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FEENEY: THE DEAL ISN’T DONE! Dane says there are “curveball” candidates on 2022 driver list
VICTORIA’S WINTON SuperSprint has been delayed for the second time, moved from its planned July 31-August 1 date, due to the ongoing uncertainty of COVID restrictions. A new date for the event is yet to be confirmed. All other events scheduled on the 2021 Supercars Championship calendar will not be affected by any change to the Winton SuperSprint. The last reschedule also occurred after a COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria.
BROC FEENEY and Russell Ingall have confirmed their first test date for Monday August 9 at Queensland Raceway. The previous Bathurst wildcard test day was rescheduled from June 30 because of the COVID-19 situation in the greater Brisbane region. Feeney has been dominating in Super2 this season. He is 42 points ahead of the nearest driver and had a clean sweep weekend for Triple Eight in Townsville.
RARE SPARES has agreed to an extended Super2 naming rights partnership with Jaylyn Robotham. The Australian parts company will continue its support of the 18-year-old Victorian, who has greatly impressed Rare Spares General Manager Lance Corby thus far. Robotham had a difficult weekend in Townsville, knocked out of Round 2 of the Super2 Series after a crash in Practice 1.
By BRUCE NEWTON HEIR APPARENT Broc Feeney insists he has yet to be signed as Jamie Whincup’s replacement at Triple Eight in 2022. Speaking after dominating the Townsville Super2 round last weekend, Feeney dismissed pitlane chatter the deal was done and he was already locked in to take over #88 in the main game next year. Separately, Triple Eight boss Roland Dane told AUTO ACTION that Whincup’s replacement would “most likely” be announced in the fourth quarter, meaning October at the earliest. He also revealed there were two “curveball” candidates for the drive that had never been publicly speculated on. Feeney’s chances of winning the prized seat currently occupied by seven time Supercars champion Whincup have risen as established stars such as Chaz Mostert, Nick Percat and Cam Waters have re-signed with their existing teams. Mostert is back with Walkinshaw Andretti United on a new multi-year deal, Percat has extended his handshake agreement with Brad Jones and the renewal of Waters with Tickford Racing has happened but not been formally announced. The Mostert deal was actually signed back in April, but not announced until last month. Feeney was emphatic he was not in the same situation – already in possession of a done deal that has yet to be made public. “Definitely not,” he insisted. “That was only my second race for Tripe Eight, how can people say I have been signed for them? “I have only done five Super2 races, so even the talk of me stepping up to the main game next year is awesome.
“But no, I am not signed for next year yet.” Feeney said he was not aware of who he might still be in competition with to secure the seat. “To be honest I haven’t really spoken to Roland about it,” he said. “I have enough good people in my corner to speak about that stuff. “At the end of the day it’s Roland’s decision and whoever he picks as the best driver is going to get the drive. “It’s great having him as my boss this year. The famous list … everyone wants to see who is on it. I am just doing everything I can to make sure I am on the list.” Dane originally told the media there were about six candidates on the list, including Feeney. In Townsville he revealed some other candidates had never been publicly linked with the drive. “As I have said for some time, Broc is on the list. Some people have taken themselves off the list because they wanted certainty about what they are doing next year. That’s fair enough, I have no issue with that,” he said. “But the list contains at least two curveballs that not one single person has speculated on.” Unsurprisingly, Dane wouldn’t volunteer who those two names were.
Feeney was fastest in both Super2 practice sessions in His T8 Holden Commodore VFII, took both poles and won both races cantering away from the field. He now leads the championship standings on 540 points, 42 points ahead of Tickford Racing’s Zak Best. “I’m lost for words to be honest. You dream of dominating a race weekend, and to be on top in every single session this weekend and win both races is a dream come true,” Feeney said. Feeney’s performance drew praise from both Whincup – who will succeed Dane as T8 CEO and team principal in 2022 – and championship dominator Shane van Gisbergen. “He’s doing a great job,” said Whincup. “He was very quick in qualifying and then very good in the race, so he’s clearly doing everything he can to put his hand up for the #88 seat. Added van Gisbergen: “He’s an awesome young kid and has got the right attitude,” said last year’s Bathurst 1000 winner. “They just haven’t done enough racing, those Super2 guys, so it’s been hard to get a judge on them but, as Jamie said, he’s doing all of the right things.”
“I think that would be my position but my position next year won’t really carry any weight.” However, Dane may have some input into the decision yet, as Whincup has indicated he wants to make public his potential co-driving future soon. “We’ll make the call in the next couple of months,” Whincup told AA. “To be fair to the current co-drivers we should make a call sooner than later.” That’s where a wildcard potentially comes in according to Dane. Expanding to three cars for the enduros would allow Whincup to be accommodated along with his current co-driver Lowndes and Tander, who is the reigning Bathurst 1000 champion with Shane van Gisbergen. “We always do that and try and be fair about that (co-drivers), but you’re working on the basis that we’d put Jamie into one of those (Red Bull) cars.
“You never know.” Asked if that meant a potential wildcard entry, Dane said: “Yeah”. Whincup continuing his relationship with the Bathurst 1000 would be welcomed by race fans as his star-crossed history in the race since his last win in 2013 has become legendary. Dane acknowledges the history, but doesn’t think that’s a reason for him to continue. “Anyone who has won four time there has won four times more than most people, so I don’t think that’s an issue,” said Dane. “He’d certainly love to win there again and he’s been close a number of times, but that’s the nature of the race and that’s what makes the race so good.” After a cautious start at Bathurst, Whincup has steadily gained momentum in his farewell full-time season and is sitting second behind van Gisbergen in the drivers’ championship. Despite that front-running form, Dane thinks Whincup has chosen the right time to retire. “There is no right and wrong time for everyone (to retire),” said Dane. “Different people will retire at different stages of their lives in sport. “Jamie has chosen a time that should work for him. He’s still winning races, a lot of people have gone onto long, it’s very common in motorsport. That’s because they are commercially valuable, or can’t they give up the drug of competing. ‘I sympathise with all of those positions, but Jamie wants to go out as a winner and then he’s got the next stage of his career lined up.”
