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DUTCH COURAGE
F1’S SEASIDE SUCCESS
withFEATURE Dan Knutson 22 AutoAction
FIA PRESIDENT Jean Todt has revealed that there will be an in-depth review into the regulations surrounding disrupted races after Belgium hosted the shortest Grand Prix in Formula 1 history. In an official statement, Todt assured the motorsport community that a full review would take place. “The FIA together with Formula 1 and the teams will carefully review the regulations to see what can be learned and improved for the future,” Todt said. JN
FORMULA 1 has officially confirmed revisions to the schedule for the remainder of the year. The new schedule will see a total of 22 races held, one less than originally planned. The Turkish Grand Prix will now take place October 10, having been moved back a week. Both the Mexico City Grand Prix and Brazilian Grand Prix have also been moved back a week and will now take place on November 7 and November 14, respectively. RV
CHRISTIAN HORNER has denied that his Mercedes-sourced power unit engineers encouraged an investigation into the legality of the Mercedes engine. Red Bull Racing has requested an FIA investigation into whether Mercedes are cooling their engine beyond lawful levels, but Horner denied this was due to an engineer tip-off. The team made a move to sign several Mercedes employees to its new engine department recently, fuelling the speculation. JN
ICEMAN’S RETIREMENT FUELS SILLY SEASON AFTER AN F1 career that began in the 2001 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Kimi “The Iceman” Räikkönen will retire at the end of the season. The 2007 world champion has 18 poles, 21 victories and 82 other podium finishes. George Russell, meanwhile, is set to move from Williams to Mercedes next year. This means that there will be an open seat at Alfa Romeo and one seat at Williams available next year. And a number of drivers are aiming for those seats. Valtteri Bottas, when he becomes a former Mercedes driver, is one of them. Does he have his future sorted? “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t,” he said
during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. “Things are going in the right direction; I’m happy and excited.” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner would like to place reserve driver Alex Abon with either Alfa Romeo or Williams, preferably the latter. There is no place for Albon at Red Bull or AlphaTauri because both teams are keeping their current drivers in 2022. Formula E world champion Nyck De Vries has been linked to a couple of seats in F1 as well. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the driver market “at the moment it revolves around Alex Albon who really deserves a seat. He’s a really good kid, and he’s probably the main protagonist in the
RICCIARDO: THE NAME for Miami’s circuit has been revealed. The venue will be known as the ‘Miami International Autodrome’ and will host a brand-new Formula 1 Grand Prix event in 2022. The track surrounds the the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins franchise, and is 5.41km in length. Miami International Autodrome will also feature 19 corners and three straights. JN
THE FINAL corner of Autodromo Nazionale Monza known as ‘Parabolica’ will be renamed to ‘Curva Alboreto’ after the late Michele Alboreto on September 11. The change in title will occur during the Italian Grand Prix weekend to mark 20 years since the death of the Milanese driver in a car test at the Lausitzring. Alboreto achieved five career wins in Formula 1 and was the 1985 Formula 1 World Championship runner-up for Ferrari. JN
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200 AND NOT OUT
DANIEL RICCIARDO’S 200th Formula 1 start was a memorable one but for all the wrong reasons as the waterlogged Belgian Grand Prix consisted of just three laps. Still, that made the race official, which means that the Aussie is now one of just 19 drivers in F1 history to compete in 200 or more grands prix. “I felt it was something that more drivers had done, so that made me feel a little prouder,” he said. “It is exciting. It is something that I have dedicated my life to, so to be here after 200 grands prix and still be enjoying it and loving it, and for the most part being competitive, is a nice feeling.”
