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HOUSE OF CARS
Renault: Ramping up for Ricciardo
Issue #1766
25 July to 7 August , 2019
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FORMULA FORD AT 50
AUSTRALIA’S RACING NURSERY
LATEST NEWS
THIRTY CARS will take to Silverstone for the first round of the 2019/20 World Endurance Championship at Silverstone on September 1. It has been revealed that Rebellion Racing will scale back from two cars down to one this season, elsewhere in LMP1 the two Toyota Gazoo Racing cars will be joined by the new Ginettas. A competitive eight car field will feature in LMP2 including a Signatech Alpine, a Jackie Chan DC Racing car and United Autosports car. The GTE Pro grid is down to just six cars after the withdrawal of Ford and BMW at the end of last season. The GTE Am class is the strongest with 11 cars entered for the opening round, which includes Australian Matt Campbell in car Porsche #77.
AFTER WINNING the team’s title with DS Techeetah, Andre Lotterer has announced his departure from the team to race for the new Porsche Formula E team set to make its debut at the first round of season 6 in Saudi Arabia. Lotterer recorded two podiums in 2018/19 season and finished eighth in the standings. The Former World Endurance Champion drove for Porsche in WEC in 2017 and will join another former Porsche LMP1 driver Neel Jani.
WELSHMAN ELFYN Evans will miss the next round of the World Rally Championship in Finland next month after hurting his back in last weekend’s non-championship event in Estonia upon a heavy landing, doctors have advised Evans to rest and sit out the Finnish Rally. The M-Sport driver will be replaced by Gus Greensmith who will make his second event start in a WRC spec car, after making his debut in Portugal earlier in the year. THE ASTON Martin Valkyrie was revealed at the 2019 British Grand Prix, driver by Aston Martin test driver Chris Goodwin, the 865KW (1160bhp) Aston Martin hypercar was not put through its paces but did complete some laps of the Silverstone circuit. The car was created by a collaboration between Aston Martin, project partner AF Racing and Red Bull Advanced Technologies and headed by Adrian Newey. A race going Valkyrie will be driven in the World Endurance Championship at the start of the 2020/2021 season. The 150 road-going Aston Martin Valkyries are sold out, with first deliveries commencing later this year.
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BRUT MUSTANG JOINS TCM
Images: Ross Gibb
A NEW Ford Mustang that promises to lift the bar in construction and engineering will debut at the next round of Touring Car Masters at Queensland Raceway after it was launched in Melbourne with the help of a legend last week. The Russell Hancock-owned 1969 Ford Mustang Boss will make its eagerly anticipated debut at Ipswich after the car successfully debuted at Sydney Motorsport Park. The car will be driven by regular TCM driver Cameron Mason, which replaces the older Ford Mustang Fastback he has campaigned during the last few seasons. “Very excited,” said team manager Steve Mason. “The car will be completed this afternoon [Tuesday] and we test Thursday at SMP. It has been built to the highest of standards, there wouldn’t be another car in Australia, certainly in this category that has been built to this standard.
“We’re pretty happy, the car will be fast.” There has been no expense spared in building the new Mustang, with the chassis incorporating the latest and greatest in componentry allowed under the regulations, put together by the team at Garage1 led by renowned race car builder and preparer Marty Brant. “We started with a brand new shell, which means it wasn’t twisted and contained no rust,” Mason explained. “Everything’s been handmade on the whole of the car, it has a fabricated diff, it’s got the latest model NASCAR gearbox, it’s running a 351 Windsor with Dart heads dry-sumped, it has the big Brembo chrome calipers, chrome-moly roll cage. “It has the very best that you can buy available in the rules.” The Mustang is resplendent in the Brut 33 colours that Allan Moffat carried on the similar model he raced in the early 1970s.