KEEP DRIVING JAMIE! Roland Dane wants Whincup to co-drive, hints at wildcard SUPERCARS HAS confirmed the support categories for the second round of the doubleheader in Townsville. The combined Super2 and Super3 Series will race again this weekend along with a returning category, the Townsville Tin Tops. The Townsville Tin Tops consists of a variety of local entrants from across North Queensland in a range of cars. Their format will include one practice session, one qualifying session and three races.
THE FRESH look on André Heimgartner’s Mustang is here to stay. Celebrating NED Whisky 8% Cola, the black and blue livery seen last weekend will feature on the car for the next three rounds, at Townsville, Sydney and Perth. The livery was produced as a joint effort with paint supplier PPG and vinyl partner Graphic Art Mart. Heimgartner has had a mixed season of results so far, but including a win at The Bend.
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By BRUCE NEWTON OUTGOING TRIPLE Eight boss Roland Dane has urged his retiring Supercars superstar Jamie Whincup to take up co-driving duties in 2022. He’s even suggested T8 could add a wildcard entry to its usual two-car enduro effort to accommodate Whincup without having to dispense with the services of current co-drivers Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander. Whincup, the seven-time Supercars champion and four-time victor in the Bathurst 1000 will become CEO of Triple Eight race Engineering and team principal of its racing arm in 2022. But he is yet to clarify whether he will keep his hand in as a co-driver at the team he has raced for since 2006. Dane, stressing he was stating his personal opinion and not an official team position, was in no doubt what Whincup should do. “I think that if I was having my two penniesworth I’d like him to drive for a couple of years just in the enduros,” said Dane. “Why should he co-drive? Because he’ll probably be fast. What other reason is there?
DJR: WE CAN’T BEAT T8 FOR TITLE Race wins are the goal as upgraded Chev V8s help Holdens
By BRUCE NEWTON FORD FLAGBEARER Dick Johnson Racing has conceded the 2021 Supercars championship, pointing to a recent Chev engine upgrade as a key performance advantage for arch-rivals Triple Eight. The concession came from DJR technical guru Ludo Lacroix, who cited the Holden team’s freshly upgraded KRE Chevrolet V8 engines on top of better braking performance and improved pitwork and strategy as key reasons T8 had gained a performance edge. He also praised the driving of Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup, who sit first and second in the championship ahead of DJR’s Will Davison. His team-mate Anton De Pasquale sits sixth. “On the day, we can beat them [T8] but for the championship definitely not,” said Lacroix. Van Gisbergen and Whincup have won 11 of 16 races conducted so far this year, with the Kiwi championship leader taking 10 of them. DJR’s new driving line-up for 2021 has managed one win, which came for De Pasquale at The Bend. If van Gisbergen does go on and win the drivers’ championship as expected, it will defeat the Queensland Ford team for the drivers’ championship for the first time since 2017. Scott McLaughlin, now racing IndyCars in the USA, won three straight drivers’ championship for the team in its previous guise, DJR Team Penske, between 2018 and 2020. Triple Eight also dominates the 2021 teams’ championship, more than 700 points ahead of DJR. If it carries that form on to the end of year it will next year occupy the prestigious pit exit garages for the first time since 2019. Lacroix, who swapped from T8 to DJR Team Penske in 2017 and played a key role in its rise to competitiveness and then dominance, was philosophical about the performance gap to the Holden team. “We are clearly the second team,” said Lacroix. “Unfortunately we are fighting a car which has an upgrade in the engine which is not a bad aero car either. “It has a big performance in braking that we can’t do.
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“The boys next door (T8) have raised their game; they are not making so many mistakes, they are not blowing tyres. All of a sudden they are making the one per-centers better with the base car and an incredible driver line-up.” From Darwin onwards KRE Chevrolet engines received a revised 1.65 rocker ratio, bringing with it a slight horsepower boost. Van Gisbergen won the second and third race at Hidden Valley with the new engine-spec after a pitlane problem denied him in the opener. He and Whincup dominated both races at Townsville’s Reid Park hybrid circuit, finishing 1-2 each time. “At this stage I don’t think we have the performance to out-race them,” said Lacroix. “I don’t see that coming soon because we are not allowed to homologate [engine or aero upgrades].” Lacroix said the KRE upgrade meant beating T8 at Mount Panorama would be a big challenge: “At Bathurst probably not, because with the new engine and basic aero I don’t think we can get there.” Lacroix wasn’t alone along pitlane in his concern about the KRE engines, which are also supplied to T8 customer teams and Brad Jones Racing. One team owner described the advantage it delivered as “shocking”.
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Lacroix pointed to the 105mm longer front undertray fitted to the Holden Commodore ZB as a potential reason the T8 cars had better braking performance than the DJR Ford Mustangs. “Is the shorter undertray a good excuse for braking? I don’t know,” Lacroix said. “I can tell you one thing, it hasn’t been tested in aero, we never go that low in braking position. “Clearly in braking performance we are suffering,” he added. Both Lacroix and team principal Ben Croak were confident DJR was still operating at an elite level, even taking into account its new driver line-up and some engineering restructuring. They did concede the departure of McLaughlin had hit DJR’s win-rate simply because he was such an exceptional talent. Croak said T8’s improved form had prompted a response form DJR and a focus on what needed to be improved to close the gap as soon as the second Reid Park event this weekend. “We closed the gap a touch on Sunday compared to Saturday,” he said. “We will work hard this week to try and close the gap some more. “Whether we get all the way or not, probably not. “We have already identified areas we need to improve on and we will work on those; qualify better and early stint pace.”