Kimi Räikkönen heads the record books with 341 starts and Fernando Alonso has 324. Aussie Mark Webber is 13th on the list at 215. At 199, Alain Prost just misses the cut. Ricciardo made his F1 debut with HRT in the 2011 British Grand Prix. He has celebrated on the podium 31 times, including seven wins. And he nominates his first victory – the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix – as one of his most memorable moments. “That is a day I’ll never forget: June 8, 2014,” he said. “There are moments along the way, even races that did not end up being victories or podiums. I remember 2014 with Fernando Alonso
moving chairs. Nyck has a guaranteed seat in Formula E with us and I am of two minds. I wish him to be in F1, but I don’t want to lose him for our Formula E campaign.” Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur believes the matter will soon be settled. “I think now we have almost all the cards in range,” he said, “and we have to move forward and make a decision. And I think that yes we will be able to do it quickly.” As for Räikkönen, he actually made his decision in December but waited until 1 September to announce it. He has no plans for 2022. “I don’t want to have some schedule for in Germany. I kind of battled him for a few laps on older tyres.” Alonso, on a different pit strategy, finished fifth in that race and Ricciardo sixth. “I felt at the time he was just expecting me to let him go and do his race, because I was not really in his race,” Ricciardo recalled, “but I thought I would make a battle out of it. I do not know if he will see that was a point in time, but I felt that was a point in time where I gained his respect.” It’s unknown, of course, how many races Ricciardo will add to his tally of 200, but he does know when he will retire. Would he race if he did not get paid? “I do ask myself the question,” he replied, “and the answer is yes. The day the answer is no is the day I stop racing. I am pretty good at checking myself on that. As a kid I never did it to be on TV and get paid money, it was because I loved it. “The day that becomes overpowered by the money or the fame then that is the day. I think I have enough inner self-awareness to say okay I am done with this.”
SAFETY TAKES PRECEDENCE
Images: Motorsport Images a long time,” he said. “Obviously I’ve been 18 or 19 years in F1. I did those two years in rallying and there was always a schedule, a ‘what is coming next on this date, on that date’ and I don’t want that. Whatever it is outside F1 there are other schedules, the family, the kids’ schools and kindergarten and that stuff. “But also I don’t want the family life to be dictated by the races, the tests or whenever you fly to the next job. I’m not in a rush; I haven’t even thought about it yet. I’ve known this situation for quite a while, so there’s always opportunities to do this or to do that, but right now I’m not even interested in thinking about it.”
SOME CRITICS say the FIA and Formula 1 made sure that two laps were completed in the Belgian Grand Prix so that it could be declared an official race and, therefore, fulfill various commercial obligations. “Absolutely not,” said the FIA’s F1 race director, Australian Michael Masi, when asked if he considered any commercial implications. “None. Zero. Never, and would never be part of my consideration.” Masi gave the order for the race to start after a delay of nearly three hours. “We were all aiming for a window we thought was there,” he said, “and the teams saw it, there was a weather band where we thought we could get some racing in. All of you being fans of the sport you know how rapidly the weather changes at this venue. We thought we could get something in, but the weather deteriorated rapidly so we couldn’t.” The drivers completed two laps behind the safety car, and then the race was red flagged while they were on
their third lap. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said that Formula 1 gets its fee from the promoter even if a race is not official. “When I hear that there was some commercial discussion behind that (running two laps) it’s totally not true,” Domenicali said. “When we are talking about racing there is a responsibility and a clear process, and these things (the racing and commercial sides) are not connected at all.” It was not possible to postpone the race until Monday. “For logistical reasons, for many reasons, you cannot schedule the race the day after,” Domenicali explained. “From availability of marshals to availability of other staff. It was considered, of course, but it was not possible.” Only half points were awarded because less than 75 per cent of the race had been completed. That had happened only five times before in the 71-year history of F1. “There is a lot to learn from the
Belgian Grand Prix because we need to tweak the regulations,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said. “We need to talk about the regulations that points are awarded for a race. We want points to be given for racing. We need to discuss in the F1 Commission whether a few laps behind the safety car is good enough for points, or whether we actually want the cars racing.” FIA president Jean Todt vowed that the F1 Commission would review the situation when it meets on October 5. “This year’s Belgian Grand Prix presented extraordinary challenges to the FIA Formula One World Championship,” Todt said. “The weather windows predicted by the forecasters did not appear throughout the day, and while a small window did appear late in the day during which there was an attempt to start the race, conditions quickly worsened again.” So far there has been no official word about any ticket refunds to the fans
What Red Bull Honda needs right now is a stable team structure so that Verstappen can focus on his world championship fight with Lewis Hamilton. If Pérez knew he would not be at Red Bull next year he might not feel so inclined to help the team and Verstappen and rather concentrate on himself. Furthermore, knowing that his ride is secure will make Pérez faster
and more consistent. “It’s good to waste zero energy on that, knowing what I’m doing next year and just focus on this season,” Pérez said. Verstappen’s contract with the team runs through 2023. Having a consistent driver line-up is crucial as the team embarks on a new era of F1 with the technical rule changes coming in 2022
ALONSO AND PÉREZ SIGNED FOR 2022 FERNANDO ALONSO and Sergio Pérez will return to their respective Alpine and Red Bull teams next year. In Alonso’s case, it was a matter of one plus one plus one. After being away from F1 for two years on his sports car and IndyCar adventure, Alonso signed on with Renault, now Alpine for the third time. He had a one plus one contract, which meant that he had a deal for one year and Alpine had an option for another year. The two parties sat down for a chat as the renewal deadline approached. How long did it take them to agree on 2022? “About one minute,” Alonso replied. Alonso turns 41 on 29 July, and next year will be his 20th season in F1. And it won’t be his last. He plans to race in F1 for many years as long as he is competitive and not making mistakes. Then he plans to compete in the Dakar again, and he will look into returning to the Indy 500 and the Le Mans 24 hours.
