SUPERCARS PREVIEW: WHO WINS AND WHY
AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT
F1 GOES INTO BATTLE WHO’S HOT AND WHO’S NOT ...
FERRARI WINS THE BEAUTY STAKES...
HAVE THE WHEELS FALLEN OFF AT RED BULL RACING? PIASTRI AND RICCIARDO – LOOKING TO IMPRESS IN 2024
MATT AND HIS MATES BLITZ BATHURST
FEB 22 to MAR 6 2024 • $10.95 INC GST
ISSN 2204-9924 ISSUE 1880
IN THE OTHER ‘GREAT RACE’
TCR AND TRANS AM RACING
WEC SEASON PREVIEW
MERC MONSTERS MOUNTAIN NATIONAL SPEEDWAY WRAP
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BYRON DRIVES THE #24 TO DRAMATIC DAYTONA 500 GLORY WILLIAM BYRON survived late chaos to push the famous #24 Chevrolet to Daytona 500 victory lane and a Hendrick Motorsports one-two. Crashes filled the closing stages of the 2024 Daytona 500 with a “big one” taking place with nine to go. It was triggered by Byron getting unsettled from behind and spinning the second-placed Brad Keslowski across the track and into poleman Joey Logano, plus many other front runners with a total of 18 cars involved. This setup a nail-biting four-lap dash to the chequered and whilst Byron led on the inside, Ross Chastain was getting a run up high out of the final corner as they took the white flag where the Trackhouse #1 collided and spun with Cindric to the infield to trigger a race ending caution. With the Hendrick cars of Byron and Alex Bowman side by side, a tense wait to see who was in front followed. Officials eventually determined the #24 was 0.006s in front of the #48, giving Byron a maiden Daytona 500 win and Hendrick Motorsports a ninth. Fittingly the one-two finish arrived on the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports debut in 1984 and Byron knew the significance. “I have so many emotions,” Byron with a previous best Daytona 500 finish of 23rd said. “I heard what happened on the back stretch. I just got pushed and got sideways but I am so proud of this team
40th anniversary to the day. Extremely blessed and thankful for the opportunity. “We have a lot to prove this year and this is a great start. “This is the Daytona 500, how awesome!” A day later than expected after a wet weekend at Daytona, the 66th running of the Great American Race finally began under perfect sunny skies. On pole Logano led early but the first caution arrived as early as lap 6 when a host of front runners were effected by a big crash on the start finish line. Keslowski triggered the early wreck with a push on John Nemecheck who then took out Harrison Burton, whose #21 spun across the track before collecting Kaz Grala and Ryan Preece. Rookie Carson Hocevar was also involved and made contact with the returning Jimmie Johnson. Fuel saving became a factor throughout the first stage which was eventually won by Chase Elliott thanks to a push from Kyle Larson. Todd Gilliland took control of the second stage leading more laps than his entire NASCAR Cup Series career of 11 laps from 72 starts. But he dropped out of the top 10 as the clean Stage 2 carried on and Ryan Blaney found himself at the front of the field ahead of Cindric at the stoppage. Kyle Busch’s hopes ended under caution when his RCR pit crew did not get the front left on properly.