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ADP’s best weekend for DJR
ANTON DE PASQUALE delivered his best performance for DJR last weekend at the Townsville 500. That’s based not only on his 3-3 finishes chasing home the dominant Red Bulls, but is the verdict delivered by his engineer Ludo Lacroix and DJR team principal Ben Croak. “This was his best weekend,” said Lacroix of the 25-year old, who has won for the team but also made errors and suffered misfortune. Added Croak: “Yep, in terms of his race craft and the way he has had to look after the car over along race, it’s been impressive.” Lacroix said De Pasquale’s stoic nature meant he had a tendency to cop his lot rather than speak up and ask for changes. “He has got no emotion – he is monologue and monotone and picking up what is important and what is not is sometimes difficult. But that’s ok – we get used to it.” Croak backed that up, using the example of the new seat insert De Pasquale used for the first time in Townsville, which eradicated hip and leg pain he had been suffering this year. “He needs to learn to say ‘I need this fixed’ and not just go ‘that’s how it is’,” he said.
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INTERNATIONAL
NEWGARDEN BREAKS THE PENSKE DUCK Report: JOSH NEVETT Images: MOTORSPORT IMAGES THE OLD adage ‘third time lucky’ couldn’t be more accurate for Josef Newgarden and Team Penske right now. The two-time series winner has put two consecutive race weekends of misfortune behind him to record a well-deserved win at Mid-Ohio on Sunday. The victory is the first for Newgarden and Team Penske in 2021, ending what has been a lean run for the legendary IndyCar team. Held winless in the last nine races, Newgarden and Team Penske had not stood atop the podium since last October in the 2020 St. Petersburg season finale. The day was not so satisfying for his Australian teammate, Will Power, who was eliminated early after a collision with reigning and six-time series champion Scott Dixon. The pair were engaged in an intense tussle for fourth on lap 4 when Power spun after light contact in Turn 5. The #12 Chevrolet was a sitting duck, invisible behind a cloud of white smoke and pointing toward the oncoming cars. Ed Jones was the unfortunate driver to plough into Power, inflicting raceending damage to both cars. Kiwi and fellow Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin had to settle for 12th place after starting 14th on the grid. Out front it was relatively straightforward early for Newgarden and his #2 Chevrolet, which led for 73 of 80 laps. “I’d start each stint and feel like we had everything under control,” Newgarden said. However, the demons of recent races and a fast-finishing Marcus Ericsson began to plant the seed of doubt as the finish line approached. “You get to the back end of it, and I felt like I was starting to fall apart, so it was really
Penske Racing took its first 2021 win with Josef Newgarden (above), while (below) Marcus Ericsson was closing in fast at the end.
hard to hang on. I had my wingman, Tim (Cindric, Team Penske president), coaching me all the way, just making sure I knew what was up. “This team has been doing the job. Everyone has been giving me a hard time, asking what’s up with us not winning a race. But I don’t think these people at Team Penske could have done anything different.” Ultimately, Newgarden spoke with a
seal a win here finally,” he concluded. Ericsson was gallant in his pursuit of Newgarden and threatened to inflict further heartbreak. The #8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 0.879s off the pace, unable to extract a mistake from Newgarden and settling for a seventh top-10 finish of the season. “We had a great day,” Ericsson said. “I’m really proud of the whole team. We
satisfaction that no doubt reverberated throughout his team. “We’ve been in the game almost every race, had great performance. It’s great to
were pushing very, very hard there at the end to catch Josef. A couple of more laps, and we could have challenged for it. But overall, p2 was a very good result today.”
NASR AND DERANI BOUNCE BACK FELIPE NASR and Pipo Derani claimed their first victory for the DPi season, overcoming inclement weather at the helm of #31 Whelen Engineering’s Racing Cadillac in the Watkins Glen 240. A 46-minute-long red flag made for a rain-reduced race with a congested field, but savvy fuel use ensured that Nasr curbed the competition to secure the welcome result. They crossed the line 1.473s ahead of Renger van der Zande in the #1 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac co-driven with Kevin Magnussen. Rounding out the podium was Konica Minolta’s Acura driven by Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor. In LMP2, Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen extended the points lead for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, comfortably crossing the finish 21.839s in front of second place. The closest challenger was the #11 WIN Autosport ORECA co-driven by Tristan Nunez and Images: Motorsport Images Steven Thomas. Felipe Fraga and Gar Robinson rounded out a
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dominant outing at The Glen, winning both races at the circuit in LMP3, making it four from five for #74. The GT classes were won by Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor and Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz in GTLM and GTD respectively, as both showed their sprint capabilities. The forces of nature descended upon Watkins Glen, but no rain or lightning strike could prevent either from claiming top spot after the restart. Garcia and co-driver Jordan Taylor owned the Watkins Glen weekend in the #3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, commanding both races and taking the brands win tally to 117 wins in IMSA competition. The final margin in GTLM was 1.895s over Tommy Milner and co-driver Nick Tandy’s #4 Corvette. The points acquired from the race will only contribute toward the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup standings. Josh Nevett
Ericsson beat home his two Chip Ganassi Racing teammates, with championship leader Alex Palou rounding out the podium in third and Dixon – who survived the early race contact with Power – in fourth. Alexander Rossi secured fifth place, his best finish of the season in the #27 Honda. Ericsson wasn’t the only challenger to Newgarden throughout the course of the race, as Colton Herta took advantage of his front spot early. Herta kept pace in the #26 Andretti Autosport Honda, but ultimately fell back through no fault of his own, hamstrung by a pair of disastrous pit stops. The first, on lap 31, drew out to 25s, dropping him from second to eighth. The second culminated in the car stalling, dashing any chance of victory and consigning Herta to 13th. Next up in the IndyCar Series is the inaugural Nashville Street Circuit race on August 8. Points: Palou 384, O’Ward 345, Dixon 328, Newgarden 315, Ericsson 280, Pagenaud 271, Herta 260, Veekay 257, Rahal 256, Sato 226