BRADFORD’S BIZARRE RIDE
it stopped with the broken gearbox. But at around 60 degrees in the cabin and the race continuing, there was no way I was staying there. “I have been towed more than once in my life and I think that Phillip Island is the only place they ensure you are belted up and have a helmet on,” Bradford added. “I am not blaming anyone, shit happens. I just hope something good comes out of it and CAMS do a proper investigation into the incident,” he further suggested. Images: Insyde Media Bradford’s priority is to now have the car ready for the next round at Queensland Raceway on the first weekend of August. sideways and as it was being towed, bit in and went over,” he surmised. “The cage is okay, and I have plenty of panels, the Bradford was taken to Murray Bridge Hospital for only real issue will be getting another roof. observation and said that his only injury was a sore “Apart from the odd off-track excursion where I may neck. have damaged a skirt, I haven’t put a scratch on the “The Clerk of Course called to check on my condition car previously. I just want to just get back in the car and and suggested that I should have stayed in the car when race. Garry O’Brien
SPORTS SEDAN driver Shane Bradford ended upside down in an unusual accident at The Bend on July 14 . . . after a race was over. Bradford was running third in the final race of the second round of the DEA National Sports Sedan Series which was part of the Shannons Nationals, when he had pulled off the circuit with a broken gearbox. After the race the Trans Am-spec Chev Camaro was being flat-towed back to the pits when it rolled over at turn 16. “The details are a bit sketchy, I was knocked out,” Bradford said. He was steering the car but was not belted in or wearing a helmet. “The tow point is on the left-hand side, and I think that somehow the back wheels were off the circuit, it slewed
BIG FIELD FOR WINTON THE LARGEST gathering of Historic Sports Sedans headline this year’s Winton Festival of Speed at August 2-4. The 24-car entry includes the ex-Bryan Thomson Mercedes-Chev and the Barry Bray Nissan Gazelle piloted by the man himself. Historic Sports Sedans are the fastest growing category among the older tin-top classes, behind Group A and C. These vehicles are pre-spaceframe, with bodyshells cut to allow the engine and gearbox mid-mounted for better weight distribution.
Also, being celebrated at this year’s Winton Festival of Speed are the 50-year anniversaries of the Bolwell Nagari, the Holden Dealer Team and the Ford Capri. Formula 5000 returns to the rural circuit for the first time since James Hunt’s victory at the 1978 Rose City Trophy, joining the 50km Touring Car Cup and a 50th Formula Ford anniversary feature race of 15-laps. Hyundai Excels, Group S, MG Racing and many other historic categories will take part over the course of the weekend.
The man himself was there to help launch the car last Friday. “He loved it, he said to me ‘I wish I had this car in my day!’” Mason enthused. The decision to display the car in the iconic Brut 33 livery was an easy one for the Mason team as it differentiated itself from the numerous Mustangs among the TCM field already. The Team Mason Motorsport squad has taken a measured approach when it comes to initial expectations, but are confident the car will become a frontrunner by the conclusion of the season. “We expect it to be fast, but we don’t expect it to be on the pace from day one, it’ll take a little bit of getting it up to speed,” Mason explained. “The competition is so quick these days, you can’t just buy speed and we’ll be happy to be in the top 10 at Queensland Raceway. As we go through the year, we hope to be moving towards the front. “That’s our common sense approach to it.” Heath McAlpine
PEDAL DOWN. PERFORMANCE UP. WILLIAMS GOES BACK TO THE FUTURE BRUCE WIILLIAMS will step back in time and swap his ACDelco SLR5000 Torana for the Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars HQ GTS 350 for upcoming Touring Car Masters Ipswich round. Williams’ regular TCM Torana was damaged in a dramatic end to the wet and wild Trophy race at Winton where a puddle sent Williams sideways and into Andrew Fisher’s Ford Falcon GT-HO as they approached the finish line with the two crossing the line sideways and separated by a mere 0.007s While Fisher flew off the road into the turn one grass, Williams’ Torana was spectacularly launched into the air as he crossed the old Winton circuit and then a dirt access road on the infield, resulting in the Torana sustaining front suspension damage. The team has worked hard to get the Torana back on track, but the repairs have not been finalised, ruling out the running of Williams’ regular car for the next round of the series. “It’s not ideal, but our Torana is not ready to race. It was a big moment as we battled for the lead with Andrew and the subsequent unauthorised flight was spectacular, but my Torana sustained more damage than was obvious at the time,” Williams said. “While we finished the weekend, the front suspension was badly bent, and although I was able to keep racing and collect some points, the car was nasty to drive for the rest of the weekend’s races.” Following the Winton race and the resulting front suspension damage, the team elected to carry out some planned suspension