He already has victories in the Monaco Grand Prix and at Le Mans, so a win at Indy would mean he would become the second driver after Graham Hill to win motor racing’s triple crown. Ever since Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of 2018 the team has been looking for a driver who can run at the front with Max Verstappen. Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon couldn’t get it done, so the team brought in Pérez this year. He has done a much better job – he has a win and a podium – but he is still getting up to speed. And he has made mistakes, such as sliding off the track and into the barriers on the reconnaissance lap at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Red Bull RB16B is a twitchy car to drive, which suits Verstappen whereas Albon and Gasly struggled. Pérez has adapted quite well, and the team expects its 2022 car will be easier to drive.
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“They were quite similar to a current TCR car now because there was so much retention of the standard bodyshell,” explains Hollway. “You would get a standard bodyshell from Holden and spend a week grinding all the brackets off it making it right for racing. “There is very little in common with what
we race today [CotF]. Today we have a shell with a fibreglass replica of the sheetmetal draped over a completely custom-made bespoke chassis that is identical for both manufacturers.” The early to mid-1990s was also an era when computer aided design was only just starting to impact on race car design in Australia.
Richard Hollway is now at Team 18 (left) but his previously Supercars role was engineering at GRM (right) before it withdrew from the series.
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Just the time for some young and ambitious engineers to make an impact. Which Hollway and his HRT compatriot Chris Dyer – later an engineer at Ferrari for Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen – promptly did. Anyone remember the Petty Bar introduced on HRT chassis #033 in 1996? These were the days when each new iteration of rollcage – inevitable lighter, stiffer and with a lower centre of gravity - was blasted onto the cover of Auto Action as the latest V8 from leading Holden or Ford team was unveiled. In that case, the bar that ran diagonally from above the driver’s head to the left footwell was claimed to improve torsional stiffness by 35 per cent! Craig Lowndes drove that Commodore VR to his first championship win in 1996 and won Sandown and Bathurst with Greg Murphy that year as well. “The knowledge we had then and the way the cars were developed was a lot lower,” Hollway told Auto Action. “If we had the freedoms now we had then the cars would be absolute rocketships.” Hollway’s not kidding about the development methods. He recalls testing a splitter for the VP Commodore at high-speed in a road-going ute late at night on a Melbourne freeway!
Project Blueprint 2003-2012 Ford Falcon BA, BF, FG Holden Commodore VY, VZ, VE
Champions
Marcos Ambrose 2003, 2004 Russell Ingall 2005 Rick Kelly 2006 Garth Tander 2007 Jamie Whincup 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 James Courtney 2010 Project Blueprint arrived after a sustained period of Holden success, winning the drivers’ championship five years in a row. “The reason for Blueprint was all the pissing and moaning about parity [under 3A],” recalls Hollway. “It was parity, this and parity that. I can remember going into CAMS to have a meeting and Larry [Perkins] walks in and he’s got the trolley with piles of paper like the lawyers when they are going for a big case. “Most of the paper was probably blank with a couple of bits on the top that said something!” The Blueprint cars continued to use production bodyshells, but they shared the same 2822mm wheelbase, track, driving position and chassis pick-up points. The Commodore swapped from struts to the double wishbone front suspension of the Falcon, cylinder head
GRM’s Volvo S60 Supercar was controversial, and fast. And it focussed engineering activity on aerodynamics (above left & above). Hollway is engineering Mark Winterbottom’s Team 18 Irwin ZB Commodore this season (right).