KURT PIPS KYLE TO BUSCH NASCAR VICTORY
Truex Jr. finished third, climbing through the field after starting in 37th. Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman was fourth followed by previous winner Ryan Blaney, finishing fifth for Team Penske. Kyle won the first stage of the race, just in front of Kurt, but the race proved to be a see-saw affair when these positions flipped by the end of Stage Two. After the final round of pit stops, it was Kyle again who seemed set to finish the race on top, but Kurt had other ideas. He made the critical pass with 25 laps remaining and could not be reeled in from then on. Despite the lead changes during the race, Kurt led for a race-high 144 laps. The win is significant in the makeup of the playoffs, as Kurt claimed one of the remaining positions. The top 10 was completed by Tyler Reddick, reigning series winner Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Matt DiBenedetto and Brad Keselowski. Winless in 2021, championship points leader Denny Hamlin finished 13th. Kyle Larson, who has won the most races in this series, was nowhere to be seen near the front of the field, finishing 18th. He threatened until late but was penalised for speeding in pit lane during his final pit stop. As it stands, 12 drivers have automatically qualified for the 16-driver playoffs field. Five races are still to be run, with Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon and Reddick leading the overall points. Josh Nevett
KURT WON The battle of the Buschs to come home first in Race 26 of NASCAR Cup Series in Atlanta. It was the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s 33rd career victory and he has now locked down a 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs spot as a result. Atlanta has been a happy hunting ground for the senior Busch, who has won at the venue four times now. Kurt also evened the ledger with younger brother Kyle in the pair’s fourth career 1-2 finish, levelling the duel at two wins apiece. The gap between the brothers was 1.237s after 267 laps. “Hell yeah, we beat Kyle,” a smiling Kurt Busch said after the race. “What a battle on an old-school race track. It’s been one of those years where I knew we were going to have our back against the wall, just above the (playoffs) cut-off line and needed to race hard and race smart.” Kyle’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin
RETURN TO FORM FOR TARQUINI IN WTCR
GABRIELE TARQUINI (right) beat the heat at MotorLand Aragon in Spain, registering a victorious round in WTCR. The Italian compiled 35 points across the weekend, thanks mainly to a win in Race 1. Frederic Vervisch of Comtoyou Team Audi Sport was another strong performer, winning Race 2 to earn 33 points for his team (above). Tarquini found himself at the front of the grid for the first race despite qualifying 10th fastest in Q2 due to WTCR’s inverted-grid structure. Although the Hyundai driver denied this was a tactical decision, the reverse-grid pole was his second in as many events. This outcome paid dividends, as Tarquini took out Race 1 on Sunday. It was his first WTCR victory for two years, sweetened by the addition of a Best Lap Trophy for driving a 2m 07.023s around the 5.345km circuit. Tarquini would control the race out front leading from lights to flag and taking a 1.88s victory. Second was local Mikel Azcona of Zengo Motorsport in his CUPRA Leon Competition, Vervisch’s teammate Tom Coronel round out the podium, 8.455s off first place. In qualifying for Race 2, Vervisch stole the prized pole position from Thed Bjork on the final lap. The Belgian conquered the height of a Spanish summer to edge Björk’s Cyan Performance Lynk & Co by just 0.021s. This feat of concentration extended into Race 2, Vervisch converting his spot at the front of the grid into a tight victory.
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BIRD IS THE WORD IN NEW YORK
The third win of his WTCR career lifted him to 11th in the championship standings and is the first for the newgeneration Audi RS 3 LMS. Bjork finished as runner-up ahead of Gilles Magnus, the top three separated by less than 1.7s in what was an exciting contest. At the conclusion of the round, Hyundai driver Jean-Karl Vernay held on to top spot in the championship with 82 points. He finished ninth and fourth in the races over the weekend. Countryman Yann Ehrlacher is eight points behind in second, and Yvan Muller sits on 67 points. The next round is Race of Italy at the Adria International Raceway from July 31-August 1. Josh Nevett Vernay 82, Ehrlacher 74, Muller 67, Urrutia 60, Tarquini 58
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SAM BIRD jumped to the top of the Formula E standings after a packed weekend of competition in New York City after winning the second race of the weekend while, the day prior, Maximilian Gunther took the opening encounter, his first win of the season. Sebastian Buemi was the fastest in practice, with a 1m 09.386s time. Buemi’s day improved further, as his 1m 09.531s gave him provisional pole. The Nissan driver could not capitalise on his form in the Super Pole shootout, though as Nick Cassidy secured pole. Behind him were Jean-Eric Vergne and Alex Lynn. Despite this, it was Gunther, from BMW Andretti Motorsport, who came from fourth on the grid to win Round 10. Gunther remained in touching distance of the front row starters Cassidy and Vergne and with several minutes to go took the lead. Vergne made a dive for the lead on Cassidy at the hairpin – they both ran wide and allowed Gunther to sweep
into the lead. Once out front, Gunther put his head down and gapped the field to take his third Formula E win by 2.072s from Vergne. Lucas Di Grassi took third after starting seventh on the grid, pole sitter Cassidy, Robin Frijns and Buemi rounded out the top six. In Round 11, Jaguar Racing driver Bird qualified on pole and cruised comfortably to a lights-to-flag victory by 4.167s and with it takes the championship lead. Cassidy and Evans were involved in a nail-biting affair for second with the former coming out on top. The British driver came under attack from reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa on the final lap, but he held his ground and held second. Evans ran out of energy on the final lap and finished outside of the points. Josh Nevett Points: Sam Bird 81, da Costa 76, Frijns 76, Mortara 72, Cassidy 70
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p ra w S L A N NATIO
LEADERS STRENGTHEN GRIP DRIVERS THAT already led the various Tasmanian Circuit Racing Championships flexed their muscles in the fourth round at Pepsi Max Baskerville Raceway on June 27. Wade McLean (Formula Vees), Mick Williams (Sports GTC), Jared House (improved production), Phil Ashlin (HQ Holdens) and Michael Cross (Historic Touring Cars) all recorded clean sweeps. They each topped qualifying, won their heats and the double-points finals, and extended their championship leads with two rounds remaining.
