Sérgio Pérez’s title hopes, winning the Miami Grand Prix after starting from only ninth on the grid, passing his team mate – who started from pole position – with nine laps to go.

After compromising his weekend, aborting his first Q3 lap after a small mistake in the first few corners and then seeing the red flag cancel any other attempts, Verstappen had handed a golden opportunity to his team-mate. Converting it into a win seemed a formality for Pérez after qualifying but the Mexican simply didn’t have the pace in the first part of the race to open a gap over the Dutchman before he cleared traffic and was little more than a sitting duck in the last few laps, on Hard, old tyres, against Verstappen, now on new Mediums.

Such was the superiority of Red Bull in Miami that, even with Pérez never being closer than 0.35s to Verstappen throughout the weekend, the Mexican still beat the rest of the opposition to the pole, after Leclerc’s shunt put paid to everyone else’s second runs. That pace difference was also in evidence in the way Verstappen carved his way through the field, after taking it so carefully in the opening lap that he dropped behind Bottas, to 10th place. In just 15 laps, the Dutchman passed eight cars, so he had already secured what he called, on Saturday, “the minimum I can achieve!”

The best news for the double World Champion, though, was that Pérez had not disappeared into the distance, being just three seconds ahead of his team-mate when Verstappen passed Alonso for second place.

Pérez explained that, “very early on, I saw that the Medium was very fragile, so I had to protect the tyre quite a lot just to make lap 15

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or so. And it was really hard to lean on that tyre. Basically, the whole right hand side was really difficult. And I could see that Max was closing up on the Hard. And from that point on, I knew that the race was looking difficult.”

Max, for his part, was delighted with how the Hard tyres were hanging on, passing Ocon, Bottas, Magnussen and Leclerc inside the first four laps, moving up to fourth by lap nine after passing Russell and Gasly in quick succession.

Six laps later the first job was half done and Verstappen knew the win was there for the taking: “At first I was just really staying out of trouble, as the people around me tried to gain positions as quickly as possible on lap one. But knowing that you have a quick car, then once it all settles down, you just try to pick them up one by one. And that worked out quite well. And then we had good pace; I could look after my tyres. Once I was in clean air, it was just about getting to that lap number we targeted. That’s why maybe in the middle of that stint, I was not entirely

sure if I was going to make it. But then I was getting close to that number and I said ‘OK, this is good’. So then I started pushing, I could extend the gap again, which really made my race today.”

By lap 20, with his team-mate about to get inside DRS range, Pérez, complaining, “the front right is graining”, pitted and resumed 18.5s behind his team-mate. On much fresher Hard tyres, Pérez wasn’t gaining much, getting within 14.8s of his team-mate 10 laps later but then Verstappen was told “you can lean more on the tyres” so the gap eventually went up to 18.5s, again by lap 43.

Two laps later the Dutchman pitted, resuming just 1.2s behind the Mexican, so it was just a case of when, not if, the lead would change hands permanently.

Verstappen had no doubts the race was his’, saying that, “I had the fresher tyres to the end, then I had a good battle with Checo – we were free to race, which was said before, and we had a good go at it. But of course, most importantly, is that we don’t touch but that that all worked out really well.”

The move was done at the end of lap 47 and concluded four corners later, into Turn One of lap 48, with Pérez having no answer for his team mate: “When I went onto the Hard, Max had very strong pace, so we didn’t manage to open a gap. So, he simply came too close to us.

And we had a bit of a fight on track, which was quite clean – to the limit, but clean and obviously putting the team the team in front of us.”

Team Principal Christian Horner was over the moon, even crediting Verstappen for choosing the race strategy that helped him win the race: “With Checo starting on the Mediums, we felt that from a simulation point of view, that Medium-Hard was the quicker strategy. Hence why obviously he took that strategy for the race. Max was keen to run the alternative strategy, starting on the Hard, which, in the simulation wasn’t quite as quick, but it benefitted if there was a Safety Car in the latter part of the race.

“And on 20 lap older tyres, that’s where he was truly impressive, to match the lap times, sometimes better the lap times, of what Checo was able to do. That was where he won the race.”

That meant than on the day he hoped to finally get to the championship lead for the first time in his career, Pérez was soundly beaten by Verstappen, who got his own back from the misfortune he had in Baku and now leads the title race by 14 points, on top of having the momentum to keep on extending that gap.

ALONSO BEATS THE BIG BOYS – AGAIN

From the start of FP1 in Miami it was clear there was no stopping Red Bull from dominating the weekend. In Verstappen’s hands the RB19 was unstoppable and it was always going to be a matter of time before

,

The rostrum celebrations could be pre-recorded ... with the same trio monopolising the champers – again ...

