FERRARI’S F1 BOSS THE MAN UNDER PRESSURE
AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT
ALERT: THE PIASTRI
TRAIN HAS ARRIVED! AS M c LAREN UPGRADE SHOCKS ITS F1 RIVALS EXCLUSIVE
PIASTRI COLUMN
VAN GISBERGEN ROCKS THE NASCAR WORLD
2024: WILL HE STAY OR WILL HE GO? FULL COVERAGE FROM THE STREETS OF CHICAGO
FINALLY... A FORD WIN!
BUT MUSTANG TEAMS SAY PARITY IS STILL MISSING
ISSN 2204-9924
ISSUE 1865
$10.95 INC GST JULY 13 to JULY 26 2023
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VAN GISBERGEN BATTLES IN
SPECIAL RACE SHANE VAN Gisbergen celebrated his 500th race milestone by charging through the field in the final race of the 2023 Townsville 500, but did so encountering a steering issue with a “mind of its own”. Despite starting last, van Gisbergen charged his way to as high fourth before eventually crossing the line fifth after a team “communication breakdown” during the closing stages. Having “struggled” at the Darwin Triple Crown, the Kiwi rolled out on the streets of Townsville continuing to battle the same steering issues. He was able to get a grip on things by qualifying and record the fourth fastest time, a position he retained by the time the chequered flag was waved at the end of Saturday’s race. However, van Gisbergen’s journey to get there was not simple after a hairy moment at turn 8 with Jack Le Brocq.
On Sunday van Gisbergen became the 12th driver to notch up 500 Supercars/ ATCC starts, but there were little celebrations in the #97 garage after he qualified last. Things were looking grim when he was trailing the pack by five seconds in the early stages after spinning a clash with Declan Fraser. but soon he turned things around. Van Gisbergen stayed out with an ultra long first stint 19 laps longer than the earliest stopper Anton De Pasquale. Having gained track position by staying out during the mid-race safety car, van Gisbergen was up with the front runners and found himself in a battle with Broc Feeney and ended up fifth. Despite the impressive rescue mission rising 20 positions, van Gisbergen said it was down to luck as he battled steering issues which had a “mind of its own”.
“The biggest credit for this weekend goes to our mechanics. They busted their asses all weekend to try and make the car go better, but we keep finding so many problems,” he said. “It’s a shame they are parts that we can’t go back to the workshop and make better – we have to deal with these things, it’s tough. “I had a lot of car troubles in the race. The steering had a mind of its own, my throttle was jamming and cutting out, and my brakes weren’t working. “At every braking zone, I was hoping my throttle was going to return and had my foot hovering over the clutch in case that happened. “We were really lucky to end up where we did and we obviously got a decent points haul, but overall it was a really tough day.” Triple Eight Race Engineering team
principal Jamie Whincup said the team will continue to “hunt” solutions for the “gremlins” which first appeared at Hidden Valley Raceway. “This weekend was a roller coaster,” he said. “We had some challenges and some fantastic highs, but our debrief list is going to be long because not everything was smooth sailing. “Shane still has his gremlins with his car that were there in Darwin. “The team hunted for those all weekend and we’ll continue to hunt when we get back to the workshop so that Shane is much happier in the car.” The team has just over two weeks to get to the bottom of van Gisbergen’s issues before the Sydney SuperNight on July 28-30. Thomas Miles
MIXED EMOTIONS FOR DAVISON ALTHOUGH SUNDAY in Townsville will be a special day for Dick Johnson Racing with an Anton De Pasquale victory, it was a tough one for Will Davison. Whilst De Pasquale was controlling the field with a commanding lead en route to Dick Johnson Racing’s first win in 23 races, Davison was limping a lap down. The famous #17 had a tough afternoon, starting seventh but dropped out of the 10 during the first stint on used rubber. After losing ground with a late first stop, Davison stayed out during the mid race Safety Car, but could not maintain the track position as the pack swallowed him up. By the time Davison returned to the pits he rejoined 22nd towards the very back of the field and could only make up one more position across the last 44 tours and dropped off the lead lap. It was only the fifth time the consistent Davison has
finished outside the top 20 in his second stint at DJR which is now in its third season having been 24th in race 14 at Darwin due to a bent right front steering arm. Finishing a lap down was a major step backwards after recording an eighth top 10 finish of 2023 on the Saturday. Whilst being thrilled for De Pasquale to end DJR’s and Ford’s winless drought, Davison admitted his time in the hot seat on Sunday was like “hell”.