SPORTS GT
IN SPORTS GTA, third round winner Liam Hooper (Subaru Impreza WRX), almost joined the list of perfect results. He only had his colours lowered in the first heat which was won by series leader David Paine (Holden Commodore). Hooper’s round win only slightly narrowed the gap to Paine, who still has a commanding lead over the Subaru racer. Back in the pack, Honi Pitt (Mitsubishi EVO 7) saved her best to last to win the final in Sports GTB after she played second fiddle to series leader David Walker (Datsun 1200 ute) for most of the day. In a small field of Sports GTC cars, Mick Williams (Datsun
the first round and faced a difficult task to challenge the leaders with two rounds to go.
SPORTS SEDANS
Darren Pearce heads Danny Slater as the pair battled for Sports Sedan honours. (Pics: Angryman)
240Z) was never seriously challenged and continued his amazing run of undefeated victories for the entire season to date.
HYUNDAI EXCELS
WHILE SOME classes experienced clean sweeps, that was far from the case in the Excels as they provided some of the best racing of the round and three different winners. Campbell Logan top qualified but failed to finish an incident-packed first heat along with fellow front runners Callum Bishop and Jeremy Bennett. Jamie Keeling took advantage of the early dramas to snatch the win from series leader Charlie Parker.
Parker jumped away at the start of the second heat to lead all the way from Keeling, while Bishop (fourth), Bennett (sixth) and Logan (seventh) made good progress through a large field after their DNFs in the opening race. In the final Parker led for the first three laps before Bishop took over the front running on the next lap. Logan was on a charge from seventh and provided plenty of entertainment as he forced his way towards the front. He broke the lap record on lap five before a late charge on Parker on the final lap, which saw him snatch second place. The wash-up at the end of the day was that Parker narrowly won the round to extend his championship lead over Logan. Bishop consolidated his series third with a third overall for the round.
HQ HOLDENS
Bennett, Midgely and Logan head a tight midfield Excel bunch ... (Pic: Angryman)
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THERE WAS a small, but entertaining field in action and, although Phil Ashlin (see lead pic) top qualified and won every race, it was no easy task as he was pushed all the way by Otis Cordwell, Andrew Toth and Andrew Bird. Cordwell finished with two seconds and a third in the final, but it was not enough to retain his series lead, as Ashlin edged ahead to be five points in front. Andrew Toth was third for the round and sits fifth in the title chase after he missed
IN A return to the category, Darren Pearce in a new Holden Commodore and had some good battles with Danny Slater (Holden Torana XU-1). Slater won the second heat and was well placed in other races, to finish second for the round in his best meeting of the series to date. Championship leader Laurie Williams (Mazda RX-7) was sadly off the pace in the early part of the day, but eventually finished third overall. Williams’ significant points buffer from the first three rounds enabled him to keep the championship lead.
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SERIES LEADER Jared House (Holden Torana A9X) continued his dominance of the title to date, with a clean sweep. Current champion Mathew Grace (Nissan 200SX) was second in all races as Jason House (BMW E30) struggled with dramas all day and finished eighth for the round, yet he retained second in the series by seven points over Grace.
HISTORIC TOURING CARS
NEVER CHALLENGED all day, Michael Cross (Holden Torana XU-1) easily won the round ahead of Lachlan Thomas (Ford Escort). Thomas was unable to match the pace of Cross, but was consistent, with a third and two seconds, to move into a distant third in the championship.
FORMULA VEES
THE SMALL field of Formula Vees had no answer for Wade McLean (Elliott), who won every race by an average of 8s. Michael Vaughan (Spectre) finished second each time to consolidate his second place in the championship and stay within striking distance of McLean. Martin Agatyn
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RAIN SHORTENS MEETING WHAT COVID could not stop, the force of nature did, bringing about a premature halt to the one-day WA Sporting Car Club July Race Meeting at Wanneroo Raceway on July 4. The organisers mandated very restricted conditions to run the meeting with no spectators or media. They then had to overcome an early deluge after wet qualifying sessions which triggered a delay in proceedings. After that, a revised race scheduled was adopted where each category managed to get in one wet race each. Further extreme weather was enough for the meeting to be called for the day. Whether this meeting can be reorganised for another day will be advised.