Although the tension could be cut with a knife as the pack racing got tighter and tighter, the race stayed as the final 25 laps approached under lights and Logano in control. With 22 to go cars made their final trips to pit road and two laps later the leading group fronted by Logano dived to pit road. The #33 only just rejoined in front Keslowski but they were all beaten by Chastain and Ricky Stenhouse Jr who pitted a lap later. Despite losing track position, the Logano group had the momentum and the #22 quickly rose to second. The lead continued to change hands between both Trackhouse cars and Stenhouse Jr, but as the race charged towards the final 10 laps and pushes got harder and harder, eventually the pressure became too much. With Hendrick teammates Bowman pushing Byron, the #24 got unsettled in the middle lane and spun second-placed Keslowski across the track. The #6 rotated from low to high and directly into the path of Logano and Penske teammate Ryan Blaney as chaos unfolded with the rest of the field having nowhere to go. The full list of cars involved were Larson, Keslowski, Noah Gragson, Hamlin, Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Martin Truez Jr, Logano, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Creese, Erik Jones, Ryler Reddick, Stenhouse Jr, Ty Gibbs, Anthony
Alfredo and Suarez. Leader Chastain emerged unscathed by a matter of millimetres with Keslowski almost taking out the rear of the #1. But he survived and led Byron, Bowman, Cindric and Elliott at the restart with four laps to go. The two-car train ran nose to tail with nothing splitting Chastain and Byron side by side. The move came on the back straight with three to go when Byron got a push on the inside as the high lane disappeared. But Chastain made a comeback up high just as the white flag was being waved for the start of the final lap. However, Chastain’s charge ended in disaster, colliding with Cindric and spinning into the inside grass right in front of the flagman. With the caution being waved just after the start of the final lap, a tense wait followed as NASCAR officials took time to determine which Hendrick car of Byron or Bowman was in front. Eventually Byron was named the winner for an 11th time but first at the Daytona 500. On Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary, it is the powerhouse team’s first Great American Race win in a decade, while the #24 has not appeared in victory lane at the event since Jeff Gordon’s last in 2005. NASCAR Cup Series continues next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
COCA-COLA STAYS IN SUPERCARS AND BACKS SUPER2 YOUNG GUN COCA-COLA has decided to remain in Supercars with a multi-car attack spearheaded with naming rights backing for Cameron McLeod in Super2. McLeod makes his Super2 Series debut this weekend with PremiAir Racing at opening round of Supercars Championship at the Bathurst 500. The significant backing from Coca-Cola, signals a welcome continuation of Coca-Cola as a primary sponsor in Supercars and a first as a major backer of a Super2 program. In addition to covering the Ryan McLeod Racing and PremiAir Racing supported #92 Super2 Commodore, Coca-Cola will also feature on a number of cars on the Supercars grid including Tickford and Brad Jones Racing. The brand’s presence will not only be a boost to those teams, but the sport has a whole following the recent split from
the 2023 Supercars Championship winning team Erebus. It is understood the car will be unveiled at Bathurst on Wednesday.
In 2024 PremiAir has expanded its Supercars racing program by supporting McLeod’s rise to the second tier Super2 Series. The third generation racer is one of the hottest properties in the sport having won in very category he has raced and was Supercars’ Mike Kable Young Gun winner for 2023. In 2023 McLeod’s #92 Nissan Altima
took nine poles, 10 fastest laps and eight wins from the 12 Super3 races. If he continues his rapid trajectory, he could be one of the top contenders to challenge Kai Allen for the 2024 Super2 crown and put himself on the path to Supercars. To prepare for the Bathurst season opener this weekend, McLeod has raced three endurance races in as many weekends at Dubai, Yas Marina and Mount Panorama which were all 6-12 hour endurance races. The 2024 Super2 season begins with two races at the Bathurst 500 this weekend from February 23-25.