Kevin Magnussen was superb in qualifying. De Vries blotted his copybook by rear-ending Norris at the first corner (right) ...

Pérez would get the hang of it, which he did for qualifying.

So, once again, the rest of the field was left battling for P3, although Charles Leclerc had other plans. The Monegasque was on course to match Pérez’s first Q3 time, being just 0.038s behind the Mexican at the end of Sector 2, when he made a costly mistake in Turn 17 and then, of course, binned his Ferrari at the start of his final attempt.

There was no way he was going to upset the favorites starting from P7 and with a seriously dented confidence in his SF-23.

Confidence is something Fernando Alonso never lacks and he did well enough in Q3 to beat Sainz for the unexpected vacancy in the first row. Keeping the position at the start the Aston Martin driver never pulled away from his fellow Spaniard, but also didn’t respond to his pit stop, preferring to, “stick to our run plan because the tyres were still good and QUALIFYING RACE 05

we didn’t know if the Hard tyres could go that long.”

Pitting four laps after Sainz, Alonso resumed behind the Ferrari driver and needed only three laps to get his position back, running unchallenged to third until the end. Stroll was out of contention after dropping out of Q1 when he couldn’t match Alonso when they both ran just one set of tyres and in spite of a couple of nice moves into Turn 1, remained out of the points all day.

After a dreadful time on Saturday, Mercedes came alive on race day, Russell moving up to fifth at the start but finding himself unable to stay with the two Spanish drivers on the Medium compound tyre – but then was so quick on the Hard tyre he actually passed Sainz for P4, while Hamilton, hampered by traffic before his last Q2 attempt that left him with cold tyres, recovered from 13th to sixth place with a

RESULTS RACE 05 57 LAPS MIAMI INT. AUTODROME

CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER RACE 05 Pos Driver

Pos Driver

Time

Pos Drivers

Make

Laps

1

Sergio Perez

1:27.841

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

57 1:27.38.241 +9 s9

1

Max Verstappen

119

-

2

Fernando Alonso

+0.361

2

Sergio Perez

Red Bull

57

+5.384 t1

2

Sergio Perez

105

-

3

Carlos Sainz

+0.508

3

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

57

+26.305 t1

3

Fernando Alonso

75

-

4

Kevin Magnussen

+0.926

4

George Russell

Mercedes

57

+33.229 s2

4

Lewis Hamilton

56

-

5

Pierre Gasly

+0.945

5 Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

57

+42.511 t2

5

Carlos Sainz

44

-

6

George Russell

+0.963

6 Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

57

+51.249 s7

6

George Russell

40 s1

7

Charles Leclerc

+1.020

7

Ferrari

57

+52.988 -

7

Charles Leclerc

34 t1

8

Esteban Ocon

+1.094

8 Pierre Gasly

Alpine

57

+55.670 t3

8

Lance Stroll

27

-

9

Max Verstappen

-

9

Alpine

57

+58.123 t1

9

Lando Norris

10

-

10

Valtteri Bottas

-

10 Kevin Magnussen Haas

57

+1:02.945 t6

10 Pierre Gasly

8 s4

11

Alex Albon

+0.954

11 Yuki Tsunoda

AlphaTauri

57

+1:04.309 s6

11

6 t1

12

Nico Hulkenberg

+1.062

12 Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

57

+1:04.754 s6

12 Esteban Ocon

6 s1

13

Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc Esteban Ocon

Margin

Points

Nico Hulkenberg

+1.134

13 Valtteri Bottas

Alfa Romeo

57

+1:11.637 t3

13 Oscar Piastri

4 t2

14 Zhou Guanyu

+1.250

14 Alex Albon

Williams

57

+1:12.861 t3

14 Valtteri Bottas

4 t2

15 Nyck de Vries

+1.554

15 Nico Hulkenberg

Haas

57

+1:14.950 t3

15 Zhou Guanyu

2

-

16 Lando Norris

+1.553

16 Zhou Guanyu

Alfa Romeo

57

+1:18.440 t2

16 Yuki Tsunoda

2

-

17 Yuki Tsunoda

+1.588

17 Lando Norris

McLaren

57

+1:27.717 t1

17 Kevin Magnussen

2 s1

18 Lance Stroll

+1.635

18 Nyck de Vries

AlphaTauri

57

+1:28.949 t3

18 Alex Albon

1 t1

19 Oscar Piastri

+1.643

19 Oscar Piastri

McLaren

56

+1 Lap -

19 Logan Sargeant

0

-

20 Logan Sargeant

+1.736

20 Logan Sargeant

Williams

56

+1 Lap -

20 Nyck de Vries

0

-

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sensational second stint, passing five cars in 20 laps, including Leclerc’s Ferrari, and even matching Pérez’s best race lap – an achievement given both were trying to go for that extra point for fastest lap on the last lap of the race!