EXCEL CUP
THE MAIN race was set to be a 100km enduro with two drivers, each to get one heat that would decide the start positions for the 40-lap event. Unfortunately, the only heat did not have much racing either as the Safety Car was out on lap two of the scheduled six, and racing only resumed for one lap. Qualifying fastest was the Mason Harvey/ Jackson Callo entry ahead of Tayla Dicker/ Tom Hamlett. Hemlett grabbed
the lead off the start while Carlos Ambrosio (paired with Jack Brett Scarey took out the 1200Vee opening race from Andrew Lockett. (Pic: Mick Oliver) Clohessy) jumped from fifth on the grid to be ahead of Harvey and second on the opening until the gaps went out over the last couple (Ajay) showed the way for the first half before lap. The safety car was out as Tanya Aitken of tours. Behind them Mark Mettam held fifth Brett Scarey (CD-Vee) passed him and went (who started sixth and dropped to tenth) had until lap seven when he started to fall down onto to take the chequered flag 0.5s ahead. dramas, as did backmarker Paul Passaris. the order. Well behind Robert McAfee (Polar) was next Hemlett retained the lead through the oneahead of Connor Welsh (Repco V). lap flier to the flag while Harvey regathered STREET CARS second off Ambrosio at Turn 7. Jake Passaris FROM THE outside of the front row, Nick FORMULA FORDS was fourth ahead of Andrew Malkin, Cameron Tagaris (Mitsubishi EVO 8) led race one FROM POLE position in the only race, Ben Atkins, Dylan O’Connor and Stephen of what was to be the 47th Annual Torque Leslie (Stealth RF93) shook off the early McGregor. Trophy, ahead of polesitter Neil Pollard challenge from Mark Pickett (Van Diemen (Honda Civic) with Wayne Hastie (Nissan RF01) to record a 3.9s victory. Well behind in HQ HOLDENS Pulsar) third. Andrew Stevens (Nissan third was Tom Chapman (FR92) well clear of THE START lap of the first and only race 180SX) only qualified fifth, but was fourth at Craig Jorgensen (RF93) and Marc Redman provided pole sitter Michael Woodbridge the end of lap one. (FR92). with the edge that propel him to victory Stevens was third a lap later as he in the end. He had a 2.2s advantage over continued his charge until he took second on FORMULA SPORTS RACING Michael Howlett after the first of six laps and lap seven and then the lead. Pollard seized IN THE wings, slicks and aero category, withstood the latter’s late charge to win by the opportunity to pass Tagaris, but the latter Radical racers duked it out after a one-lap 0.13s. returned to the runner-up spot before the end. Safety Car at the start. Adam Lisle led at the Brian Bo Pangler maintained third Paul Kluck (Nissan Skyline R32) was a distant start before Max McRae took the lead on lap throughout, albeit just in front of Ryan Davis fourth ahead of Peter Calio (Infiniti V35), three. Lisle hit back to lead the next two but, and Dennis Russell for much of the race and Hastie and Phil Crouse (VW Polo). in the end, McRae pipped him by 0.1s. The race for third was a similar scenario FFORMULA VEES with Elliott Schuttle (Radical) ahead at the JJUST FOUR each in the two classes start before Gianni Lutzu made the second started s the first race where Rod move (after he led on lap three) stick. In their Lisson L (Borland Sabre) led all the wake, Andrew Eldridge (Radical) was fifth. way from Jason Fowler (Jacer) to Andrew Malkin (Radical) started third but also be the first of the 1600s and went off on the first lap and was the reason outright winner while Ken Wyatt the race went cautionary. (Jacer) was third in front of Simon He re-joined last and ultimately finished Bate (Stinger). sixth. Garry O’Brien In the 1200s Andrew Lockett Like most, the HQs (left) only completed a single race, as did the Sports Racing field (below), where Adam Lisle and Max McRae fought it out. (Pics: Mick Oliver)
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MAZDA PAIR WIN NISSAN EVENT STARTING AND FINISHING in the dark, Nathan Quinn and Ray Winwood-Smith were the winners of the Nissan Nightmoves. It was round five of the Victorian Club Rally Series held in the forests around Costerfield on June 26. Run out of the Barrack Reserve at Heathcote, the all-dark event covered 160kms over eight stages as stage nine was downgraded. The weather was good with the predicted wet conditions not happening, just a couple of muddy spots along the way. Quinn and Winwood-Smith in their Mazda
RX2 were first by 18s even though not eligible for points. Second place went to Cary and Russell Seabrook in their Datsun Stanza with 14s back to Cody Richards and Matt Dillon third despite various setbacks along the way in their Ford Escort MkII. The top three were well ahead of the rest which were led home by fourth placed Rowan Woollard and Tom Wright (Mazda RX7) ahead of Brian Semmens and Dan Parry (Nissan 200SX), with the latter pair second in the points before the round. In sixth outright were Neil Schey and Scott
Middleton (Mitsubishi Mirage) ahead of Chris Tobin and Melissa Crowe (Subaru Impreza WRX STi) who were also not eligible for points, so too Gerard Blum and Luke Daly (Hyundai Excel) who were next, in front of Brian Semmens and Dan Parry (200SX). Quinn held a 45s lead over Seabrook at half distance (after four stages) with Seabrook second and Richards third. The latter was still in contention after the next stage even with a puncture, and struck back with two stage wins before a broken header pipe on the final stage dulled any chance of an
outright victory. In their Holden Commodore, Keith Cuttle and Darren Davison were fifth after four stages but faded to 10th behind John Rawson and Kim Begelhole (Stanza) by rally end. James Leoncini and Darren Wythe (Toyota Corolla) were equal seventh midway through but failed to get through stage five. They were not the only DNFs with 23 others out of the 55 entries not able to complete the event, including round two victors and points leaders Keith and Judd Lewis (Datsun 1600). Garry O’Brien
V8S ALONE AT PI
PORT GERMEIN, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MULTI CLUB SERIES RD02
COVID HITS WITTITRIN AFTER ONE DAY THE RETURN to Wittitrin, 20kms west of Kempsey, for round two of the Hunter Rivmasta Motorsport Australia NSW Off Road Racing Championship for the first time in three years was short-lived. The event was cancelled halfway through the two-day June 26-27 event due to state governmentintroduced Covid restrictions. After one four-lap heat of the course that ran 48.4 kms, Glenn Spizzo and Doug Cupitt (Toyota V6 supercharged Micklefab Pro Buggy) led by 59.83s over Phil Lovett and Luke Stanley (SXS Turbo Can-Am Maverick) with Tom Dixon and Jessie McGrath (Jimco/ Toyota turbo Pro Buggy) third another 4.5s behind. The Jim Anderson Earthmoving Kempsey 300 started with a one-lap prologue of the course where Lovett had a handy 5.8s advantage over Steven Graham and Jason Richerds (Sportslite Tatum/Honda), and the Pro Buggies of Spizzo, Mathew Huxley and Toby Turnbull (Thronbuilt Wasp/Chev V8), and Dixon.