“I am thrilled for the team and well done to Anton, but my day was hell,” he told Supercars Trackside. “We just struggled. I started on a used tyre because we did a three stopper yesterday and hung on. “Then the safety car came out at the worst time and I had no mirrors and was just a pinball machine getting hit at every corner. I was just trying to survive. “I think I got hit by every car and one bent something really badly in the rear and knocked the tyre off. “I then just drove around because I had no brakes at the end there. It was just really frustrating, but I knew Anton had a fresh sets of tyres and I kept checking in on him. “I am thrilled they have made some great progress with the car and he has really maximised that strategy, awesome by the team.” Davison hopes to return to the front of the field at the Sydney SuperNight on July 28-30. Thomas Miles
TAYLOR SUFFERS MISFORTUNE IN SARDINIA
MOSTERT NOT HAPPY WITH PARITY DESPITE PODIUM CHAZ MOSTERT might have scored his first podium in five rounds, but he is still frustrated about the Camaro v Mustang parity debate. Mostert put in one of the drives of race 16, charging from 10th to third after showing late-race speed on fresh tyres. The #25 Walkinshaw Andretti United Mustang visited the lane three times and this aggressive strategy helped him peel off six cars in the final 17 laps to rise from ninth to third. All up he passed 26 cars across the 250km race and completed his charge to the podium with a clean move on former teammate Cameron Waters at Turn 3 on Lap 79. At that stage Mostert thought he could continue his charge to hunt down Broc Feeney’s Camaro in second, but did not have the tyre and had to settle for third 2s back. Despite being pleased to score a first podium since Newcastle and Supercars allowing an aero tweak to the Mustangs in the name of parity, “Mozzie” still believes the odds are stacked in favour of the Camaros. “I was having a good time for a fair bit, strategy worked well for us and the
car felt reasonably good, but then the degradation was just massive,” he said. “It was the story of the day, the Mustangs just cannot look after their tyres so it is good to get P1 in class. “Having 10 lap fresher tyres I thought I could at least have a crack for the lead but to be honest it is a different class out there. “They (Brown and Feeney) just started to drive away from me. We did everything we could as a team. “It has been a disappointing year. I have been hanging in the championship the best I can but to be in the championship you need one of those (Camaro) things which is pretty disappointing.” Post the Darwin Triple Crown Supercars conducted a parity review and used computational fluid dynamics. After the process Supercars permitted the Ford teams to move the rear wing forward by 20mm and lower it by a similar amount, plus add a small gurney flap. When expanding further on what life is like behind the wheel of the revised Mustang, Mostert said the Fords have a “small window” to unlock. “It feels like we don’t really have a
rear wing so it has been a bit hectic out there,” he said. “We are okay in the slow mechanical corners but in the high commitment brake zones and high speed back section (turns 5-10) the car just gives away with no rear at all. “If the thing is not sticking to the ground, your window is so small. There are some Fords that are absolutely nailing it in qualifying, but as you can see in the race it is hard yakka.” Walkinshaw Andretti United boss Ryan Walkinshaw echoed the thoughts of his driver. “Yesterday (Saturday) was a good day but it was still frustrating because if any other year in Supercars if you did what we did with our strategy and tyres Chaz probably would have won by four or five seconds,” he said. “But where we are with tyre deg on the Mustangs currently there was no way we could catch the guys up front even with a 10-lap tyre advantage. “That was frustrating but we will still take a podium because there have not been many for us in Ford this year.” Thomas Miles
MOLLY TAYLOR and the Veloce Racing team suffered heartbreak at the Extreme E Island X Prix in Sardinia after its Grand Final place was snatched away. Taylor and co-driver Kevin Hansen finished fifth to appear to book a place in the decider, but a series of stewards decisions meant things soon changed. Whilst the incidents did not involve Veloce Racing, an overturning of the result following a clash between a Carl Cox Motorsport and JBXE car, plus a non penalty for a Chip Ganassi entry for bringing down a marker flag saw Veloce Racing Team miss out on a Grand Final berth. It was a blow after Taylor and Hansen got off to a rollicking start and taking a commanding Q1 heat win. The Aussie female star looked set to continue that fine form when she sat second during the opening stages of Q2. However, steering dramas hit the #5 ODYSSEY 21, which meant the car ran wide and suddenly dropped down to fifth. Taylor quickly overcame the setback before handing driving duties over Hansen at the halfway mark and the Swede soon passed a Carl Cox Motorsport rival. But