Behind Leclerc, Alpine scored valuable points with Gasly in eighth and Ocon in ninth place, after the team’s most competitive run since the start of the season, the two drivers doing their best to calm the waters at management level (see separate story) and showing they have, for now, the fifth quickest car in the field.

After a sensational P4 on the grid, making the most of others’ mistakes, Kevin Magnussen fought valiantly to keep Charles Leclerc behind, pitting early on lap 14.

Being stuck in traffic cost him a bit of time and lost him the battle to the two Alpines, as he ran out of grip on the harder tyre to resist Ocon’s comeback in the final laps. Still, the Dane scored a valuable point for Haas, in one of the team’s home races, on a day Yuki Tsunoda was frustrated after finishing P11 for the third time in five races – Alfa Romeo dropped of contention after Bottas’ showed promised in qualifying and both McLaren and Williams had a weekend to forget.

Hamilton pushed hard – for sixth ... Perez led at the start (below) but was quickly mown down by Verstappen.

WHERE HAS FERRARI’S PACE GONE?

AFTER LECLERC scared Red Bull in Baku, leading both the Sprint and the GP race early on after being unbeaten in the two qualifying sessions, a lot was expected from Ferrari in Miami, a track that has much faster corners than the previous one but rewards driver’s confidence and car control.

With a new floor and several other aerodynamic improvements, the SF-23 looked the second quickest car in town on Friday and Saturday, with Leclerc regularly outpacing Pérez, so a front row seat was looking possible for the Monegasque.

Twice the young driver let himself down in Q3 and, in the race, he was a shadow of the man that had been flirting with the limit all weekend. On the Medium tyres, early on, he got stuck behind Magnussen for 14 laps but was in better shape on the hards, moving up to sixth before degradation kicked in and he had to let Hamilton go, so P7 was all he got to take home.

For Sainz, the race went the other way around – keeping up with Alonso in the first stint, on the Medium tyre, while both were pulling away from Russell, but then suffering a lot on the Hard tyre, losing contact with his childhood hero and being helpless to prevent the Mercedes driver from snatching P4 from him.

In the end, both drivers agreed on one thing, even before speaking to each other.

Sainz said that, “with our car, we have zero flexibility with how much we can push and not push. As soon as you push for one lap, you do one good fast lap and then the next lap you are three-tenths slower as the tyres overheat, so it means that we don’t have flexibility to push or not push and we just need to follow a certain pace to make it to the end.”

Still reeling from his own mistakes in Q3, Leclerc was even more disappointed at the end of the race: “I think it’s been similar since the beginning of the season in every single race. We are going from one compound to the other and we never know what’s going to happen on the new compound.

It’s always an unknown, whether the car is going to react well, whether the tyres are going to be in the right window.

This is just very difficult also as a driver to gain the confidence and to adapt your driving. You get from one set to the other, and the car is completely in a different window.”

Again, Ferrari was able to get the SF-23 into the sweet spot for one of the three compounds available in Miami, the Soft, and had a reasonable understanding of how to manage the Mediums but was lost at sea with the Hard tyres.

The red car seems to be, every weekend, a one-trick pony, with no range to make it work with all three compounds available.

So, apart from tracks where overtaking is very hard – Monaco, in a couple of weeks, for example – it will be hard to see Leclerc and Sainz fighting at the front in the final laps of any Grand Prix.

Luis Vasconcelos

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HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INDY 500?

ACROSS

DOWN

5 Who am I? A Brazilian I won the Indy 500 in 2013; I am racing in the fourth Arrow McLaren entry and have announced it will be my final IndyCar race. (surname)

1 Which team won the 2022 Indy 500? (abbreviation)

6 Who was the most recent American to win the Indy 500? (surname) 8 Who has started on pole for the Indy 500 the last two years? (surname) 10 Who was fastest on the first Open Day test on April 20? (surname) 12 Of the current IndyCar Series drivers, who has won the Indy 500 the most times? (surname)

2 Which Andretti is attempting to qualify in 2023? (first name) 3 Who am I? Born in Italy, I won the USAC Championship three times before winning the IndyCar World Series in 1984, I won the Indy 500 once in 1969 as well as the F1 title. (full name) 4 How many years has it been since Scott Dixon last won the Indy 500?

