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KOSTECKI AND EREBUS TO BRING BACK THE #1
F4 AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIP IS BACK
THE FORMULA 4 Australian Championship is officially on the comeback trail after Chinese based Top Speed announced a five-round season for the new year, including one international round. As first revealed by AUTO ACTION in September, the Formula 4 Australian Championship, with Motorsport Australia’s backing, was returning after five years away having been initially launched in 2015. Top Speed which organises the FIA Formula 4 UAE and South East Asia, and the FIA Formula Regional Middle East Championships, will manage the category down under and supply the Tatuus F4 T421 GEN2; powered by an Abarth engine which is used in all major Formula 4 Championships worldwide. The season itself will be held across five rounds, but only four in Australia with the finale to be held at Sepang International Circuit, the home of the Malaysian F1 and Motorcycle Grand Prix. The first Australian Formula 4 race in five years will take place at The Bend Motorsport Park on May 4-5. The series then stays in South Australia before heading to Queensland Raceway where it will share the stage with the SpeedSeries. The penultimate round of the season will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park in August, one month before the Malaysian finale on September 7-8. Each weekend will have a three-
race format, while the 2024 Formula 4 Australian champion will be eligible to earn 12 all-important FIA Super License points. Top Speed General Manager Davide de Gobbi cannot wait to see the championship return. “We are excited to bring Formula 4 back to Australia and assist young talent in the country to take the next step and earn important FIA Super Licence points. To have four rounds in Australia and an international season finale will give teams and drivers the best of both worlds,” he said. “We believe F4 Australia will provide an excellent platform for young drivers from the region to showcase their talent and develop their skills. “Motorsport Australia has approved the reintroduction of the category and we will work collaboratively to ensure Formula 4 has a strong future in Australia.” A number of Australian based openwheeler teams have been approached to run cars, including AGI Sports, which is set to run a four to five car team. FIA Formula 4 last contested a national championship series in Australia from 2015 to 2019. The inaugural champion was Jordan Lloyd before current Supercars star Will Brown won the 2016 title. Others to be Australian F4 champions were Nicholas Rowe, Jayden Ojeda and Luis Leeds. The likes of Liam Lawson, Zane
Goddard, Jordan Love, Thomas Randle, Jack Smith, Tyler Everingham, Aaron Love, Tommy Smith and Christian Mansell also competed in it. The Confederation of Australian Motorsport (as it was then, now trading as Motorsport Australia), called for commercial tenders to invest in its introduction – but none were forthcoming. So CAMS itself undertook the purchase of a fleet of cars and the investment in the series. In what is seen as the organisation’s biggest mistake ever, F4 never really took off. At the end of 2019, the cars were sold off – some overseas, some local – with an overall loss of $3million said to have been incurred by CAMS’ investment. But next year it will return with the endorsement of Motorsport Australia and an international round. 2024 FORMULA 4 AUSTRALIA CERTIFIED BY FIA PROVISIONAL CALENDAR ROUND 1 – May 4-5: The Bend Motorsport Park, SA ROUND 2 – June 8-9: The Bend Motorsport Park, SA ROUND 3 – July 13-14: Queensland Raceway, QLD ROUND 4 – August 3-4: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW ROUND 5 – September 7-8: Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
BRODIE KOSTECKI and Erebus Motorsport have promised to bring back the famous #1 to Supercars in 2024. As is the usual custom in motorsport series, the reigning champion carries the honour of racing with the #1 in their title defence. However the special number has not been seen for an entire Supercars season since Jamie Whincup carried it in 2018 following his seventh and final title the previous season. Since then Scott McLaughlin opted to retain the iconic #17 on his Mustang as tribute to Dick Johnson, while fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen has preferred to race his #97 following his 2016, 2021 and 2022 titles which has personal significance. The only time van Gisbergen raced with the #1 was the 2022 VAILO Adelaide 500, which was Holden’s final event, but that went so badly he did not want to race with it again. But fresh from winning their maiden Supercars drivers and teams titles, Kostecki and Erebus are excited by the chance to race with the #1. Prior to 2017, the last time the #1 was not seen on the grid was back in 1997 as reigning champion Craig Lowndes was racing in the International Formula 3000 Championship alongside Juan Pablo Montoya in Europe. Kostecki was adamant the team will take the chance to race with the number as a badge of honour from their incredible 2023. “Most definitely,” he said when asked if Erebus will do it. “I think it is the best way to represent what the team has done this year so I think it is time to bring back the number one.” Sitting alongside Kostecki in the post-event press conference was Erebus owner Betty Klimenko, who is looking forward to being the “hunted” in 2024 having been an underdog chasing the big teams for a decade. “Its cool,” she said. “I mean to be the hunted is quite the compliment to the team. We have done a lot of hunting and it will be nice to settle down for a while.” Erebus will roll out with the #1 at the Bathurst 500 on February 23-25.