YOUNG GUNS SPEARHEAD KELLY RACING BACK TO SUPERCARS MASON KELLY will lead his family team Kelly Racing back to Supercars alongside TCR star Aaron Cameron in Super2. Two years after Kelly Racing was taken over by Grove Racing, the team name that had been in Supercars from 20092021 will be racing two Ford Mustangs in the Dunlop Series. Appropriately leading the way will be Todd’s son Mason, who will race with his dad’s HRT #22 as he steps up from Super3 to Super2. Last year Mason Kelly raced a #22 Nissan Altima to fourth in a small Super3 field last year with five podiums at Wanneroo, Sandown, Bathurst and Adelaide. The 17-year-old is determined to continue his progress from a “learning season” in Super3 last year and is boosted by a recent test in the Mustang. “Last year was a massive learning season for me in terms of the tracks and the car as I expanded my skill set to get my head around the whole experience,” Kelly said. “By the end of the year I was happy with the speed we had and the
progression made, so I feel confident entering Super2. “It was great to jump in the Mustang during testing recently. “It’s the same chassis underneath as the Altima, but there are a lot of differences as well such as the position of the windows around the driver, the feel of the engine and the stability of the aerodynamic package make it really nice to drive. “I found it easier in certain areas than the Altima. “I was really happy with how we went in the two day test and it was great to
complete all that running without any problems at a good pace.” Alongside him will be Cameron, who is determined to make his mark in his first full Super2 season. Cameron has been a TCR frontrunner since his debut in 2019 where he finished third in the championship. Since then he has recorded six victories and was ultra consistent last year coming close to the title. During the 2023 season Cameron also took on Super2 for the first time in a Mustang, competing in the final three rounds where he scored a best finish of
sixth at Sandown and Bathurst. Having got a taste of Super2 last year, Cameron is determined to go “full attack” in 2024. “To do three rounds last year was all pre-planning to undertake a full-attack of the 2024 Super2 Series,” Cameron explained. “We learnt a lot about the starts, the race craft and the different driving technique a Supercar requires compared to categories I come from as I’ve had to switch to right-foot braking. “The Kelly Racing crew put in a big effort during the break to not only go over my car, but also with Mason coming in his Mustang needed to be ready as well. “To roll out pretty strongly with Mason and I was pretty cool, with the car feeling different to last year. “My confidence has grown since my first race at Sandown last year heading into the opening round at Bathurst. “I’m aiming to be inside the top five, that’s where we’d like to be as a base goal and we’ll keep chipping away at it throughout the year.”
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SVG SURVIVES WILD XFINITY DEBUT SHANE VAN Gisbergen managed to finish a solid 12th place despite being caught up in three separate incidents in an eventful NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in at Daytona. More than 48 hours after originally scheduled, van Gisbergen finally got his chance to drive the #97 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro in his second race of the Daytona 500 weekend after also racing in the ARCA Menard’s Series. After an impressive qualifying effort, SVG started fifth but three incidents including two with the #27 of Jeb Burton meant it was a tough night behind the wheel. But crucially van van Gisbergen managed to stay alive and be on the lead lap in 20th for the three-lap sprint to the flag and sneak through a wild final lap crash to salvage 12th under lights at the famous Superspeedway in the 300m opener won by Austin Hill at 23.50 local time. As Jesse Love controlled the opening stage and eventually won it by the barest of margins in a photo finish, van
Gisbergen dropped from fifth to 15th as he came to grips in just his second taste of super speedway racing. The Kiwi was lucky to avoid disaster early on when just behind him both Daniel Suarez and Josh Williams fired into the concrete. Van Gisbergen survived the first stage and finished 14th before rising to fourth ahead of the restart as those in front boxed with the Kiwi benefitting from already pitting in the earlier caution. Now fighting at the front, the Kiwi stuck up high and many jostled for position until disaster as van Gisbergen was an innocent victim of the lap 37 crash. The field was three wide and the #2 of Love was in the middle of the train, hungry to return to the lead but contact from John Hunter Nemecheck saw the rookie get crossed up. Love spun straight into the sister Kaulig Racing entry of AJ Allmendinger, who was right in front of an unlucky SVG, who whacked the concrete side on but was lucky
not join the others spinning into the infield. Despite going a lap down van Gisbergen got a free pass and having been as low as 31st, worked his way to 17th at the back of an angry pack of cars inside the final 40 laps. With some others still yet to pit, the #97 was on track to challenge for the top 10 until trouble hit. Van Gisbergen was on the inside and tried to go up high, but slightly misjudged the amount of space available and tagged the Burton into a spin. The Kaulig Racing driver initially kept going and then spun himself before using his versatile skills to save it and somehow regather the #97 Camaro having been completely out of control on the apron. Drivers were unable to complete another lap after the restart as the second multi-car crash occurred at turn 3 and once again van Gisbergen and Burton were in the middle of it. As Leland Honeyman and Jeremy Clements crashed further up the road,
the Kiwi was caught up as others took evasive action. Van Gisbergen was behind the #43 of Ryan Ellis which went low and the Kiwi could not slow down in time to avoid Burton. As a result van Gisbergen spun Burton for the second time and suffered more significant damage to the front of his Camaro. The repairs put SVG a lap down in 24th but he was able to get a free pass and move up a couple of positions when five cars were caught in another midpack crash with nine to go. When racing resumed for a thrilling three-lap sprint, van Gisbergen was back on the lead lap and 20th behind Allmendinger. Despite the #39 spinning in front of the pack and creating a smokescreen on the back straight, van Gisbergen avoided all the chaos to surge to 12th. Following his first race Van Gisbergen will be armed with a lot more experience and tools up his sleeve when the 250m race at Atlanta takes place next weekend.