development work. “With damaged components needing replacement, we decided to take the opportunity to do a planned upgrade to the front suspension,” Williams said. “Garage 1’s Marty Brant does the fabrication work, however he was committed to finishing the new 69 Mustang that fellow Pro-am racer, Cameron Mason will drive this weekend for the first time. We tried to get the mods done for round four, but we are still waiting for some parts, so time has beaten us.” Now, approaching Ipswich, he’ll race an HQ Holden again, nearly thirty years since he won the HQ Nationals at Winton in 1990. Williams has generously been offered a lifeline, driving the HQ GTS 350 that Garry O’Brien raced during the first three rounds of the 2019 TCM series. The Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars HQ is fitted with a six litre V8 engine, making around 650 HP, and it’s one of the original TCM cars built to compete in the Biante Historic Touring Cars series. “I’m lucky that Gary has offered me the opportunity to race his trusty HQ GTS 350 for the weekend, and in some sort of a Back To The Future moment, it’s thirty years ago to the weekend that I first raced my HQ at the first official HQ race on the mainland,” Williams said. “That was at Winton in August 1989, so to be back behind the wheel of an HQ race car is a feeling of déjà vu. However, while it’s an HQ sedan, it’s a very different car to the 200HP, six-cylinder, three speed car that I raced all those years ago.”
VALE: GRAHAM HOINVILLE AUSTRALIAN MOTOR sport has lost one of its greatest contributors, Graham Hoinville at age 90. His input to Australian motor sport was huge, and the motor sport community mourns his passing. Hoinville’s racing and rally career are legendary. He raced a supercharged MG TC from the late 1940s, then an Elfin Mono for many years. He won the Grand Prix Rally with his son Greg in an Elfin Clubman, the first car to win the event other than a Porsche. He navigated for the late Harry Firth in rallies, and the pair were dominant. They won everything worth winning including the Alpine Rally on five occasions, the 1964 Ampol Round Australia trial, the first Southern Cross Rally in 1966 and the inaugural Australian Rally championship in 1968. Graham was co-organiser of the International BP Rally of South Eastern Australia with John Pryce and Donald Thomson. He was a leading member of the Ford Australia assaults on the East African Safari rally in 1962 and the 1968 London to Sydney marathon, navigating for Firth. The team finished 3rd, 5th and 8th in the marathon and won the teams prize. Hoinville was one of the founders of CAMS, the organisation that controls
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motor sport in Australia. In 1952, CAMS founding President Maurice Monk and National Secretary Donald Thomson approached Graham, a mechanical engineer, to act as a technical advisor for the newly created governing body. Together with Thomson and John Pryce, they wrote the rules under which motor sport is run. Hoinville devised a set of regulations for touring cars which came into force for the inaugural Australian Touring Car Championship in 1960 and served as Appendix J for four decades. Graham was a qualified engineer, and understood the technical side of motor sport very well. After his retirement from active competition he was instrumental in the creation of the CAMS judicial system, which in turn saw the establishment of the CAMS Eligibility Committee (CEC), which he chaired for more than 30 years. He has been Australia’s delegate at FIA Historic Racing Commission meetings in Paris and was appointed Honorary Vice President of the FIA Appendix K sub committee. Hoinville was chief steward at the Bathurst touring car race for several years, Targa Tasmania and many other major events. Apart from motor sport he loved skiing, both on water and
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snow and was the founder of a ski club at Mount Buller. In 2011, Graham was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his contributions to both the community and motor sport, adding to his CAMS Award of Merit presented in 1972. In paying tribute to Graham Hoinville’s enormous contribution to motor sport CAMS President Andrew Papadopoulos said “Graham was an instrumental figure and one of the cornerstones of motor sport in this country and I was honoured to work with him throughout my time at CAMS”. “Australian motor sport has lost an iconic administrator, a passionate competitor and a genuinely good person who was well respected and highly regarded among many of the various communities within motor sport.” Graham Hoinville was a gentle, fair, knowledgeable and highly respected person and motor sport will be the poorer for his passing. Bob Watson