TA2 TO TAKE ON NZ THE TA2 Muscle Car Series will go racing in New Zealand next year as part of a two-round Trans-Tasman Challenge. The venues for the historic journey will be Euromarque Motorsport Park in Christchurch on February 9-11 and Highlands International Motorsport Park circuit at Cromwell, near Queenstown the following weekend. Up to eight Australian cars are expected to jump across the ditch and race alongside the NZ TA2 Muscle car field. The likes of Mark Crutcher, Paul Hadley, Graham Cheney, Anthony Tenkate, Peter Robinson, Greg Keam and current series leader Dylan Thomas have already signed up for the Challenge. The Christchurch race will be at the Lady Wigram Trophy event while the highlands trip will be on the prestigious stage of the New Zealand Grand Prix. Both events will be televised by Sky Sport New Zealand and Fox Sports/ Kayo Australia. TA2 Muscle Car Series Australia Category Manager Craig Denyer cannot wait to relaunch the Trans-Tasman rivalry. “This two-round series is shaping up to be one of the most exciting and
enthralling in NZ Motorsport to launch TA2 racing in New Zealand,” he said. “We can’t wait to rekindle the TransTasman motorsport rivalry embedded in the DNA of New Zealand and Australia motor racing history. “Gary and Paul Manuell have done a great job in pulling these two events together and we’re looking forward to welcoming all the NZ competitors to the TA2 family. “The Lady Wigram Trophy event at Christchurch is a major New Zealand motor racing title, having previously been won by Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Frank Matich and
Graham McRae. “All our drivers will love the experience of competing at such two high profile events. Kiwis versus Aussies, bring it on.” NZ TA2 Muscle Car Series Category Administrator Gary Lathrope hopes this doubleheader can grow the category in New Zealand. “This is an important step in our strategy to develop TA2 NZ as one of the primary V8 touring car series,” he said. “To launch the TA2 Muscle Car Trans Tasman Challenge at such high-profile events in February is a great bonus and I’m sure we will turn on a great show for
the fans, plus prove again to the Aussie drivers that NZ is the birthplace of real touring car talent.” Championship leader Thomas cannot wait to take on the new challenge behind the wheel. “I am very excited to be heading over to the South Islands of New Zealand next year,” he said. “It is going to be an awesome two rounds competing at some of New Zealand’s well known race tracks. “I am very excited to race at Highlands motorsport Park as it is a world renowned track and it is something that from a far looks incredible to drive.” The TA2 Muscle Car Series concludes at the famous Calder Park Raceway this weekend.
RNF MOTOGP TEAM COLLAPSES, TRACKHOUSE TAKEOVER HINTED RNF WILL no longer be on the MotoGP grid after the team collapsed following the season finale in Valencia last weekend, while a takeover led by SVG’s NASCAR team Trackhouse is speculated. The Malaysian based team backed by CryptoDATA started in 2021 and fielded Raul Fernandez, Miguel Oliveira and Lorenza Savadori throughout the season, recording four top five finishes. But MotoGP’s commercial rights holder Dorna Sports announced in the aftermath of the Valencia Grand Prix it will not allow RNF to take part in a fourth season. “The MotoGP Selection Committee, comprising members of FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports, have decided not to select the CryptoDATA MotoGP Team for the 2024 season,” read Donna’s statement. “Repeated infractions and breaches of the Participation Agreement affecting the public image of MotoGP have obliged this decision. “The Selection Committee will be reviewing applications for a new Independent Team, using Aprilia machinery, to join the MotoGP class grid for 2024. “More information on this matter will follow in due course.” RNF’s collapse follows reports the