VAN GISBERGEN REFLECTS ON “WILD” FORAY INTO XFINITY SERIES REFLECTING ON a “wild” NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Daytona, Shane van Gisbergen admitted he was “disappointed” to spin Jeb Burton. Van Gisbergen could not have picked a more daunting place to participate in his first race in the Xfinity Series. The Kiwi was thrown in the deep end of unique draft racing on a fast super speedway and despite going a lap down twice and three separate incidents, he put in a late charge to finish 12th. For context that is four places better than fellow Supercars export Marcos Ambrose’s NASCAR Nationwide Series debut when he finished 16th in his first race in the second tier also at Daytona back in 2007. Van Gisbergen did well to climb to 12th across the final three laps having started the final restart in 20th and driven through a big crash halfway up the back straight on the final tour. It was van Gisbergen’s second race of the weekend having also took part in the ARCA Menards Series which ended in heartbreak as he was unluckily caught in “a big one”. Two days later in the Xfinity Series,
SVG also could not avoid trouble being involved in three separate incidents. One of them he was an innocent bystander while the later two both involved Burton. Van Gisbergen put his hand up for the final one in particular where he tagged the rear of the #27 having misjudged a move to go from low to high and join the draft on the outside. “That was wild,” SVG told FRONTSTRETCH. “I am pretty pissed and disappointed with myself spinning the #27. “I just misjudged the side draft. He was coming around me quick and as I went to get up I sort of hung him back a bit and misjudged it.” Overall van Gisbergen was certainly aware of his yo-yo journey up and down the leaderboard, getting as high as fourth before the incidents put him back a lap after repairs in the pits and finally emerging near the front when it mattered at the chequered flag. “It was a wild night going down a lap, then back, down a lap and then back again,” he said. “I certainly had a lot more fun then the
ARCA race. I could trust the drivers a lot more and the way I settled into the race really good. “My team was awesome sticking with me. The Weathertech Chevy is pretty beaten up. “I learnt a lot but pretty bummed for spinning someone else out.” Next up is Atlanta Motor Speedway, which despite being much shorter then Daytona and not being a super speedway, still offers plenty drafting.
Whilst van Gisbergen will benefit from the Daytona experience, he is aware about the challenge ahead at Atlanta with no practice on offer. “Atlanta is going to be tough,” van Gisbergen said. “The first lap I will ever see at the joint will be qualifying so it will be tough without qualifying, but it is what it is. “I will practice as much as we can on the simulator, try to adapt and see how we go in the race.”