porting was standardised and there was a concerted effort to standardise aero through independent testing. As the decade went on, the technical tool box was standardised even more; engine component weight, a control camshaft, a sequential gearbox, E85 fuel, control brakes, testing restrictions. A significant moment came when the VE Commodore road car arrived in 2006. The racing version had to have its wheelbase and body reduced from standard, meaning a more significant modification of the floorpan than ever before. Its rear doors were shortened and its roof lowered. The FG Falcon also had to have its wheelbase cut, by 63mm, when it rolled out for the 2009 season. “That was the first time we had to chop the thing up and use our own chassis rails. But … that series of cars were still basically production-based,” says Hollway of VE. “That’s when we introduced some of the smart things like a bolt-on front. You had a medium crash and you could unbolt your disposable front rails and bolt a new ones on. Despite all the restrictions, massive amounts of money was devoted to numerous open areas. The location of the live axle rear-end was a huge area of expense. The state-of-the-art spaceframe rear-end created by Triple Eight earned legend status. “That was the ultimate development of that type of car,” said Hollway. “It was the massive polishing of a turd I guess.”
Car of the Future 2013-2022 Ford Falcon FG, FG X Ford Mustang GT Holden Commodore VF, ZB Mercedes-Benz E 63 Nissan Altima Volvo S60 www.autoaction.com.au
Champions
Jamie Whincup 2013, 2014, 2017 Mark Winterbottom 2015 Shane van Gisbergen 2016 Scott McLaughlin 2018, 2019, 2020 Technically and philosophically, this was the biggest change in the history of Supercars. The importance of all that accumulated knowledge from 20 years of productionbased racing was reduced. Now, there was a control floorpan and rollcage and a far longer list of control components, including independent rear suspension
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and a transaxle. In 2017 the Gen 2 update arrived. This allowed bodyshapes other than sedans into the championship and engines other than V8s. Well, the hatchback Holden Commodore ZB and coupe Ford Mustang rolled out in 2018 and 2019, but the turbocharged V6 Holden wanted never materialised. In 2020 the category closed another performance opportunity by shifting to a control damper, eliminating shock absorber internals as a tuning tool. Under CotF, emphasis on engine technical parity also became more
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pronounced as dohc V8s arrived to challenge the traditional pushrods. The aero parity challenge also became harder with more bodyshapes involved. There were multiple ambitions for CotF, also known a for a whole as New Generation, but the headline act was to tempt more manufacturers into the category, an aim that temporarily succeeded. At GRM, Hollway was integral to the development of the successful Volvo S60. He says CotF required a change of mindset. “Until then we were always chasing
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Local boy Malcolm Ramsay rockets through Clubhouse Corner - the former Officers Mess - during the 1970 Gold Star round, Elfin 600C Repco V8 (J Lemm). Greg McEwin’s Morris Cooper S looking lonely in 1966 - take in that period vista! The timing box was an original building chopped in half, then carried onto concrete blocks by 60 SCCSA club-members during ‘Operation Uplift’ (J Lemm). Pete Geoghegan’s immaculate ‘Castrol’ Ford Mustang en-route to the 1969 Mallala round win, and the ATCC crown (J Lemm).