a battle with Timo Scheider caused significant damage where the bonnet and wipers flew off the Veloce Racing Team car which left Hansen with limited vision in the muddy and sandy conditions. Hansen dug deep and brought the car home in fifth, which was enough to achieve the objective before circumstances changed. This meant the pair took part in the Redemption Race where Taylor and Hansen finished second and collected seven points to sit third in the overall standings, just 14 points away from leaders Laia Sanz and Mattias Ekstrom. Despite the setbacks, Taylor said it has only given her team more determination for the next round after showing front-running pace. “We had the speed, and we know we have the team and car to fight at the front, but it didn’t all come together to win this weekend,” she said. “Nevertheless, we have scored some solid points, the title fight is close and we will come back stronger at the next one.” The penultimate round of the 2023 Extreme E season is on September 16-17, where a venue is yet to be decided between Amazon or America. Thomas Miles
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SUPERCARS BRACED FOR PIVOTAL GEN3 TESTS DESPITE A SHORT turnaround between the Townsville and Sydney events, a busy and important period of Supercars testing awaits. It arrives after a heavily publicised aero parity change was made to the Ford Mustangs prior to the Townsville 500. The rear wing was moved forward by 20mm and lowered by a similar amount, while a small gurney flap was added to the trailing edge. Although Anton De Pasqaule drove Ford to its first on track win of the Gen3 era and broke a 15-race drought, many racing with the Blue Oval remain “extremely frustrated”. The height of Ford teams’ concerns is rear tyre life, with some claiming the Camaros experienced far less degradation across the longer stints. After five straight sprint rounds, this was
brought into sharp focus at the longer 500km event. Despite De Pasquale taking the chequered flag, only one other Mustang finished in the top 14. This was one day after Chaz Mostert was heavily critical, believing the Camaro’s greater care on the rubber meant his pursuit of victory was next to impossible despite being on 10-lap fresher rubber. Further parity testing will take place this week, which is expected to be run by Supercars with homologation squad Dick Johnson Racing in action at Queensland Raceway. Down in Victoria, Tickford will also stage its own Gen3 test on Tuesday, July 18, which will be a critical time to gain a deeper insight into the aero changes. Additional parity changes such as a move to a smaller throttle body to deal
with issues around power delivery are anticipated to arrive prior to the Sydney Motorsport Park round. In a Ford Australia press release, Grove Racing owner Stephen Grove documented the Blue Oval’s concerns and confirmed parity testing is imminent. “It is still extremely frustrating,” he said. “We think we’ve got a fast car over one lap, and the changes have made an impact, but the car still doesn’t look after the rear tyres. “Overall the deterioration of the tyres was a problem for us. It’s just the race pace that is not there. “Until we can get the tyres to last, that’s the way it is. We started second on Saturday and fifth on Sunday, but finished a long way back. “There is some more testing on parity coming this week, so we’ve got to see
what happens with that before we head to Sydney Motorsport Park.” On the Chevrolet side of things, Triple Eight Race Engineering will also be back on track testing as soon as tomorrow. The Supercheap Auto wildcard will return for its first test post Zane Goddard’s solo return at the Darwin Triple Crown. Goddard finished 22nd, 21st and 24th in the three races behind the wheel of car #888, but finished 19th on the road in the latter, only to be penalised for spinning Jack Smith. The session will ramp up the team’s preparations for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 enduros where Craig Lowndes will return alongside Goddard. Testing miles will be crucial ahead of the Sydney SuperNight on July 28-30, which will be held on an aero sensitive track. Thomas Miles
MAX McRAE FLIES AT UNCLE COLIN’S JUMP THINGS MIGHT not have gone to plan for Max McRae in the latest ERC Rally Sweden round, but he got to take on the jump named after his legendary uncle. Whilst McRae would be disappointed after damaging his steering and popping a driveshaft on the Friday, he then got to compete through a stretch of Swedish forest named after his Uncle Colin McRae, a former WRC champion and a household name for his exploits in the 90’s. The centrepiece of the route through the Värmland region is the jump named after his Uncle, and Max and his co-driver Mac Kierans didn’t let the opportunity go by, clocking a 38 meter jump that delighted the local crowd. Although McRae was happy to get near his Uncle’s distance, which was made in the snow, he did manage to top another famous McRae rally name..his father Alister. “The jump was really cool, we flew around 38 metres,” McRae said.