LACROIX ‘RAISING THE BAR’ AT PREMIAIR PREMIAIR NULON Racing is already feeling the difference of having experienced and successful engineer Ludo Lacroix ahead of the 2024 season. Although PremiAir will field an unchanged driver line up of James Golding and Tim Slade for this weekend’s Bathurst 500, it will be the first round of a tweaked engineering line up led by Lacroix. The Frenchman arrives at Peter Xiberras’ team after highly successful stints at DJR and Triple Eight where they both dominated the championship. PremiAir Nulon Racing hopes Lacroix can have a similar impact at the team which is still chasing a maiden win and podium but took a big leap forward in its second season. PremiAir Nulon Racing team manager Stephen Robertson is hopeful of bigger results with Lacroix having a positive impact across all areas. “Rolling on from 2023 where we had some success based on our own goals, including ten Top Ten Shootout appearances and 14 Top Ten race finishes, we are looking forward to building on those successes and our previous experience into 2024 and we have had an intensively busy off-season to set that up,” Roberston said. “There has been quite a lot of changes to our line-up of personnel across the Christmas break. “We have changed personnel on cars, there have been changes to the engineering group, and we have Ludo Lacroix on board now. “As part of that, there has been a large emphasis put on car preparation, even more than we have had previously. “Ludo is a great believer in the performance of the car being gained in the workshop and the way we prepare;
so when we get to the track, we have a good base to move forward from. “The changes that have been made in that approach has elevated the way everyone operates within the team. “We have raised the bar in preparation, and everyone has lifted their game to meet that bar. “Another thing that Ludo has brought is that he is really great at training people, from mechanics through to the guys that run the team and the guys in the engineering group. “He is exceptionally good at showing people not only where the bar should be, but how to get there. “With having a lot of new people in the team that has been exceptionally good for them, and even for those that have been here for a long time, it has been really great for them to really have that keen insight into how Ludo works. “We know how the team needs to operate and what we need to do to go forward into 2024 competitively, and that is a great place to start from ahead of the new season.” Not only has Lacroix arrived but there is also a tweaked race engineer line up with Golding now working with Romy Mayer and Slade resuming his relationship with Mirko De Rosa. Slade and De Rosa worked together during the first two seasons of BRT where they showed speed at the previous Bathurst 500 in 2021 and achieved a best result of fourth three times. “We have the old partnership of Tim and Mirko back together,” Robertson said. “Mirko has already proved a massive asset to our team.
I am forecasting a solid gain for Tim in his confidence as they build on that familiar relationship and I think we will definitely see improvements this year for the #23. “Jimmy and Romy have been working very closely together and I am very confident about how that partnership will evolve over the coming season. “The entire engineering program is being overseen very closely by Ludo, and everyone is working together very well already. “In some cases, we are starting from base level again, but I believe we will be getting to a higher level a lot faster.”
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TOURING CAR MASTERS GRID CONFIRMED A NEW era for Touring Car Masters begins with a return to the Supercars show at Mount Panorama this weekend and many big names and cars will go racing. An 18-car grid is locked in for four races this weekend which will be one of the big support acts of the Bathurst 500 and the first under Touring Car Masters’ new ownership structure. Leading the way will be reigning champion Steven Johnson and his mean looking Hancock Racing Ford Mustang Trans Am. Johnson returned to the top of Touring Car Masters last year, winning his fourth crown on the streets of Adelaide. His biggest challenger Ryan Hansford will also return and is desperate to get back on top as their Ford versus Holden rivalry enters a new phase. Hansford also returns in his A9X Torana and will be determined to take the fight to Johnson after just falling short last year. Joining Hansford in the Torana brigade are the likes of Allan Hughes, Andrew Fisher, Peter Burnitt, Jim Pollicina and Danny Buzadzic, who has repaired his #3 after the big crash at Adelaide. Another challenger could be Joel Heinrich, who after making a massive splash at selected races last year.
one to return for the 2024 opener is Angus Fogg. Fogg’s black and gold Mustang Coupe is always a fan favourite and he will have no trouble finding the racing line having competed at last weekend’s Bathurst 12 Hour. Another fan favourite machine is the Valiant Pacer that is the weapon of Cameron Tilley.
2024 TOURING CAR MASTERS ROUND 1 ENTRY LIST
Heinrich’s Whiteline Racing Camaro went on a run of five straight wins at The Bend and Adelaide. But in 2024 he will be launching a fullscale attack on the title by taking part in every round. Also supporting the “General” are Adam Garwood (VB Commodore) Warren Trewin (Monaro) Ben Dunn (Monza) and Geoff Fane (Monaro).