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Spizzo made it through despite blowing a power steering hose which put out of contention in the shootout after which he would start heat one out of tenth place. From there he blazed his way to the have the overnight lead – which turned out to be the end of the event. Graham started second but a shed a couple belts and finished the day well down the order. Lovett had problems too, a blown front diff had slowed him, but he and Stanley soldiered on and held second. Sixth outright and the best of the ProLites were Scott and Michelle McNeill (MMS/Honda) while the 1650s was headed by Des Woods, Amber Towel and Chris Gloag in 12th position. Leading the other classes were Jake and James Conomos (Sportsman), Anthony Abson (Sportslite), Kevin Cant and Ethan Harris (SXS Sport), David and Robbie O’Grady (Extreme 4WD), and Darren and Josh Blackburn (Production 4WD). Garry O’Brien
THERE WAS a bumper 42-car entry with 29 starters, plus there was good rainfall in the week leading up to the Guidolin Carpentry SGORA 200 at Port Germein on June 26-27. The ARB South Australian Multi Club Series second round was won by Darryl Nissen and Andrew Harness in their ProLite SORE/Nissan. Matt Curtis and Brad Traynor (GCR Rhino/Nissan) set the early pace but dropped out on Sunday morning with fuel pressure problems which allowed the ever present Nissen to move into the lead. Chris and Colin Johnson (Custom/Mitsubishi) were 5mins further back in second with only a small gap back to third placed Shane Waters and Scott Watson (Southern Cross/Honda). Hot on Waters tailpipe was Brenton and Matthew Gallasch (Pro Buggy Southern Cross/Chev) followed a couple of minutes later by the Extreme 2WD-winning Mitsubishi Triton/Chev crewed by Chris Pickert and Bryan Brown. The rest of the top 10 was dominated by Super 1650 class buggies with only 15s separating Connor and Peter Corrigan (Raptor/Toyota) from Justin
and Mark Battersby (Rimco/Toyota). There was a bit over a minute back to Mick Surfield and Craig Matthews (RIDS Joker/Nissan). Darren and Chloe Wright (Southern Cross/Mitsubishi) made the trip down from Alice Springs and pushed hard from well back in field to claim eighth, comfortably clear of Cooper Johns and the rest of the Johns family in their Toyota-powered Proud Tyrant. Robbie Ward and Kahlia Jenke were comfortably in the top 10 in their Extreme 2WD Nissan Navara/Chev but the transmission let them down on day two. Nev Day and Tanya Wales (Mantiss/Mitsubishi) were among the lead group on Saturday but were out early on Sunday with broken steering. Easily inside the top 10, Jamie and Naomi Parker (Nissan Patrol/Chev) until a broken a tailshaft in section two on Saturday afternoon, and Trevor Snow and Darrin Jocey-Prior (S&S Race Frames/Mitsubishi) had a timing belt let go. The other class winners were Waters in Sportslite, and Extreme 4WD was taken out by Aaron Harre and Nathan Dunn (Ford Maverick). David Batchelor
THERE WAS only one category racing at Phillip Island on June 26-27, other than a round of the state Supersprint Championships, and that was the Victorian V8s Series third round which was won by Brian Finn. Over four races, Finn was victorious in three of them in his Holden Commodore VS, and a very close second in the other when it was red flagged after three laps. David Ratcliffe was the leader in that one in his Commodore VL and finished the weekend second overall while third spot was taken by Craig Eddy (Commodore VH). Finn led every lap of race one and was 8.8s ahead of Michael Budge (Commodore VZ) with Eddy third in front of Ratcliffe. The best placed Ford driver was Gary Finemore (Falcon XB) while Peter Owen (EF) and Victor Argento (XB) were out with terminal issues while the Mark Houeix VY was also a retiree. Finn led all the way in race two where Ratcliffe was second after Budge retired with an engine drama, and Houeix bounced back for third. Eddy was third across the line but penalised 5s and dropped to fifth behind Gary Vella (VS). Race three was called after Greg Taylor came unstuck out of Turn 12 and his VY hit the tyres on the outside. Behind Finn and Ratcliffe in the last, Houeix was third until the last lap when he was pipped by Eddy. Garry O’Brien
s w e n Y A W D E SPE
MAROSKE MAKES MOST OF ECL SERIES FINALE Words: Paris Charles Image: Declan Brownsey. FOR THE final time in the 2020/21 East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway, the Sprintcars would square up for the 14th and final round of what has been an outstanding series and for the grand finale the racing would again prove its worth despite the series already being wrapped up by Lachlan McHugh – who is currently racing in the North American World of Outlaws series. After coming agonizing close to capturing victory in the previous round a determined Ryan McNamara would start from Pole Position and from the glow of the green light, he would pounce to open a commanding lead over Cody Maroske, Brent Kratzman, Kevin Titman, and the rest of the hustling field. Further back an intriguing encounter had developed between Callum Walker and Aaron Kelly, this battle for track position between the duo would potentially determine second outright in the series points score. Up in front McNamara was finding it difficult to pass the slower traffic allowing the minor placing to gather ground and Maroske and Titman traded positions for third. Brendan Scorgie was the car to come unglued as Kratzman squeezed underneath while putting him down a lap. The New South Welshman ran out of room and rode the turn 4 wall, tipping the car on its side to bring on the red light stoppage. An Indian file restart would follow and
again McNamara would checkout however the Kratzman and Maroske Show would keep the fans on the edges of their seats as the duo traded blows on the first revolution. Titman locked down fourth while Walker and Kelly continued their epic duel. Until the reds were again ablaze as Brad Ayres flipped the Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Q4 entry down the back shoot and race leader McNamara clipped the wall also. McNamara would again lead the field away however the damage from tagging the wall would hamper the performance of the Titan Sheds & Garages Q88 allowing Kratzman and Maroske to enter turn 1 threewide, Kratzman would find himself leading the charge while McNamara spun out of contention after one rotation. This time Kratzman would lead the field away, Titman would advance past Maroske and the yellow lights were on again when the Innov8 Property machine of Mitch Gowland would spin also in turn 4. With
9-laps to run Kratzman would again lead the field away Titman and Maroske holding down the minors while Kelly would use the topside to pass Walker and Kaiden Brown would follow suit while Maroske relegated Titman back to third and with three laps to run Jy Corbert would spin in turn one, setting up a nail biter for the final three laps. Kratzman would launch again but Maroske was able to pull a textbook slide job as they raced through turn one, Kratzman tried to fight back and with one revolution remaining the pair would touch sending Kratzman into a 360 revolution and while keeping momentum he would drop several positions to finish in sixth. Following the SRV Road Freight Q27 of Maroske to the line was Titman, Kelly, Brown, Walker. Seventh was Adam Butler followed by Michael Saller, Kristy Bonsey, Darren Jensen, Tim Farrell, Corbert and Gowland would round out the 14 of 18 starters to travel the distance.