“I was pretty happy with that. Given the ties to my uncle, I’d expected quite a lot of emotion when we got there – and there was from the crowd. “The difference was, when Colin was coming through this stage, it was on the Swedish Rally as a winter round of the world championship – so the whole place was totally covered in snow and big snowbanks.” “We kept it flat on the run into the jump,
It had been a fairly tricky weekend again and I just wanted to send this one. The good news is that I jumped further than Dad!” Although it was a disappointing finishing result for McRae in Sweden - 11th in the Junior ERC standings - he continued to show highly competitive pace in his Opel Corsa Rally4. “We got a puncture late on Friday, and I didn’t want to stop and change because
we weren’t so far to the finish, so we carried on. “Because of the puncture we were having to work the steering more to get the car turned into corners and I clipped a rock with the steering open. The arm was broken and, in turn, that popped the driveshaft out as well. “I was pretty gutted to be honest, but the positive is that we were right up there and running quicker than the Junior ERC regulars. We were behind a couple of local drivers, but I was happy we were ahead of the people around us in the championship. “It’s more experience, but I want points and I want wins now. I know we’re capable of it, it just needs to come together.” McRae’s next effort sees him head to the Italian capital for the Ralli di Roma Capitale on July 29-30 for the first tarmac outing of the ERC Junior season. TW Neal
LITTLE TO STAND DOWN AS AUS GP CHAIR AUSTRALIA GRAND Prix Corporation chair Paul Little is expected to stand down from his role after a four-year stint. As reported in the Tuesday, July 11 edition of THE AGE newspaper, anonymous sources have confirmed Little will stand down, having not been reappointed as chair of the board. A replacement is yet to be announced after the former Essendon Football Club president took on the role at the corporation that oversees the Formula 1 and MotoGP Australian Grands Prix. Little replaced John Harnden as chair of the Australian Grand Prix and is one of just three to be in the position during the Melbourne era of the race with Ron Walker performing the role for over two decades. If this comes to fruition, it will be the second major change at the head of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation in a matter of months. The long-standing CEO Andrew Westacott oversaw his last Grand Prix in charge in April and it has been Little who has led the race to find a replacement. The Australian Grand Prix Corporation appointed an interim chief executive in June - the Australian Grand Prix Corporation’s legal and general counsel manager Dale Nardella. On that front AFL Chief Financial Officer and Manager of Broadcasting, Clubs and Fixtures, Travis Auld, is tipped to be the frontrunner. Under the terms of the Australian Grands Prix Act 1994, the Victorian government must approve AGPC appointments, and Auld is seen as a formality in this case. But when asked about the departure of Little, a Victorian Government spokesperson told THE AGE “any appointments to the Australian Grand Prix will be made in the usual way.” A potential candidate to replace Little could be former Labor minister Martin Pakula, who has attended many Australian Grands Prix and presented trophies on the podium. However, Pakula shutdown speculation in a short statement. “I don’t know whether there are any current vacancies on the AGPC board, nor what the minister has in mind for it, but I have not been offered any role and I have not accepted any role,” it read. Thomas Miles
MCLAREN BOSSES THRILLED WITH ‘INCREDIBLE’ PIASTRI MCLAREN BOSSES have lauded the career-best fourth scored by Oscar Piastri at a special British Grand Prix as “incredible”. Piastri showed his star quality at Silverstone, fighting at the front and not looking out of place against stars such as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and teammate Lando Norris despite competing in just his 10th Grand Prix. The Australian looked on course for a stunning podium, but sadly the timing of the Safety Car for Kevin Magnussen’s stranded Haas promoted Hamilton to third due to a “free” pit stop. However, it did not diminish Piastri’s drive with the upgraded #81 not being troubled by the Mercedes of George Russell on the softer medium tyres during the