Johnson will not be alone representing the “Blue Oval” however thanks to Falcons steered by John Adams (XY) and Marcus Zukanovic (XD), who won last time out at Bathurst, while Jamie Tilley and Tony Karanfilovski will be steering a Mustang. At the final two rounds last year there was a strong cohort of Kiwis joining the Touring Car Masters field and the only
CAR # CLASS DRIVER 2 Pro Am Adam Garwood 3 Pro Am Danny Buzadzic 4 Pro Sport Allan Hughes 6 Pro Master Ryan Hansford 09 Pro Am Andrew Fisher 12 Pro Sport Peter Burnitt 33 Pro Master Steven Johnson 55 Pro Sport John Adams 60 Pro Am Cameron Tilley 71 Pro Master Marcus Zukanovic 77 Pro Sport Warren Trewin 85 Pro Am Geoff Fane 88 Pro Am Tony Karanfilovski 95 Pro Master Joel Heinrich 99 Pro Am Ben Dunn 7 Pro Am Jim Pollicina 11 Pro Master Angus Fogg 29 Pro Am Jamie Tilley
GILL POSITIVE ABOUT JWRC DEBUT DESPITE THE odd obstacle, Aussie young gun Taylor Gill was “really pleased” with the promising pace he showed in the Swedish snow in his Junior World Rally Championship debut. Held alongside the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Taylor and Australian co-driver Daniel Brkic may had finished seventh, but they does not reveal the fast start as they made a big impression. Despite the challenge of participating in his first snow-based rally, Gill flew out of the blocks by setting the second fastest time of the JWRC competitors. Another second place in Stage 2 was enough to put him into the overall lead, which he held until Stage 4. Despite being overcome by local driver Mille Johansson, the Aussie was still within striking distance after six competitive stages, in third, just 7.5s away from the lead. Gill admitted he was quite surprised by his hot early pace. “I was really happy with our performance early in the rally,” he said. “To be in the top three from the get-go was something that surprised me, and I was really pleased with. “We were able to drive to the conditions accordingly and the times were coming out nicely.” But hopes of a special debut result came
to an abrupt end on the seventh stage when the Aussie pairing were hit by tyre troubles. In addition to suffering a double puncture, Gill also had nowhere to stop and had to endure a longer than preferred period of time on the defeated rubber and lost the best part of 10 minutes on Stage 7. Gill said a “very small impact” on a snow bank which also caught out the likes of Kalle Rovanpera and Ott Tanak had a “incredibly frustrating” impact on his campaign. “We had a very small impact with a snow bank, and while it seemed like nothing, there must have been something in there because it was immediately two flats,” he explained. “Normally we would’ve pulled over straight away, but due to how the roads are plowed of snow, there’s nowhere safe to pull over in a lot of spots, so we had to wait until a junction to have enough room to change it. “It was incredibly frustrating. To be in such a good position and then to have it all over from such a small mistake was tough, but that’s the way it goes.” As a result Gill dropped from third to 13th in the overall standings in one stage. After experiencing a couple of over shoots early on the Saturday, it was not until Stage 12 when Gill reclaimed some of his earlier pace, being fifth fastest
and returning to the top 10 of the JWRC leaderboard. “Saturday was a tricky day as we were more focussed on doing the kilometres and gaining the experience,” he said. “Of course, we needed to get back some lost time as there was still championship points on offer for stage wins, as well as moving up the leaderboard. “We had a couple of overshoots as well as a pretty sizeable moment that we were lucky to get away with, so we were happy to be ninth at the end of the day.” On the final day showed top four pace in the first two stages before dropping to 11th in a competitive finale to end up seventh overall.