infrastructure was retained, including roads, the Officers Mess as an admin centre, a large hangar to be used as a covered pit area/workshop and the control tower; the rest was sold or demolished. Operation Uplift mobilised club members to dismantle and move Port Wakefield’s grandstand, pits, conveniences, and fences 50km to Mallala over the June 4 weekend. The all-important 40-feet wide, 2.1-mile track used existing roads, but the airstrip needed hairpins, elevation, banking and re-surfacing. Again, club members came to the fore. Gavin Sandford-Morgan, in
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the earth-moving business, and the local council, provided the necessary heavy equipment and expertise. After the burning of much midnight oil, the track was race ready. Sydney motor-dealer Arnold ‘Trinkets’ Glass bagged Mallala’s first big-one title when he destroyed his just arrived, totally rebuilt ex-Graham Hill BRM P48 GP car during Friday practice for the Premier Meeting’s when the car got away from him. At 11am on Saturday August 19, a crowd of 15,000 watched Playford’s Roller cruise onto the circuit and open the meeting. The Mallala Trophy feature race was won by Bib Stillwell’s
Cooper T51 Climax. CAMS were happy with the conduct of the meeting, so was the SCCSA. “The Mallala circuit is a realisation even beyond our dreams. We might even thank the State Government for banning racing on public roads because otherwise we would probably never have had a place where we could race at any time we wished,” club-secretary Brooks said at the AGM a week after the meeting. The October 9 AGP was won in torrid heat, in contentious fashion by Lex Davison driving Stillwell’s older Cooper T51 Climax. Contentious in that David McKay, Cooper T51
Climax, was pinged with a “one minute penalty for a controversially brilliant start” – unjustifiably so in the minds of many. The new track’s melting tar and loose gravel was challenging to drivers, so too the official lap-timing, but these teething problems were sorted. Bill Patterson looked a likely winner, then Stillwell, Davison and McKay at different times, but Lex won from Bib’s new Cooper T53 and David McKay. Mallala held its first Australian Touring Car Championship in 1963. Bob Jane’s quick 4.1-litre Jaguar Mk2
Brian Foley’s Alfa Romeo GTAm leads Jim McKeown’s Porsche 911S during the 1971 ATCC round (above J Lemm). Club-racing was and still is the lifeblood of Mallala. Tony Johns and Trevor Cole, in Austin 7 Specials, charge through Woodroofe’s/Club Corner in 1965 (right, Tony Johns)
Moffat’s epochal Mustang Trans-Am. The track was reduced to 2.601km in late 1964. The Bosch Curve was moved closer to the Dunlop Curve grandstand, removing the circuit’s north-eastern leg. In March/April 1965 Andy Brown’s all-Adelaide Elfin T100 Clisby V6 GP machine made history when it was first tested and first raced. This little-known engine, built by Harold Clisby’s Clisby Engineering team at Prospect, had its last race at Mallala too, in October 1965. The track hosted Gold Star rounds from 1961-1971, many heroes of the day winning there including Lex Davison, Bib Stillwell, John Youl, John Harvey, Spencer Martin and Leo Geoghegan. The Australian Tourist Trophy for sportscars was contested among the surrounding wheat-paddocks in 1962 and 1968. Stillwell’s Cooper Monaco easily won the 40-lap race by two minutes from Bob Jane’s Maserati 300S. Bob’s old-school front-engined Maser was no match for Stillwell’s Climax midengined machine. Frank Matich obliterated the January 1968 opposition in his Matich SR3 Repco 4.4-litre V8. He finished four laps ahead of the second-placed Geoff Vercoe’s Cicada Ford. Matich’s domination of sportscar racing was bad for the category, but the Sydneysider was razorsharp having raced a pair of SR3s in the ’67 Can-Am Cup. Frank’s win was a warm-up for confrontations with Chris Amon’s Scuderia Veloce Ferrari P4/Can-Am 350 in the Australian support races, during the summer of ’68 Tasman Series. Matich won those tough scraps. Mallala hosted an Australian Sportscar Championship round in 1971 when the other top-gun sporty of the era, Bob Jane’s 5-litre McLaren M6B Repco, disappeared into the distance driven by John Harvey. Keith Williams shifted Mallala’s tectonic plates when the Surfers Paradise Raceway owner built Adelaide
triumphed over 25-laps. Ern Abbott, and later circuit owner, Clem Smith were second and third in Chrysler Valiants, with Harry Firth fourth in an early Ford Cortina GT outing. When the ATCC was a multi-round title, Pete Geoghegan won at Mallala in his Ford Mustang back-to-back in 1969 and 1970. Bob Jane’s awesome 7-litre Chev Camaro ZL-1 triumphed in 1971 after a bit of biffo with arch-rival Alan
Bob Jane’s Camaro ZL-1 leads Pete Geoghegan’s Mustang during the 1971 ATCC round.