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13
Formula One
Round 10 British GP
TIPPING POINT IN A THRILLER James Bond star Daniel Craig was on the grid for the British Grand Prix but little did he or the other 141,000 fans there know that they were about to witness a race worthy of a 007 film script BY DAN KNUTSON IMAGES: LAT
IMPROVISING ON the fly, using superior tyre strategy and aided by a safety car period, tipped the results in Lewis Hamilton’s favour and allowed him to defeatt Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. “I’ve done so many races,” Hamilton said after his 88th career victory and the sixth in his home grand prix. “You think you would get used to it or that the feeling would numb down, but it felt just as amazing (today) as the first win that I had.” Two weeks after fighting recalcitrant Renaults and finishing out of the top 10 in Austria, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hülkenberg and the team turned things around in Britain. Ricciardo finished seventh and close behind the sixth-placed McLaren of Carlos Sainz. “It was certainly positive,” a relieved Aussie said when Auto Action asked him about his race pace. “We had strengths and
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weaknesses over the McLarens. Honestly, looking back to two weeks ago, we’d take this result any day of the week. Even to be probably a little bit off of the McLaren, we’d still take it. “To have similar qualifying and the race pace with them in such a short turnaround has given us a lot of comfort knowing that we are certainly not lost, and we do have a race car which can compete.” Bottas started from the pole, took the lead and fended off an attacking Hamilton in the early stages of the 52-lap race. Prior to the start both drivers planned a two-stop strategy. Leader Bottas pitted first, at the end of lap 16, and switched from one set of
Pirelli’s medium compound to another. Then, on lap 19, Antonio Giovinazzi spun his Alfa into a gravel trap and triggered a safety car. That effectively gave Hamilton a “free” stop as he was able to pit for a set of the hard compound slicks after 20 laps and retain the lead. “The two stop we thought would be by far the fastest but actually one stop was possible as well,” Bottas said. Having run two sets of the medium compound, Bottas had to stop again because the rules stipulate a driver must use at least two different compounds. The hard compound Pirellis were a bit of the unknown, and the team still believed Hamilton would have to pit a second time.
Indeed, they twice called him in but he In ignored them. Thanks to being in front ig because of the safety car, Hamilton did b not n have to abuse his tyres chasing after Bottas. The hard tyres lasted longer B than expected and Hamilton won. t What the British Grand Prix will be fondly remembered for, however, is not f tyre strategy but rather thrilling battles. There was the fierce fight between the Mercedes teammates in the opening laps. Behind them, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) had a long, drawn-out duel for third place. This was the same duo who fought for the win and banged wheels in Austria. The stewards there ruled that their clash was a “racing incident” and did not penalise eventual winner Verstappen. “After Austria I said if the stewards accept us to race that way, I’m more than happy to race like this,” Leclerc said in a Ferrari postrace briefing in Silverstone attended by Auto Action. “And that’s what I did for this weekend. Nothing special; I just raced harder than normal because I feel like in the last two races, or maybe a bit before, Formula 1 wants hard racing.” That was just one of several battles between the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers. Later, after the safety car jumbled the order, Sebastian Vettel had his Ferrari in third and was fighting with Verstappen.
Charles Leclere was in superb form again, a well deserved third.
Pierre Gasly had his most competitive race yet for Red Bull, here leading the two Renaults (above) while Sebastian Vettel got it all wrong in an enthralling battle with Max Verstappen, costing the Red Bull driver a podium and himself a penalty.
RESULTS ROUND 10: BRITISH GRAND PRIX
Misjudging things, Vettel rammed into the back of Verstappen’s car. Both managed to continue, but Vettel would go a lap down after pitting for a new nose. “It’s my mistake,” Vettel admitted. “I spoke with Max afterwards and apologised. He was a bit faster and closing quite quickly and passed very easily before Turn 15. But then he ran a bit wide and thought I could sneak back. I thought here was a gap which then turned out not to be there.” Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly also mixed things up with the Ferrari drivers. “I was trying to give it everything, but it was a nice battle,” said Gasly who finished fourth after failing to fend off Leclerc. “And I had a good battle with Seb.” Ricciardo also had his scraps. “It was good, clean racing,” he enthused.