Despite wondering about what could have been possible without the punctures, Gill is still walking away from Sweden upbeat from the experiencing his first JWRC round. “It ended up being a weekend of what could’ve been – we began so well and were very comfortable in the car at that pace, so it’s a shame we made a small mistake which put us out of contention,” he said. “Realistically though, I’m happy with what we proved to ourselves and our competitors, in that we are here to give it a real shot for the rest of the year.” Gill now gets to race on the more familiar tarmac in round 2 at Croatia on April 18-22.
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FEENEY AIMING BIG THE CHASE for the 2024 Supercars Championship could be one of the most open in years and Broc Feeney knows it could be his time to rise. The 21-year-old is suiting up for his third Supercars season with Triple Eight and if he continues his trajectory he should be a title contender. In 2022 the fresh-faced rookie found his feet by being a consistent top 10 finisher before ending the year with a bang, famously winning the final race on the streets of Adelaide keeping Chaz Mostert at bay. Last year Feeney stepped up be being a more regular winner and earning the tag “Mr Sunday” by taking all five of his victories on the final day of the weekend. After rising from sixth in his debut season to third last year, Feeney is eyeing the very top in 2024. Despite losing its grip on the drivers and teams titles to Erebus Motorsport in 2023, Triple Eight shapes up to be one of the big favourites in 2024. With new recruit Will Brown alongside him, Feeney is targeting a Triple Eight one-two. Across the ATCC/Supercars history dating back to 1960, there have been 12 one-two championship finishes. The last five have all been achieved by Triple Eight in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2021. Feeney is determined to collect a sixth in 2024. “At the end of the day, we’re both trying to win, but you both can’t win,” the 21-year-old said.
EVANS HOPING EUROPEAN EXPERTISE CAN PUSH BJR FORWARD
“We get along really well. Even me and Shane, there were a couple of times where it wasn’t so nice, but you get back to the truck and it’s brand new. “I think we’re going to get along really well. The biggest goal here is trying to
be one-two. “You do want to beat your teammate, but you have to beat everyone else first.” The battle for the 2024 Supercars championship begins at Bathurst this weekend.
STABLE SUPERCARS COMMENTARY TEAM FOR THE ninth straight season, Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife will call the Supercars racing in 2024, but possibly not every session in an unchanged TV line up. Since the second year of Fox Sports being the major broadcaster in 2016, Compton and Skaife have been the voices of the on-track action and that will remain the case when the new season fires up at the Bathurst 500 this weekend. But they may not call every single session in 2024 with Chad Neylon and Garth Tander “set to make main game commentary cameos throughout the season” according to the Supercars website. Both Neylon and Tander have subbed in for Crompton on the rare occasions he has been absent at Townsville 2021 and Bathurst 2023. But for the majority of 2024 Neylon and Tander will continue their pit lane duties alongside fan favourite Mark Larkham and Riana Crehan. One of the few stalwarts of the entire Fox Sports era has been Jess Yeates and she will continue to be the host for a 10th season. The likes of Craig Lowndes, Richard
Craill and Matt Naulty will handle the support events, which include Dunlop Series, Touring Car Masters, Aussie Racing Cars and V8 SuperUtes. Channel 7 remains the free to air broadcaster and the familiar face of Mark Beretta and expert Jack Perkins will remain the faces of that broadcast.
The Bathurst 500 is one of six free to air rounds in the 2024 season. The other races that will be screened on 7 are Darwin, Townsville, Bathurst 1000, Gold Coast and Adelaide. This is the penultimate year of the current TV deal between Fox Sports and 7.