back end of the race to score fourth. It was easily the best result of Piastri’s short Formula 1 career so far with his previous best an eighth on his home turf in Melbourne. The strong race came off the back of a brilliant qualifying effort where he set the third fastest time. Piastri more than doubled his points tally from five to 12 points to rise from 14th to 11th in the standings. Fourth is also a result Daniel Ricciardo only bettered once during his time at McLaren when famously won the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, with 2022 yielding a best result of fifth. Piastri’s performance was lauded by the top brass at McLaren, with team principal Andrea Stella calling it “incredible”.
“This is a great team result at the British Grand Prix,” he said. “It’s a real shame for Oscar, he should have been on the podium but the timing of the Safety Car meant that we lost a position and he finished fourth. “But that takes nothing away from the strong weekend he’s had and the incredible race he drove.” McLaren CEO Zak Brown was also full of praise for the 22-year-old, believing he will have many podiums ahead. “It was a good day at the office. Oscar and Lando drove great, the team was strong, the pit stops were good and the tyre strategy turned out to be the right one,” he told Sky Sports F1. “Given how we started the year in Bahrain and Saudi we were nowhere, so to be on the podium and lead the race on pure pace with two cars is incredible work from all of the men and women at McLaren. “It is unfortunate, I feel bad for Oscar because he deserved to be third. The safety car did not work out, but he will have a lot of podiums ahead for him.” With Norris also finishing on the podium in second, McLaren doubled its points tally to surge ahead of Alpine to fourth in the constructors title race. Norris scored McLaren’s first Silverstone trophy since Lewis Hamilton finished second in the 2010 British Grand Prix, which was won by Piastri’s manager Mark Webber. That was a race where Webber had to overcome teammate Sebastian
Vettel taking pole with an upgraded front wing that was removed from the Australian’s car. When Webber crossed the line to take victory, he declared: “not bad for a number two driver”. Fast forward 13 years and his understudy experienced a similar situation but kept his composure in impressive fashion, even when the team told him not to attack Norris. Whilst receiving the significant aero upgrade Norris received at Austria a race later, Piastri still carried an older spec front wing. Only one upgraded front wing was available for the British Grand Prix, which was placed on Norris’ car. After receiving such a huge boost at Silverstone, McLaren is now a renewed force as Formula 1 approaches the halfway mark of the 2023 season. But Brown was quick to suggest McLaren is far from being cemented as the second fastest team, with Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes all showing similar speed at recent races. “I think it is little early to be that bold (we are second best) but what we are is back in the game,” he replied when McLaren is next best behind Red Bull. “I am sure other tracks will suit different cars in different ways and everyone is continuing to bring upgrades. “We have seen the leap you can take after a lot of hard work, so we have got to keep pushing.” McLaren hopes to continue its form at Hungary on July 21-23. Thomas Miles
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THE ‘HONEY BADGER’ RETURNS
TO FORMULA 1 DANIEL RICCIARDO will make his return to Formula 1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix next week, with AlphaTauri announcing Nyck de Vries will be replaced by the Australian for the remainder of the 2023 F1 season, effective immediately. After a day spent testing the RB19 around Silverstone Circuit, it won’t be long before the 8-time Grand Prix winner jumps back in the cockpit of an F1 car, having lost his seat with McLaren last year. “I’m stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family,” Ricciardo said about his return. Ricciardo’s highly-anticipated return will be made at a circuit in which he is more than familiar with, with the fan-favourite having won the Hungarian Grand Prix back in 2014. The Australian took seven of his eight F1 victories with Red Bull, having raced with the team from 2014-2018 making it a comfortable environment to be returning to. Scuderia AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost, said that Ricciardo’s return feels like a natural transition for the struggling team, where Yuki Tsunoda has played a lone point scoring hand in 2023. “There’s no doubt about his driving skills, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straightforward,” Tost said. “The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner.” As for de Vries, it was a short-lived stint