team and its title partner CryptoDATA was in financial trouble and since then AUTOSPORT believes the NASCAR Cup Series team Shane van Gisbergen has joined for 2024, Trackhouse, is in the frame. The team made its Cup Series debut at the 2021 Daytona 500 and rose to prominence in Australia and New Zealand especially this year when Van Gisbergen joined it for the Project 91 program in Chicago. The three-time Supercars champion made history, winning on debut at the Chicago Street Race before returning for more at Indianapolis. The journey went so well Van Gisbergen will be moving to America full time next year where he will look to take on the NASCAR world full time in a developmental programme. It has been reported that Trackhouse is the frontrunner to takeover RNF in 2024 with owners Justin Marks and Armando Christian “Pitbull” Perez keen to expand outside of North America. Meanwhile, Dorna Sports wants MotoGP to grow in North America and a Trackhouse team could be a great way to do so. AUTOSPORT reports an official announcement of the Trackhouse and Aprilia partnership “will come over the
next few days”. RNF MotoGP team founder and boss Razlan Razali addressed media following the announcement and pointed the finger at CrytoDATA. “I think the general assessment I would say is that for a team to be where they are today and for Dorna to say such things, there’s definitely a problem and only Dorna can do what they are doing to ensure the credibility of the sport, so that it’s not being disrupted in any way,” he said. “So, hence that means there’s a problem. By saying that, I do have a
problem with CryptoDATA. I think over the years our vision of what we want from the team has shifted. “I believe we are a sports team and the business side of it is second. “For the guys of CryptoDATA it’s more about the business. That’s where the alignment went a little bit wrong and it came to this situation.” As all of this goes on in the background, current RNF rider Fernandez will still be present at Tuesday’s post season test also at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, riding an Aprilia with factory mechanics.
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THE BEND APPOINTS NEW DRAGWAY MANAGER DANIEL MELROSE will be the new Manager of The Dragway at The Bend replacing the departing Steven Bettes. Melrose takes over Australia’s newest drag way which recently had a memorable debut hosting the National Drag Racing Championship opener in October. He will transition to his role in December before starting as The Manager officially in February 2024. Melrose comes to The Bend fresh from some notable experience in Europe. He makes the move after holding senior roles at one of Europe’s premier Drag Racing facilities, Santa Pod Raceway in the UK’s Bedfordshire. His experience including being a race director for key events at Santa Pod will be critical to the operation of the new worldclass $35 million dollar Dragway in South Australia. Melrose himself is looking forward to the challenge. “I’m extremely excited to join The Bend and play a key role in developing Australia’s newest Drag Racing facility,” he said. “I look forward to leading the charge in delivering a world-class service for spectators and competitors as Drag Racing
SYDNEY DRAGWAY RESCHEDULES SECOND ROUND OF THE NDRC
continues to grow in South Australia.” In addition to Melrose Shane Collins will be the interim Dragway Manager before commencing as The Bend’s Commercial Manager. Collins boasts over a decade of experience in the sports and entertainment industry specialising in horse racing and motorsport. Steve Burgess also enters the fray with a focus on looking after the frequent activity at The Dragway as the Day Activity Coordinator having been the senior track official since the facility opened in September. Shell V-Power Motorsport Park CEO
Alistair MacDonald welcomes the new appointments. “All three of these appointments compliment our ongoing goal to be a loved venue of manufacturers, spectators, competitors and event promoters,” he said. “We are always striving to bring the best operators into our business and this is no exception as we welcome Daniel, Shane and Steve to The Bend.” The next event at the Dragway at The Bend is the Festival State Nationals, headlined by Nitro Funny Cars on January 12-14.