SUPERCARS FULL time rookie Jaxon Evans hopes his European experience can hold both the Kiwi and Brad Jones Racing in good stead for this weekend’s Bathurst 500. Evans will be driving the #12 SCT Chevrolet Camaro having taken over from the departing Jack Smith, who he has raced with in each of his previous three Supercars starts. In addition to racing the last two Bathurst 1000s and 2023 Sandown 500, Evans has more experience then the average rookie. The 27-year-old has spent most of his career behind the wheel of a Porsche, winning the 2018 Australia Carrera Cup title and finishing second in the top tier Porsche Supercup. In 2021 he secured a top five class finish at Le Mans and was third in GTE Pro-Am in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Last weekend Evans found himself in the thick of the fight for the Bathurst 12 Hour podium for Phantom Global Racing. Despite starting 18th he helped the team be on the verge of a podium before finishing fourth in the tense finish. Evans believes his worldwide experience can be a valuable asset to building BJR into a greater force. “Making my debut in the Supercars Championship as a solo driver is really exciting,” said Evans. “After spending the test day and a little bit of time in Albury with the team, everything seems to be gelling really well and I’m just excited to see where we stack up on the track. “I would like to think my knowledge from Europe can help BJR. “There are aspects of what I’ve done overseas, the endurance racing and little things that can be useful to myself as well as the team. “I’ll think of it as a collaboration, which can be beneficial to both parties.” Once Evans finds his feet in the cutthroat world of full time Supercars racing, he believes challenging for top five results are possible. “It’s the first round on my own, so its going to be pretty full on and I’ll have a lot of things to take in,” he said. “I just want to keep on learning. I want to make sure that we hit the ground running, but at the same time turn as many laps as I can. “Everyone knows the level of competition in Supercars is very tight, so if I can be consistently running in the top 50 percent of the field and knocking on the door of some top five finishes it would be a really, really strong year.” Evans will make his full time debut at the Bathurst 500 on February 23-25.
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7 DRAWERS and a Hutch 722 x 482 x 1013mm
385 - T6860
NEW RANGE OF TAPS! TOOLMASTER has released its new range of high-quality precision ground, TiCN Coated Spiral Gun and Flute taps, ranging from fine to course metric threads in various sizes.
649 - T6861
$
DEBURR1380 MANUAL DEBURRING MACHINE The Metalmaster Deburr1380 manual deburring machine is the ultimate cost-saving solution for deburring, grinding, edge rounding and finishing of metal parts. SLAG REMOVAL
Priced from $ 15.40 (T8406)
TDL-287 ROLLER CABINET
PRE-GRINDING & DEBURRING
DEBURRING & EDGE-ROUNDING
OXIDE REMOVAL
FINISHING
14,795 (P7870)
$
HYDRAULIC & PNEUMATIC PRESS PP-13C - Precision Drill Sharpener
HPM-100P - 100T
HPM-75P - 75T
• Robotic Welded Steel Frame Construction • Includes Adjustable Sliding Cylinder Ram, Pressure Gauge & Bending Vee Blocks
• Pneumatic or hand operation • Heavy duty steel construction with robotic fully welded frame • Adjustable sliding head up to 255mm travel between the vertical post
• 3-13mm or 1/8”-1/2” • CBN grinding wheel • Split point • 240V motor
594 (D111)
$
IWB-2275 - Industrial Work Bench
PD-28V - Industrial Pedestal Drill Variable Speed • Brushless DC 1hp motor • Direct drive for higher torque and smooth operation • 200-2400rpm Variable speed • Digital speed readout • LED Light
• 2200 x 750 x 900mm • 1000kg load capacity • Heavy duty steel fabricated frame TAIWAN MADE IN
E DEALS PACKAG BLE AVAILA
495 (A421)
2,145 (D158)
$
D C WELDE ROBOTI FRAME STEEL TION UC TR CONS
$
WT28-KIT96 - 96pc Welding Table Clamping & Fixturing Kit • Heavy Steel construction • CNC machined surfaces to ensure precision tolerances
3,949 (P154)
$
2,915 (W08282)
$
View and purchase these items online: www.machineryhouse.com.au/AAC24002 Specifications and prices are subject to change without notification.
SYDNEY
(02) 9890 9111
1/2 Windsor Rd, Northmead
BRISBANE
MELBOURNE
625 Boundary Rd, Coopers Plains
4 Abbotts Rd, Dandenong
(07) 3715 2200
(03) 9212 4422
PERTH
(08) 9373 9999
11 Valentine St, Kewdale
02_ACC_220224
6,215 (P156)
$