with AlphaTauri, completing only 10 races, plus a wildcard debut with Williams at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, where he stunned the field with a P9 at Monza. The Italian Red Bull owned team has struggled this year, with Tsunoda being the sole points scorer, leaving AlphaTauri with a total of 2 points and sitting down in last place in the constructors’ championship. With a best finish of twelfth at Monaco, De Vries has failed to match Tsunoda in performance this season after he was brought in following Red Bull’s efforts to get IndyCar star Colton Herta into the F1 fold. “I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with Scuderia AlphaTauri,” Tost said. “I wish him all the best for the future.”
Ricciardo’s return for the rest of 2023 also means Red Bull has gone outside of its junior program for a replacement, of whom Kiwi Liam Lawson was a potential choice - the Red Bull Junior reserve driver, who is currently plying his trade in the Japanese Super Formula Championship. Lawson is on the same path that eventually led Pierre Gasly to his AlphaTauri seat, but the weight of experience that Ricciardo carries outweighed the potential rookie replacement. Lawson, who was the AlphaTauri reserve/ test driver in 2022, impressed in his second F1 Free Practice session in Max Verstappen’s 2022 RB18 car in Mexico after replacing Juri Vips in the Red Bull Junior program. However, the mounting pressure on Red
Bull’s Sergio Perez, despite taking two F1 wins in 2023, won’t go away. If Ricciardo can perform well in the Red Bull sister team in the remaining 12 race 2023 window, don’t discount some more ‘silly season’ seat shuffling, where it’s not out of this universe to think that the popular F1 Aussie could make another shock move back into the competitions premier team at the expense of Perez, who still has a contract for next season. That would then leave the door ajar for Lawson at AlphaTauri, although the returning trend of having more experienced drivers fill the void may still count against him…if they stick with Tsunoda! Ricciardo’s return to the grid is also the first time two Aussies will share the track on the F1 stage since he and Mark Webber crossed paths in Brazil in 2013, two seasons after they first met at Silverstone in 2011. With Piastri’s remarkable fourth place at Silverstone last week, where he was unlucky not to earn a maiden F1 podium in just his 10th race, all eyes will also be on the ‘Honey Badger’, to see how high he can put the struggling AT04 machine. The one thing that is for certain, is that Australian F1 fans are lucky to again have two countrymen back on the world’s premier racing grid. The Hungarian Grand Prix takes place this weekend, July 21-23, with the race starting at 11pm AEST on Sunday. Reese Mautone and TW Neal
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YOUNG ENDURES FOR EUROPEAN RETURN MELBOURNE RACER Dylan Young will return to racing in Europe this weekend, joining up with the Ligier European Series for the rest of 2023. After taking on the Formula 3 Regional series in the Ultimate Cup last season with Graff Racing - which followed on from his years of racing in the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship - Young will make the switch from open wheelers into the Ligier LMP4 prototype machinery. At 34 years-old, the Victorian has been racing open wheelers overseas since 2010, where he started in the now defunct Formula BMW series against the likes of Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz and IMSA champion Tom Blomqvist. His best result in the Asian based Formula 2000 category yielded a best season of
second place in 2019-20. He’s now got his sights on working up the ranks into the prototype endurance ranks, where he hopes to eventually tackle Le Mans. After successfully testing with the Smart Racing team in Italy last month, that journey starts as soon as this weekend at Paul Ricard in the #5 Smart Driving Ligier JS P4. “We had a really solid test the other week in Italy and I was on pace really quickly despite it being a new environment for me with a roof over my head for the first time,” Young said. “The car is heavier and you can feel the differences compared to what I’m used to, but I felt I adapted really quickly which I’m pleased about.” “I’m stoked to be heading in this direction for my career, and am fully