14 Who was the first Brazilian to win the Indy 500? (surname)

7 Who is the only female attempting to qualify this year? (surname)

15 How many rookies are entered to take part in 2023?

9 How many times has Will Power won the Indy 500?

17 How many former Indy 500 winners are entered to qualify in the race this year?

11 How many Australians have won the Indy 500?

18 What is Scott McLaughlin’s best Indy 500 finish?

19 Who was the last driver to win the Indy 500 for Team Penske? (surname)

13 How many grid spots are available in the Indy 500?

20 How many times has Scott McLaughlin entered the Indy 500?

14 Who was the last driver to win the Indy 500 and IndyCar Series in the same year? (surname)

22 How many laps is the Indy 500 contested over?

16 How many times has Josef Newgarden won the Indy 500?

24 How many drivers have entered to try and qualify in the Indy 500 in 2023?

25 Which squad has won the most editions of the Indy 500? (full name) 26 Who won the 2022 Indy 500? (surname)

21 Rinus Veekay is trying to become the second Dutch driver to win the Indy 500 – who is the only driver to win the race from the Netherlands? (surname)

28 In the last 10 years, how many different drivers have won the race?

23 Which F1 World Champion finished third in the 1993 Indy 500? (surname)

29 Which Scotsman won the Indy 500 in 1965? (surname)

27 How many times has Scott Dixon won the Indy 500?

1 down – Evans, 2 down – KTM, 3 down – Monaro, 4 down – two, 5 across – Toyota, 6 down – three, 7 down – Longhurst, 7 across – LDM, 8 down – Formula E, 9 down – Finland, 9 across – four, 10 down – Fangio, 11 across – Courtney, 12 across – Gronholm, 12 down – Gunther, 13 down – Marc Marquez, 14 across – Bargwanna, 15 down – Ireland, 16 across – Montoya, 17 down – nine, 18 down – second, 19 across – GRM, 20 across – Horner, 21 across – Gil de Ferran, 22 across – Canto, 23 across – Audi, 24 across – Schlesser, 24 down – Sweden, 25 across – Abbey, 26 across – Breen

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

1973 PETER BROCK finally overcame Allan Moffat to end the Ford hero’s winning streak in the 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship season.

Moffat had won the first four races, but Brock hit back by convincingly winning a race-long duel at Surfers Paradise. The race was decided with seven laps to go when Moffat had a rare lose coming out of the tricky Repco Corner. The Toby Lee Series witnessed another big turnaround at Oran Park where John Harvey “brought the crowd to its feet” by beating Colin Bond. Enno Busselmann was another underdog to take victory having beaten favourite John Lefler in the TAA Formula Ford Championship.

1983 PARITY WAS also a hot topic 40 years ago when CAMS announced “massive changes” to the Australian Touring Car Championship regulations.

After a special meeting, including all factories and entrants at CAMS headquarters in Melbourne where proposed modifications to the Holden Commodore, Mazda RX7, Ford Falcon, Nissan Bluebird, BMW 635 and Toyota Celica were discussed. News surfaced that reigning British Open Rally champions Jimmy McRae and Ian Grindrod were going to be big-name arrivals for possibly the Dunlop2Go Rally in August.

Over in Monaco, defending champion Keke Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix – a feat his son Nico would also achieve 30 years later.

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

1993 AS FORD continued its domination of the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, Holden hero Mark Skaife believed he was a “marked man” after his latest incident. Two rounds after his infamous incident with Alan Jones, Skaife had another wild ride at Winton where he claimed he “was launched” by John Bowe. Bowe accepted blame for the incident, but stated it “was not deliberate (and) it was a racing incident.” Up front, Seton scored a fourth straight win for his Peter Jackson team.

Ayrton Senna scored his fifth consecutive win and sixth overall on the streets of Monaco as Alain Prost got stuck in the pits.

2003 Marcos Ambrose was well and truly the man to beat in the 2003 V8 Supercars season after his latest success at Winton. Although Ambrose cruised to a second straight round win, the biggest headlines were created by Greg Murphy and Craig Lowndes. Murphy received a “farcical” drive-through penalty after colliding with an outof-control Craig Lowndes at the Turn 5 sweeper.

Murphy was livid and immediately left the circuit.

Michael Schumacher survived a fire scare to win a crazy Austrian Grand Prix packed with incidents and showers. Penske scored a 1-2 win in the Indianapolis 500 with Gil de Ferran leading Helio Castroneves.

2013 THE SUPERCARS world centred around America 10 years ago with a historic US based race and a US manufacturer primed to join the category.

For the first and only time, Supercars raced in the United States with the staging of the Austin 400 at Circuit of the Americas. In a well-attended event by more than 68,000 Americans, four 27-lap races were held around a twisty shortened version of the Grand Prix circuit. Jamie Whincup dominated, winning three of the four races with Fabian Coulthard the other to stand on the top step. In the aftermath of the event, Chrysler emerged as the leading contender to be the fifth manufacturer to join the sport after discussions with Garry Rogers Motorsport.

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2007 Subaru WRX STI

2011 Audi TTS

1927 Ford Track T

1976 Dodge Trayback

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Audi TTS 4cyl DSG track/race car.

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