TEXAN YOUNG GUN BACK FOR AUSSIE SPRINTCAR SUMMER YOUNG TEXAN Chase Randall will make the trip back to Australia for the Sprintcar Summer to compete in the Victorian ClayPer-View Sprintcar Speedweek series. The teenage young gun came over last season and piloted a 410ci Sprintcar for the first time having only driven the 360ci machinery back in the States. He competed admirably despite the stepup in horsepower, finishing fifth overall in last year’s Speedweek series behind local guns Jock Goodyer, Jamie Veal, Lochie McHugh and Luke Dillon…so the kid they call the “Quickest Chicken” is no slouch on the dirt, and this time he’s returning with some pretty impressive US results under his belt. Randall had a career best year when he did return to the States, and in 15 World of
Outlaws appearances he achieved three top-tens and collected an impressive 2286 points. But it was at the spiritual home of Sprintcar where he really shone, taking the 360ci track championship at Knoxville, and impressively,
the Husets 410 Track Championship with four wins to his name. After being named Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year, he also piloted the famous Paul Silva #57 machine…as a substitute for none other than US NASCAR megastar Kyle Larson. Randall will jump back in the Daniel Mayson USA9 EZprint machine, and his first event of the season will be at Max’s Race at Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, with that also being Aussie James McFadden’s first race back on Aussie shores. With the young gun having already raced at venues such as at Warrnambool and Mount Gambier, Randall will be a real threat to the local stars this season. TW Neal
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WHAT WAS set to be a huge day of action at the Sydney Dragway Xmas Showdown this weekend for the National Drag Racing Championships (NDRC) has been rescheduled due to predicted bad weather. The event has now been shifted to be incorporated in the Australia Day festivities, which will now be a huge two day event which will also be at its traditional venue, the Sydney Dragway. The NDRC released a statement regarding pre-purchased tickets saying that: “If you already bought a ticket or entered, you will have received an email with instructions on how to transfer to the January two-day event or receive a refund.” The Sydney Dragway was all set to play host to the second round of Australia’s premier dragway Top Fuel category, with the predicted rain not apt for operating the 11.000hp/500 plus kph machinery. Also set to take part were the elite NDRC Pro Alcohol and FuelTech Pro Mod racers, as well as the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship. The National Sportsman were set to bring 110 racers to the track to do battle for bragging rights and the prestigious NDRC Christmas Tree trophies. Initially, Round 2 of the newly formed NDRC season was to take place at WillowBank Raceway in Ipswich, south east Queensland, which is still undergoing a major overhaul. But unfortunately with the nature of construction, this was then shifted to the Sydney Dragway. A release from the NDRC gave an update on the Willow Bank progress saying that: “As is well known, Willowbank has been undergoing a major upgrade to their track and facilities, making their awesome venue even more world class,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, as often happens with construction projects, some elements take longer than planned, and the facility will simply not be ready to host an NDRC round in December. “This was a risk Willowbank has been completely transparent about with the NDRC, and despite best efforts, the project just needs more time to be absolutely perfect – which is exactly what the venue has been working so hard to achieve for racers and fans!” It’s not all doom and gloom for Dragway fans this weekend however with the South Coast Raceway in Portland, Victoria, set to host the South Coast Nationals with a huge list of competitors and categories, including Super Street, Super Sedan, Top Sportsman, Supercharged Outlaws, Bikes, Juniors, and plenty more. TW Neal
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BOSCH AND THE ARC GO AROUND AGAIN BOSCH MOTORSPORT will once again be the naming rights sponsor for the Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) in 2024. Bosch Motorsport linked up with the ARC for the successful 2023 season, with the manufacturer opting for an extension after a bumper year of action saw the profile of the competition pick up a notch. New Motorsport Australia CEO Sunil Vohra was pleased to have Bosch Motorsport sign on for another year. “We are absolutely thrilled with Bosch Motorsport’s decision to extend their partnership as the naming rights sponsor for the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship in 2024,” Vohra said. “It’s truly fantastic to see valued partners like Bosch Motorsport recognising the worth of being a part of the championship, which highlights their commitment to the growth and success of the ARC. “The decision to extend is a testament to the strength of the championship and reinforces the stability of the competition.” Bosch Motorsport Australia’s Matt Turner was looking forward to going around again in 2024. “To see the ARC’s growth this year has been fantastic and we are thrilled to be able to be involved for another year,” Turner said. “The ARC is one the most demanding tests of car, driver and team and to have the title fight go right down to the wire in Canberra just added to the spectacle. “The momentum of the series continues to build and the team is excited to be able to be part of that trajectory. “We first partnered with the ARC because of the exciting prospect of re-joining with Australia’s premier rally competition for the first time in more than a decade, and are invested in the future of this impressive championship.” The six-round 2024 Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship season will begin with the Rally of Canberra on 5-7 April, where Harry Bates will defend his title after the championship went down to the final Power Stage of the year, overcoming his brother, Lewis Bates. TW Neal
TRANS AM TO RETURN TO STREETS OF ADELAIDE THE AUSTRALIAN Trans Am series will make a return to the VAILO Adelaide 500 in 2024 as the finale to its seven round season. The season finale Supercars support act will follow the penultimate Bathurst International round for a big closing act to round out its fourth full season. The series hasn’t been on the Adelaide streets since it launched there as a category in 2020 before its inaugural season was shut down due to the pandemic, with the 2024 finale being just the second time that the series has featured on a street circuit.