The appearance of the safety car ruined Ricciardo’s pit strategy, and it allowed Sainz to get ahead. But then Renault called Ricciardo in to get a set of the hard compound tyres. “The restart after the safety car was strong,” the Perth native said. “I got a couple of cars in the first lap or two. Then was able to hunt down Carlos. At the end I was a little bit frustrated. I was there but never really enough to mount a proper attack. So he certainly got a bit lucky with the safety car, but then he also executed a good end of race. I needed a little mistake from him, and he didn’t give it to me.” Verstappen who manhandled his car – the power steering had failed – to fifth place, summed up the Silverstone thriller well. “I think we put on a pretty good show for the fans today and proved the sport is far from boring,” he said.
Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 -
Driver Lewis Hamilton Valtteri Bottas Charles Leclerc Pierre Gasly Max Verstappen Carlos Sainz Jr. Daniel Ricciardo Kimi Raikkonen Daniil Kvyat Nico Hulkenberg Lando Norris Alexander Albon Lance Stroll George Russell Robert Kubica Sebastian Vettel Sergio Perez Antonio Giovinazzi Romain Grosjean Kevin Magnussen
Car Mercedes Mercedes Ferrari Red Bull/Honda Red Bull/Honda McLaren/Renault Renault Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Toro Rosso/Honda Renault McLaren/Renault Toro Rosso/Honda Racing Point/Mercedes Williams/Mercedes Williams/Mercedes Ferrari Racing Point/Mercedes Alfa Romeo/Ferrari Haas/Ferrari Haas/Ferrari
Laps 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 51 51 51 51 18 9 6
Gap 1h21m08.452s 24.928s 30.117s 34.692s 39.458s 53.639s 54.401s 1m05.540s 1m06.720s 1m12.733s 1m14.281s 1m15.617s 1m21.086s 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap 1 Lap Spun off Accident damage Accident damage
Points: Hamilton 223, Bottas 184, Verstappen 136, Vettel 123, Leclerc 120, Gasly 55, Sainz 38, Raikkonen 25, Norris 22, Ricciardo 22, Hulkenberg 17, Magnussen 14, Perez 13, Kvyat 12, Albon 7, Stroll 6, Grosjean 2, Giovinazzi 1. Construtors’: Mercedes 407, Ferrari 243, Red Bull-Honda 191, McLaren-Renault 60, Renault 39, Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 26, Racing Point-Mercedes 19, Toro Rosso-Honda 19, Haas-Ferrari 16.
AutoAction
43
NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie
SANDOWN PUTS ON THRILLER
THE FOURTH round of the Victorian Circuit Racing Series took place at Sandown International Raceway, it was a dramatic weekend with twists and turns at almost every corner. The racing was close and competitive racing in all categories, which produced plenty of exciting racing action.
FORMULA FORD
IT WAS a dramatic affair in Formula Ford as the national series joined the field of Victorian State Series competitors. It was Lachlan Mineeff who took the round win finishing ahead of two Benjamin’s, Benjamin Bargwanna and Benjamin D’Alia. In the first race of the weekend Cody Donald crossed the line first but was disqualified for fuel irregularity, this handed Mineeff the win. D’Alia was promoted to second but the ten lap race was called early due to a big crash involving Angelo Mouzouris and Zac Soutar. In Race 2 Soutar charged through the field to taking the win. In the final race the lead changed almost every lap, eventually it was Soutar that took his second win ahead of Hanson and Mouzouris. All three 1600 class races were won by John Connelly, however Brendan Jones kept him honest throughout the weekend.
FORMULA VEES
IT WAS also a national round for the Formula Vee Series and saw a strong field of 36 cars took to. Although Dylan Thomas only took one race victory, two second place finishes was enough to claim the round victory. In the third race of the weekend a 10 car train fought for the win with the lead with the lead changing hands on many occasions, at the end of the race Michael Kinsella received the chequered flag first beating Thomas by 0.13s and just 3s covering the top 10. As well as winning the final race Kinsella won the opening race but a fourth place finish in Race 2 was enough to allow the consistent Thomas to take the round honours. Jake Rowe finished ed the round in third position.