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International Raceway at Virginia, closer to town. He sought to maximise market success by acquiring Mallala in 1971 and eliminating its use as a track, by placing a covenant on the title preventing future racing. Chrysler Australia, 70km away in Tonsley Park, and Garrie Cooper’s Elfin Sportscars, continued to test there. Much to the Cooper family’s disgust, Garrie floated buying the facility as a home, but not for long, such was the flack he copped around the kitchen table! Fittingly, the great man’s only Gold Star win was on home turf aboard an Elfin 600C Repco V8 in October 1969. Cooper’s 1962-1964 Elfin Mallala sportscars were so named after the circuit at which the model first won a race; McKay was at the wheel that day. Big, brutish, bellowing F5000s raced there only once in period. John McCormack won the October ’71 Gold Star round – his first of many – in Cooper’s new Elfin MR5 RepcoHolden. Mallala came out of the darkness when local businessman/racer Clem Smith bought it in 1977. Williams’ covenant was deemed unenforceable, and Mallala Motorsport Park reopened in 1982. National level motor sport gradually returned to the popular venue. Dick Johnson won the first ATCC round held there in the modern era aboard a Ford Sierra RS500 in 1989. It was the positive turning point in his season. Colin Bond won in 1990 with backto-back Sierra RS500 wins at Lakeside and Mallala thanks to some just quick enough, and very durable Toyo tyres which didn’t require the pit-stop of others. More impressive that weekend, Formula Holden Gold Star round 1998. Simon Wills inside Scott Dixon, both in Reynard 92Ds. That’s Brenton Ramsay in the blue 891D and Todd Kelly’s 92D on the outside. Dixon took the race win.
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Look at that crowd in 1994! Jim Richards, VP Commodore heads Alan Jones’ EB Falcon during the ATCC round (above, John Lemm) Mallala’s ‘guvnor, Clem Smith, in his beloved Chrysler Charger leads Mick Monterosso’s Ford Escort out of Club Corner in 1983 (below, Autopics.com.au)
open-wheeler pilot too, his first Formula Holden win was the 1990 Mallala Gold Star round aboard his SPA, enroute to 1991-93 titles. He spoke about the Mallala touring car and 3.8-litre 325bhp Formula Holden driving challenge. “It was a quirky little track, a difficult place to do a really good lap time. From a driver’s perspective it took real accuracy to do it really well. Mallala wasn’t as fast as most and wasn’t so aero dependent.” Notable Mallala Formula Holden Gold Star winners include Paul Stokell, who set the lap record at 1:02.57 in a Reynard 90D in August 1994. He, Simon Wills and Jason Bright, tested local-boy Malcolm Ramsay’s Birrana Racing Reynards there regularly. Mark Noske and Rick Kelly won too, not to forget Oz Indy winners; Scott Dixon wins in 1998, and Will Power in 2002. After Clem Smith’s death the Peregrine Corporation, owners of
Tailem Bend’s The Bend Motorsport Park, bought the facility. Managing Director, Sam Shahin was inspired by Mallala when he visited it as a youngster. “There were grandstands full of spectators and a genuine buzz that left me dreaming of being part of that exciting world one day,” he said. Skaife was a big fan too, he raced there on 10 occasions and was successful on four. “Sincere gratitude is due to Clem Smith and his team which ran and looked after Mallala. We were there a lot, we did a huge amount of testing, we loved going there. We were able to get our brain around what was needed to make the car work well. A high level of commitment was required to get the best from yourself and the car.” Russell Ingall wins the very last ATCC at Mallala in 1998 in a Perkins Engineering Commodore VS.
Peter Brock leads winner Colin Bond, both in Ford Sierra RS500s in the 1990 ATCC round (top, John Lemm). The Mallala circuit overlaid on the wartime airfield (above). The track used a mix of aircraft taxiways and site roads. and a portent of future ferocity, was Mark Skaife’s debut of Godzilla – the Gibson Motorsport’s Nissan GT-R R32. He battled braking problems in practice and didn’t finish the race due to front hub failure, but the inner rocket was clear. “When I hit it with 4WD, it went ‘ppfffeew’ and I thought wow, this thing is going to be pretty handy in terms of being able to come off the slow corners compared to the Sierra!” he recalled. Skaife driven Godzillas won in 1991-92. Glenn Seton’s Ford Falcon EB won in the first of the Group 3A Supercar years in ‘93. Skaife won in a VP Holden Commodore in 1994, while Seton won again in 1995
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aboard an EF Falcon. The final three Mallala V8 Supercar rounds from 1996-98 were Commodore benefits. Craig Lowndes was the victor in a Holden Racing Team VR before Greg Murphy’s HRT VS took the 1997 race on an emotional, celebratory day that 30,500 fans filled the place to the brim to see Peter Brock’s final South Australian race; an attendance record which stands. One-time Adelaide boy Russell Ingall won in 1998 aboard a Perkins VS. Skaife proved an adept
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