Back in 2020 it was Aaron Seton that shone in the Adelaide Parklands, taking out pole and winning all three races in the first ever Trans Am round. It will be the second visit to South Australia for the series in 2024 alongside the Round 4 visit to The Bend on May 31-June 2 - the first ever visit to the track in a Trans Am calendar that visits five states across the country. 2024 will launch in Victoria with the opening round set for February 9-11 at the Sandown International Raceway for the opening round of the SpeedSeries.
A trip to the Apple Isle on March 15-17 then follows for another round at Symmons Plains, before the show heads back across the Bass Strait to Phillip Island on April 12-14. Following the first ever round at the Shell V-Power Motorsports Park in SA, it then heads to the Queensland Raceway on July 12-14. The Bathurst International is the next stop for the series on November 8-10 before it concludes at the VAIL Adelaide 500 for its marquee Supercars support for a big weekend of street themed V8 horsepower. TW Neal
NATIONAL RACING SEASON TAKING SHAPE THE 2024 motorsport landscape is taking shape with a number of categories revealing their plans to race all over the country in the new year. After announcing it will race in New Zealand for a first time, the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia revealed its full eight-round calendar. Before the trip to Taupo, the season will start at the Australian Grand Prix once again. Then Hidden Valley follows before another first, a maiden race under lights at Sydney takes place. The second half of the season incorporates traditional favourites such as Sandown, Bathurst, Gold Coast and Adelaide. The second tier Porsche Sprint Challenge has also announced its 2024 calendar with a maiden trip to Townsville the highlight. The category has never raced at the North Queensland hybrid street circuit and will take it on for the first time at the Townsville 500 on July 5-7 at the halfway mark of the year following the season opening rounds at Phillip Island and The Bend. After Townsville, the season finishes with a round at Queensland Raceway, a return to Supercars at Symmons Plains before the finale at the Race Sydney event. Although the SpeedSeries calendar was already confirmed, the later arrival of the Supercars season has forced Motorsport Australia to make more modifications.
The season remains at 10 rounds but the second trip to The Bend has been moved back a week to a new date of May 31 to June 2. After a mid July journey to Queensland Raceway, the “Paperclip” was lined up to host a doubleheader on the very next weekend of July 19-21. But now with Supercars going racing on that weekend under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park, Motorsport Australia has pushed the second Ipswich round back a
full fortnight to avoid a clash. This will now be held on August 2-4 so fans can still enjoy some local motorsport during the Paris Olympics which Supercars avoided. Regarding the TBC round, a Motorsport Australia statement outlined discussions are continuing with a number of circuits. “The September round listed as a TBC in the draft calendar is still yet to be locked away while Motorsport
Australia continues discussions with circuits and state governments around the country,” it read. A big 2024 Radical Cup Australia season is headlined by a return to the Supercars spotlight. It kicks off in April at Phillip Island before going out west to Wanneroo to support the Perth SuperSprint. They then support the Lamborghini SuperTrofeos at The Bend before a three-month break ahead of the SpeedSeries doubleheader at Sydney Motorsport Park and Bathurst. The V8 SuperUte Series remains a big Supercars support act with all six rounds following them. The utes will begin at the Mount Panorama 500 in February but must wait until June for round two. It may be worth the wait being the category’s first trip up north to Hidden Valley prior to a trip to Sydney. Then it is a busy end to the year following Supercars to Bathurst, Gold Coast and Adelaide. The Victorian Formula Ford Championship has also revealed its dates with a big finale. It begins at Sandown in early February before heading to Winton and Phillip Island in March and May respectively. Second trips to Sandown and Phillip Island bring drivers closer to the finale which will be held at Calder Park Raceway on October 26-27. Thomas Miles
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HAMILTON AND RED BULL: “THEY MADE CONTACT, NOT ME!” LEWIS HAMILTON has flatly denied a story based on Christian Horner’s comments that he had offered his services to Red Bull earlier this year. The Mercedes driver was clearly not pleased with the Red Bull’s boss comments and went on to insist it was Horner who had actually got in touch with him, but the message had gone unnoticed as it had been sent to an old phone number. Hamilton first said that, “I don’t really know where that story has come from. I mean, I know it’s come from Christian. I don’t really understand what he’s talking about, because no-one, as far as I’m aware from my team, has spoken to him. I haven’t spoken to Christian in years. However, he