HYUNDAI EXCELS
BEN GRICE took round honours in the Excels but only just. Grice won Race 1 by nearly 7s, however Cameron Wilson struck back in the second race beating Grice by less than 0.04s. Grice and Wilson came into the final race tied on points, Grice led Jordan Caruso and Wilson onto the final lap. Into
Luke Grech Combo won three in Improved Production while Darryl Hansen won two in Historics. There was also a huge field of Vees at Sandown. Images: Rebecca Hind
Dandenong Road however Grice ran wide allowing both Caruso and Wilson through, into Turn 12 Wilson fired up the inside of Caruso who ran through the grass, Wilson got a poor exit and this allowed Grice to sneak back through and take the race and round win by under 0.1s. Liam Gretgrix took third in the race and third in the round also.
IMPROVED PRODUCTION
AN INCREDIBLE 36 cars took to the circuit to qualify in Improved Production, despite not qualifying on the front row Luke GrechCumbo took out all three races and the round in his HSV Senator. In two completely different cars, Troy Lloyd in a VN Holden Commodore and Benjamin Schoots in a Mazda RX7 finished equal on points. Lloyd took second for the round as he finished higher in the final race of the weekend after he came out on top of a race long battle with the Mazda driver.
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HISTORIC TOURING CARS
THE #5 Ford Mustang of Darryl Hansen won the round taking two wins and a second place across the three races at Sandown, Daniel Van Stokrom finished second after recording a second and two third place finishes. After winning the opening race Andy Clempson finished the second race in eighth but recovered to finish the final race in second and with it take third place overall for the round.
SPORTS CARS
DESPITE TAKING pole position and crossing the line first in all three races Joseph Ensabella did not win the round. That honour went to James Bergmuller who took the third race victory when Ensebella was handed a post-race penalty of 5 seconds. The penalty demoted Ensabella to fourth and therefore Bergmuller’s win in the final race was enough to pinch the round from Ensabella. Jim Manolios finished the round in third.
PORSCHE 944S
CAMERON BELLER dominated the weekend of Porsche 944 racing at Sandown taking pole position and all three race victories. Lyndon Watson finished the round as runner up recording a third in the opening race and two second place results, Richard Howe rounding out the podium in third.
SALOON CARS AND BMW E30S
A GREAT fight for the round win in Saloon Cars went the way of Anthony Beare who took two race wins, despite his best efforts in the final race Travis Lindorff fell just short. While the only Ford Falcon driven of Daniel Johnson rounded out the podium in third. Alex Jory won the final race of the E30 series and with it took the round win after Race 1 and 2 winner Jeremy Payne retired from the final race and finished the round in fifth as a result. Brian Bourke and Jesse Bryan rounded out the round podium. Dan McCarthy
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TANDER TROPHY TOPS SECOND TWO DAYER THE JULY 13-14 meeting at Barbagallo was the second two-day outing for the year and the WA State Race Championships included the annual GT Tander Trophy and the first enduro race for Excels.
IMPROVED PRODUCTION
THE GT Tander Cup was run over three races, but the day started badly for a pre-race fancy in Dion Panizza, who suffered a smashed windscreen from the wayward bonnet of his Holden Commodore on the way to the grid. In race one John Callegari (Holden) led closely followed by Michael Sciorio (Subaru Impreza WRX) and Matt Cherry (Holden Monaro). It wasn’t long before Cherry went on to win from Sciorio and Nik Mitic (BMW). The second and third races were reverse grid starts with Mitic getting the jump on the field at the start of the second, but it wasn’t long before Cherry overhauled him. Mitic held second until John Callegari made the pass closely followed by Sciorio. Callegari recorded his second DNF and Cherry won from Sciorio and Mitic. The third race was taken out by Cherry, even though Mitic led in the early laps. Callegari was third behind Mitic.