The qualifying heat race wins were claimed by Jy Corbert and Cody Maroske while the fast and fearless female Kristy Bonsey doubled up with two. The Shootout and Pole Position was claimed by Ryan McNamara while teenage sensation Jy Corbert snared victory in the 10-car B main event. 2020/21 East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series Top 20. Lachlan McHugh, Callum Walker, Aaron Kelly, Darren Jensen, Kevin Titman, Brent Kratzmann, Adam Butler, Luke Oldfield, Allan Woods, Tim Farrell, Kristy Bonsey, Randy Morgan, Andrew Baumber, Brad Ayers, Ryan McNamara, Mitch Gowland, Mitchell Gee, Brendan Claridge. In the Petzyo Development series for less experienced Sprintcar competitors Brant Chandler proved to be the best overall, claiming the championship with Jason King and Libby Ellis rounding out the top three placegetters.
KARPENKO KARATE KICKS OPPOSITION FOR VICTORY Words: PARIS CHARLES Image: NAKITA POLLARD WHILE THE colder weather sets in and the Speedway diehards down south reach for their blankets and or stoke up the fire after a great summer season, the 7Mate Northline Speedway in Darwin has fired up for their season and just recently five southern and a West Australian team have ventured up early to the warmer climate in north to get some vital laps in before the running of the annual Chariots of Thunder Sprintcar Series kicks off. Going into the 20-lap feature race Victorian Ryan Davis would start from Pole Position and sharing the front row was local gun Chace Karpenko at the wheelhouse of the Western Australian Muir Motorsports National Karate W53 entry. At the drop of the green Karpenko would challenge early however Davis would take control on the second circulation at Victorian Jack Lee manoeuvred his way into second and the small field had stretched out across the track’s real estate. The first retirement was local driver Hayden Brown who quickly pulled to the infield. Further back a gripping battle had developed between Domain Ramsay and Todd Moule would trade places back and forth. Davis continued to trail blaze out front, in doing so setting the fastest lap of the race with an 11.508 revolution and second placed Lee would
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do his best to keep the leader in check as they negotiated lapped traffic and Alice Springs based competitor Lenny Cole would retire to the infield at half race distance. Lee continued to close the gap on Davis and before too the Lilly’s Lane Quarry V25 entry was challenging for the lead, tried to slide under coming out of turn four and touched the front runner in Davis sending him into a spin and brushing the Mawpump Darwin supported V95 against the concrete wall as he came to a premature end
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with just three circulations remaining. For the restart Lee would be sent to the rear of the field and Karpenko would inherit the prime position aboard the Territory Plant Hire entry. For the final three revolutions Karpenko would make the most of clear track a head to claim victory over Ramsay and Moule who had battled hard over the distance, Lee advanced one place to fourth and rounding out the finishers was local Cori Jackson in the NT Energy Air Conditioning NT22 Maxim.
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The three 8-lap heat race wins were shared one apiece between Cori Jackson, Ryan Davis and Domain Ramsay. Also, on the card were no less than six supporting classes. However, the main supporting division would see the running of the Brumfield’s Race Parts Darwin Street Stock Championship. With a total of 14 cars in yet another classic Holden V Ford action packed 15-lap Street Stock blue ribboned event Justin Brumfield would claim the number one mantle piloting the NT5 Frontier Cement Supplies Holden VF Commodore. Jack Koivumaki was a close second, rounding out the top three podium placings was Jake Yates and Queenslander Peter Thompson completing the top four. The Dirt Kart feature was won by Tim Feehan. The well-travelled Queenslander Cameron Jaenke claimed the Formula 500 victory. The Tasmanian Champion, Daniel Brooks was the man who travelled the longest to be there found the quickest way home to claim the AMCA nationals feature race. Jarred Goldoni proved too strong in the 15-lap Wingless Sprints main event and a jubilant River Spitzbath claimed the honours while debuting a brand new Mitsubishi in the Palmerston Brake and Clutch Centre Darwin Junior Sedan Title followed by Will Prest, Deegan Sherwood and Jake Park claiming the final step on the podium.
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