did reach out to me earlier in the year about meeting up. But that’s it. I just congratulated him on an amazing year, and said hopefully soon I’ll be able to fight against you guys in the near future, that was it. So, I’m not really sure, I think he’s just stirring things.” Asked for further details about the contact between Horner and him, Hamilton explained that, “I picked up my old phone, which I’ve just found that on, which had my old number on it. I switched it on and obviously hundreds of messages came through and I realised there was one from Christian to get together and have a chat at the end of the season.” The Mercedes driver then addressed
Horner’s claim that he had also been in contact with Ferrari for a drive, also denying it flatly. Asked if he’d been in touch with Ferrari president John Elkann, Hamilton explained that, “I know John really well. We met years ago in the Google camp, I went to a Google camp in Sicily, and that’s when our friendship started and we’ve always remained in touch.” He then explained his relationship with Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari’s Team Principal, goes way, way back: “I’ve known Fred since 2005, and we’ve always had a really great relationship. We’d talk often since, even more since he’s been in Formula 1, because after I left his team, we would talk all the time. Obviously that
was the case when I was in his team, then I came to Formula 1, and you have less contact with the Formula 2 series. But since he’s been back, we’ve met here, we’ve traveled together with Toto. So that’s really as far as it goes.” In conclusion, Hamilton gave an interesting opinion about why his name had popped up in this situation: “If you really think about it, there are a lot of people here that like to drop my name in many conversations, because they know it’s going to make waves. And if you are a little bit lonely and you are not getting much attention, that’s the perfect thing to do, just mention my name.” Ouch…
TYRE BLANKETS TO REMAIN FOR 2024 THE FINAL 2023 meeting of the Formula 1 Commission was held in the Yas Marina Circuit on Friday, with the main decision taken being that tyre blankets will remain in use for next year, as well as the new format of the Sprint events, which couldn’t be agreed upon and will be discussed in the coming days with the goal of having a proposal in place that can be approved in the next meeting of the World Council, to be held a the end of the first week of December in Baku, Azerbaijan. Everyone agreed that the Sprint events needed a freshening up of the format – potentially involving reverse grids or a complete revamp of the weekend timetable – should be targeted. One idea is for sprint qualifying to take place on Friday afternoons, with qualifying for the main grand prix taking place on Saturday mornings prior to the sprint race in the afternoon. But the reverse grid idea is also being considered, especially if the sprint moves away from offering world championship points. This could involve either reversing the top 10 positions or the entire grid. The FIA’s Sporting Advisory Committee will now work
through the details of a sprint race shake-up, and this will be presented to teams at the start of next year during the first F1 Commission meeting of 2024. As for the six venues that will host sprints next year, they’ve yet to be decided as many promoters are now unlikely to be willing to pay extra for an event that brings them almost no new spectators on Friday and Saturday. The Commission agreed that the direction for development for future tyres should be focused on reducing issues of overheating and improving the race-ability of the tyres, and therefore the decision was taken to keep tyre blankets for 2025. It was also agreed that the category will stick with the standard 13 sets of tyres per-car per-race weekend for 2024, having evaluated an Alternative Tyre Allocation at events this season. Interestingly, and in the wake of the extreme conditions that drivers faced in Qatar this year, a push to improve conditions in the cockpit was agreed. From 2024, the regulations will be amended to permit a scoop to boost driver cooling, with other options being looked at for more extreme conditions. It is understood the scoop idea was
originally pushed for this season but was rejected due to opposition from one team. And in a further move to improve safety, the FIA has agreed to conduct another test on wheel covers to try to help with visibility in wet weather conditions. Finally, while the teams have already begun outline work on their 2026 cars, it was agreed that work should no longer be allowed in the near term, the Formula 1 Commission stating that, “the Commission agreed that no work may be carried out on the development of a car for the 2026 season before the start of 2025.” Luis Vasconcelos