EXCEL CUP
THERE WERE three sprint races before the enduro, and the first was taken out by Nik Mitic from Wayne Milburn and Mason Harvey. Robert Landsmeer won the second ahead of Clint Harvey and Dean Hill, before Milburn scored the race three win from Hill and Mason Harvey. The enduro rolling start was a first for the class in WA and quickly settled into a duel between Milburn, Mason Harvey and Hill. Harvey pressured Milburn until a touch between the two put Milburn into the turn 7 sand trap. The incident triggered a rush of pit stops which put Hill and Mitic in front of Harvey/Harvey and Ryan McNess/Thomas Benford. On lap 37 the leaders and Landsmeer/Milburn entry ended up in the wall at pit entry, which brought out the red flag. The race was declared, and once penalties were applied for exceeding track limits, McNess/Benford were declared the winners from Hill/Mitic and Luke Crutchley/ Brandon Sharpe.
F1000
NICK PERCAT was a welcome addition and it didn’t take him long to make his presence felt. He led the first race from start to finish, though Adam Lisle kept in touch and took second. Both broke the existing lap record with Percat setting the faster time. Stuart Kostera took third. There was some of the closest racing down the field between Aaron Love, Madeline Stewart, Keith Fowell and Mitchell Johnson. The second and third races were much the same as Percat again led home Lisle.
FORMULA FORD
DRIVING PETER Major’s Stealth, Thomas Hamlett starred. He led the first race narrowly ahead of Braeden Bowra (Stealth) and Dan Gate (Stealth) who made the move early to take the lead. Bowra had an off and dropped down the field. Simon Ridgewell (Van Diemen) took a narrow win from Hamlett, battling a loose engine cover, and Josh Matthews (Stealth). Gate lost third due to a 5s penalty. Hamlett took out the following races, finishing well ahead of Ridgewell and Matthews in the race two, before Bowra moved through to take second from Ridgewell in the last.
SALOON CARS
IN THE Pro ranks Brad Boley (Holden Commodore VT) came out the winner. In race one Brock Boley was first over the line but he was disqualified, leaving Brad Boley (VT) to win. Rick Gill (Ford Falcon AU) passed Matt Martin (VT) for second. The second race win went to Brad Boley with Martin second after Gill received a 30s penalty, which elevated Brock Boley to third. Martin won the last over Brock Boley by less than a second. Gill came through to take third. In Pro AM Nicholas Hanlon (Falcon EA) took the first win with Mark Watkins (EA) winning the battle for second over Carl Fanderlinden (EA). Hanlon won race two, with Watkins and Fanderlinden closer due a safety car period. Watkins and Fanderlinden made better starts in race three to down Hanlon in the third.
FORMULA CLASSICS
ANOTHER DOMINANT performance from Michael Henderson (Ralt RT4) in winning all the races, each time ahead of Simon Alderson (Van Diemen
FF2000), David Turner (RT4), Leone Magistro (RT4) and Craig Thompson (FF2000).
HQ HOLDENS
THE THREE races became a three-way affair between Mark Watkins, Michael Woodbridge and Michael Howlett. Woodbridge took the fight right up to Watkins but could not get by, while Howlett was third each time.
HISTORIC TOURING CARS
THERE WAS early drama in the opening race when the Torana XU-1s of Robert Poglits and Stuart Young clashed at turn 1. Laurie Lapsley spun his Jaguar MkII to avoid contact and the race was red flagged. At the restart Don Behets bunkered his Ford Galaxie at turn 1 before John Bondi (Holden Monaro) won from Simon Northey (Ford Mustang) and Greg Barr (Valiant Charger), who incurred a 5s penalty that elevated Ray Hepburn (Mustang). In the reverse grid race two Gary Crosswell (Chev Bel Air) went off at turn 7 and clipped Lapsley’s Jag. Later there was an incident at turn 6 involving Cono Onofaro’s Morris Cooper S, Stuart Young’s Torana and Michael Gallagher’s Jag. Lapsley won from Chris Chang (Alfa Romeo) and Ken Waller (Volvo). Croswell had another lose in race three, at turn 7, forcing a safety car. After resumption the shortened race was won by Bondi from Barr and Behets.