focused on a future in endurance racing with the goal of winning the Le Mans 24 hours…and that journey starts now. “I want to thank the Smart Driving Team for giving me this opportunity along with my backers and partners who are always by my side.” The LMP4 machinery is a stepping stone into the LMP3 and LMP2 categories that race in IMSA, WEC, The European Le Mans Series, the Asian Le Mans Series, and more, as Young hopes to join the likes of fellow Aussies like James Allen and Josh Burdon who are regular winners in both Europe and America. Young’s LMP4 Ligier JS P4 is powered by a 3.7 L Ford V6 which produces around 385bhp. The next step up for example, the LMP3, features a 5.6 L Nissan V8, producing around 455bhp, which the Aussie driver is looking to advance into
the higher levels through 2024. This weekend’s action at Paul Ricard will feature two x 40-minute practice sessions, two x 15-minute qualifying sessions and two x 1-hour races. You can watch Dylan’s LMP4 debut live and free online via the Ligier European Series YouTube channel. TW Neal
62 CREWS FOR ARC QUEENSLAND RETURN THE AUSTRALIAN Rally Championship will make its long awaited QLD return, with 62 crews set to take to the forest roads around Gympie for the July 22-23. There’s 30 ARC teams headed for the popular Queensland Rally, the third round of 2023, which last year had to be cancelled due to severe flooding in the area, north of the Sunshine Coast. On top of the 30 top-flight crews taking to QLD, a further 32 crews have registered for the state component of the event. On top of the ARC return, the Wheels of Mary Festival also makes its return to the town centre on the July 21, adding to the party that will be taking place around the town. Clerk of Course, Brian Everitt, is thrilled by the return of the event, as well as the boon of quality entries. “After a disappointing outcome last year, the Brisbane Sporting Car Club are wanting to bounce back and to have this much
interest in the return of the ARC is fantastic,” Everitt said. “We are chuffed with not only the size, but the quality of the entry list and are thankful for the best crews in Australia showing the trust and faith in the organisers to put on a good and safe event. “The entry list is up there with the old days of the international Rally of Queensland and the most entries we have had here for quite some time. “We’re chuffed with the support from both crews and the regional Gympie council who have shown a lot of faith in us too – so we can’t wait to put on a show and have the best crews in Australia experience the forestry and shire roads this beautiful part of Queensland has to offer.” Headlining the ARC field are the usual culprits, as Lewis Bates and co-driver Anthony McLoughlin attempt to extend their hard-earned championship lead, which currently stands at 18 points over
the resurgent pairing of Nathan Quinn and Ray Winwood-Smith. The 2017 ARC champions have been in fine form since winning Coffs Coast Rally at the backend of last season, with the pair also on a high after taking the WA Forest Rally. An ARC follower can’t not have the looming feeling that 2019 champion Harry Bates also isn’t far off returning to his best however, who along with his new co-driver Coral Taylor, took out the first Heat in WA only for a late penalty demoting them from the lead in Heat 2. A string of mechanical bad luck and the consistency of his fellow Toyota Yaris brother has derailed the former champion and WRC NZ points scorer since Gippsland last season, with the pair currently sitting 72 point in arrears in fourth place.
Between Harry and Quinn however, is Luke Anear and Malcom Read, with the experienced WRC2 driver and his co-driver having their best start to an ARC season. In the Production Cup Stakes, Steve Maguire holds a similar 18 point lead over the promising Tasmanian in Bodie Reading, who in his first full-time ARC season has fared well in the outright field. 14 Stages and more than 200 kilometres await the crews round the forests of Gympie. TW Neal
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