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VASSEUR STILL FUMING AFTER SAINZ PENALTY FERRARI TEAM Principal Frederic Vasseur was still tremendously upset at the end of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, in spite of admitting the race had been entertaining and his driver, Charles Leclerc, had performed outstandingly, only to lose the Grand Prix to Max Verstappen due to an untimely Safety Car period, that helped both the Dutchman and Sergio Perez get a free pit stop and emerge with fresher tyres than what the Monegasque had for the second half of the race. It was the incident that effectively took Carlos Sainz out of contention just eight minutes into the start of FP1 that still rattled the Frenchman, who made it clear he wasn’t going to let the matter go away easily: “We’ll have time to discuss about this next week, but it was not a very fair decision due to the circumstances, it was very harsh for Carlos, very harsh for the team. Will have to discuss about circumstances of the incident, not just about the manhole cover coming up, also that we had one minute between the yellow flag and the red flag. it meant when they put
the yellow flag they saw something on track and it took one minute before putting red flag out. I think it’s too much.” Vasseur doesn’t even want to wait for the next meeting of the Formula 1 Commission, scheduled for the coming weekend in Abu Dhabi, insisting, “I will discuss before that!” For Vasseur, it was the fact that getting a new Energy Store to replace the one broken due to a circuit and promoter’s failure, brought no performance advantage that justified the regulatory penalty being waived, as this a force majeure issue (F1 regulation reference pertaining to an unpredictable, unpreventable, and external event). “It’s not an easy one to give a set of tyres or an engine, because it’s a gain of performance but with a new battery there is no performance gain. Considering we missed FP1, that we had a couple of millions of damage, the mechanics worked like hell to come back and so on, it was not too stupid to consider the case of force majeure.” Unwilling to put a figure on the
money this incident cost the team, Vasseur only said, “a fortune is a good estimation”, before revealing that, “so far it’s included in budget cap. There is no provision into the budget, cost cap, including crashes and excluding cases like this. There will be discussions but decisions are another thing.” As expected, Vasseur admitted that, “we can’t repair the chassis, even the seat was damaged and, for sure, we have a lot of extra costs. The chassis was damaged, the gearbox was damaged, the battery was damaged, the engine is dead. For sure we have a lot of consequences on the financial side, sporting side and even on stock of spare parts and budget side. For sure it’s not an easy one.” In conclusion, Vasseur confirmed that “because the next race is next week, there is no way to build up a new monocoque, for example. But it’s true also that if we have to adjust the budget cap, between now and end of season we won’t have much room to play with or we miss Abu Dhabi.” Luis Vasconcelos
JACK DOOHAN spoke to media at Abu Dhabi after his F1 postseason test with Alpine, confirming that 2024 will be an F1 focused year looking forward to gaining a seat in 2025. After sealing his highest finish of third in an FIA Formula season and finishing off in style with a domineering drive at Yas Marina, Doohan revealed to media including AUTO ACTION’s international F1 correspondent Luis Vasconcelos that working for an F1 seat in 2025 will be his main focus. He explained that several good options were presented to him to be in a race seat in 2024, and whilst he confirmed that Alpine’s 2024 program regarding himself are yet to be set in stone, he will ramp up his testing program like never before with both Sim and on-track activity. “Alpine obviously haven’t made an announcement, so I don’t want to jump the gun on anything,” Doohan said. “But we’ll be obviously spending a lot of time with the team inside a car, and the test program will be announced soon. “It’s great to know that I do have that. It’ll be more than I was doing this year, which is great. I’ll be becoming more and more comfortable within the car, and whether or not I’m racing next year. It’s just super important to have that seat time. For Alpine to be providing that for me is very important.” One of the 2024 race seats that Doohan may have been in the frame for was a World Endurance Championship (WEC) seat in the new Alpine A424 LDMh hypercar, but the Aussie F1 Reserve driver said that there were also other attractive options on the table. “At the moment I have nothing set in terms of racing, but I had quite a lot of options in all the sub-formula’s other than F1,” he confirmed. “So it’s not like the other options were shy of being there, such as Super Formula, IndyCar, Hypercar or whatever it was, and I was very fortunate to have those options. “However, at this point in time it’s crucial I focus solely on Formula 1, which is heavily provided by Alpine that I’m able to stay in the car, and if I wasn’t able to have this extensive seat time then for sure, that would mean venturing out somewhere else. “But being able to have that seat time in Formula 1 machinery, and then be at the track here doing sim work, I think that’s going to position me in the best possible way to have a seat in 2025.” TW Neal
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GET LOCKED UP WITH STAGE 8 LOCKING FASTENERS
FRUSTRATED WITH bolts that just kept coming loose on his Harley, Bruce Bennet decided to invent a bolt that would not work itself loose, even under extremes of temperature and vibration.
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