SPORTS SEDANS/SPORTS CARS/STREET CARS
OVERALL IT was Ron Moller (Chev Camaro Sports Sedan) the winner. He started with victory over Grant Hill (Ford Falcon) and Richard Bloomfield (Porsche 997 GT3 Porsche). Behind, Neville Stewart (997 GT3) won a close dice with Malcolm Niall (MARC Cars Focus V8). Hill won the reverse grid second race from Ryan Humfrey (Falcon) and Moller, who passed early race three leader Hill for the win as Stewart retained third. Andrew Stevens (Nissan 180SX) topped Street Cars in race one ahead of Denver Parker (Nissan Skyline) and Paul Kluck (Skyline). Parker turned the tables on Stevens with Kluck third again. Stevens rebounded in the last with Kluck second and Parker third. Mick Oliver
Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint, Supercars Championship Races 19 & 20, Super 2 Series Rd4, Super 3 Series Rd3, Touring Car Masters Rd4, SuperUtes Rd5, Aussie Racing Cars Rd4, Queensland Raceway QLD, Jul 26-28 Daryl Tunbridge Trial, State Rally Series Rd4, Amhurst VIC, Jul 27 Southern Cross Rally Series Rd4, Bulahdelah NSW, Jul 27 Doug Chivas Memorial Track Day, Club One-Car Sprint, Collie Motorplex WA, Jul 27 Multi Club Autocross, 239 Boisdale - Newry Road VIC, Jul 27 Multi Club Khanacross, New England Traffic Education Centre Armidale NSW, Jul 27 Multi Club Supersprint, Barbagallo Raceway WA, Jul 27 Multi Club Day/Night Khanacross, Finke Desert Race Complex NT, Jul 27 Multi Club Khanacross, Tepon Raceway QLD, Jul 27-28 State (Vic) Off Road Club Shield Rd7, Moorex SA, Jul 27-28 QLD-NSW Sprint Challenge/Short Circuit Touring Car Series Rd3, Carnell Raceway QLD, Jul 27-28 Victorian 6 Hour Relay, Phillip Island VIC, Jul 27-28 Multi Club Khanacross, Bernaby Motor Sport Complex QLD, Jul 27-28 Club Motorkhana, Mallala Motorsport Park SA, Jul 28 Multi Car Supersprint, Mallala Motorsport Park SA, Jul 28 King of the Mountain Bitumen Hillclimb Titles, Mount Stuart Townsville QLD, Jul 28 Club Hillclimb, Jack’s Hill WA, Jul 28 Multi Club Motorkhana, Ansell Park Clarendon NSW, Jul 28 Club Motorkhana, Symmons Plains TAS, Jul 28 Winter Multi Club Supersprint, Sandown Raceway VIC, Jul 28 Club Khanacross, Limestone Pit Broken Hill NSW, Jul 28 Multi Club Khanacross, Awabawac Park NSW, Jul 28 Shannons Nationals Rd4, Production Cars Rd3, TCR Australia Rd3, Porsche GT3 Cup Rd4, Sports Sedan Series Rd3, Prototype Series Rd3, Hyundai Series X3 Rd3, Queensland Raceway QLD, Aug 02-04 Club Motorkhana, Ringwood Park NSW, Aug 03 Narooma Rally, State Clubman Rally Rd4, Eurobodalla Shire & surrounding state forests NSW, Aug 03 Festival of Speed Winton Motor Raceway VIC, Aug 03-04 State Motor Race Championship Rd5, Formula Vee National Series Rd4, Sydney Motorsport Park NSW, Aug 03-04 State Motor Racing Championship Rd3, Mallala Motorsport Park SA, Aug 03-04 NT Titles Off Road Rd4, Mt Ooraminna NT, Aug 03-04 Nth Qld Off Road Series Rd3, Charters Towers QLD, Aug 03-04 Club Motorkhana, Tonker Park Whitsundays QLD, Aug 03-04 Rejex Classic Rally, Darwin/Batchelor NT, Aug 03-04 Multi Club Khanacross, Proston Rally Track QLD Aug 03-04 Multi Club Motorkhana, Geelong Motor Sports Complex VIC, Aug 04 Youth Challenge Multi Club Khanacross, Rob Roy Hillclimb, Aug 04 Club Khanacross, Nomie’s Quarry Mannum SA, Aug 04 Multi Car Supersprint, Symmons Plain Raceway TAS, Aug 04 Club Autocross, Bunbury Autocross Circuit WA, Aug 04
This altercation between the Toranas of Poglits and Young caused a red flag. Images: Mick Oliver
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