Auto Action #1828

THE PLAN – FROM CELLAR DWELLER TO PREMIAIR TEAM

GEN3 TESTING LATEST BIGGER CHALLENGE SAY DRIVERS

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SHANE HOWARD’S VISION FOR SUPERCARS

CLASSIC SPRINTCAR ACTION

ROUGH AND TUMBLE RACING

LOEB COMES UP TRUMPS

FULL MONTE CARLO RALLY WRAP

BIG CHANGES FOR PREMIAIR RACING THERE WILL BE NO TRACE OF TEAM SYDNEY DNA WHEN THE SUPERCARS SEASON OPENS ON THE STREETS OF NEWCASTLE

By Paul Gover, News Editor Peter Xiberras, the PremiAir Hire sponsor turned team owner, is putting a broom through the former Tekno outfit as he builds through 2022 in preparation for a serious swing at the series in 2023.

The first big change is a relocation to Brisbane.

Next, Fabian Coulthard is out as Xiberras puts his faith and hopes on Garry Jacobson and Chris Pither.

Then, both of PremiAir Racing’s ZB Commodores have been returned to Triple Eight Race Engineering for a wheels-up rebuild and update that will mean a six-figure bill.

The only missing piece of Xiberras’s plan is a team manager. But he is also working on that.

“At the end of the day, this a learning year.

We are getting ready for the start of Gen3 in 2023,” Xiberras reveals to Auto Action in his first face-to-face interview as a Supercars team owner, at Sydney Dragway.

Xiberras has just jumped out of his Top Fuel dragster, after running 3.836 seconds at 290.44 miles-and-hour on the 1000-foot strip.

But his focus returns quickly to his Supercars ambitions, having taken control of Team Sydney from Jono and Kobe Webb.

He is not going into any detail of the multi-million-dollar buy-out, which was approved by the board of Supercars in the

run-up to Christmas, or making any public judgements about the way Team Sydney was operating as it struggled through recent seasons.

“My objective, to be up front, is to take away everyone’s excuses,” Xiberras says.

“Why am I doing this? Two reasons.

“I see it as a challenge. And I honestly feel that I can make a difference.”

Xiberras had been a behind-the-scenes backer at Tekno for several seasons, but seized the chance to take control when he saw how things deteriorated through season 2021.

He’s now intent on overcoming the team’s issues and trying to steer a steady course from the back of the grid.

That’s one of the reasons he is renewing Jacobson and bringing Pither back.

He admits both drivers are bringing cash to continue on the team, but says that is not the sole reason for their slots.

“Everyone says this was just a cash grab and that’s why you took the pay drivers. So, yes, they bring money with them.

“But let’s take Garry. I watched him for the whole of last year. Is he the fastest guy in the paddock? No. But I think in a better car Garry can get way better results. The big thing for me is that he is a good kid, has a good attitude and comes from an awesome family.

“I believe he will be a good team player. I see potential in him.”

Pither had a miserable run with Tekno in 2020 and that, as much as his Coca-Cola cash, allowed him to slide into Coulthard’s seat.

“It was a demoralising year. I want to give him a shot,” says Xiberras.

“I believe Chris has oodles of potential. Come the end of this year, if he doesn’t perform and I’ve given him everything, then he’s not the right guy.

“That’s why both drivers are only on a oneyear contract.”

Looking to co-drivers for Bathurst, one slot is likely to go to Dylan O’Keefe after his effort with Tekno in December.

“He is a safe bet. He did a good job at Bathurst. I like him and he has potential.

“There is another kid who hasn’t driven a Supercar yet but has shown potential in other categories.

With the drivers now decided, Xiberras says the hard work has also begun.

“The team is moving this week. The cars are already at Triple Eight in Banyo. They are having a ground-up rebuild.

“What’s the point of being a Triple Eight satellite team, and using their data, when our cars are a different spec?”

The plan to run close to T8, physically and technically, is also one driver for the relocation to Brisbane even though PremiAir has its headquarters in Sydney. It also opens the

talent pool with people who are experienced with T8 cars.

“We figure the closer we are, the better. But I haven’t chosen the location. We’ve got three options.

“One is to house the cars at Triple Eight and operate from there. Or we could run it out of Darra at an existing PremiAir building. The third option is to find a standalone building where we can run the race team ourselves.”

Talking about his own role, Xiberras says he has no intention of becoming a pitlane general.

“It’s got to look after itself. I didn’t do this just to burn through my cash.

“The fact that the team is in Brisbane and I’m based in Sydney makes it difficult. I’ve still got a business to run. But the only time I won’t be at the Supercars races is when there is a clash with driving in Top Fuel.”

Xiberras is refusing to identify a target for the team, but is looking for progress on all fronts.

“I want to get the best out of these guys.

If their peak is Position 10 this year, instead of Position 20, I’ll feel like I’ve achieved something.

“I firmly believe that if I spend the cash upfront, and people can see we’re moving up the pecking order, there will be people who want to come and put their stickers on the doors. Someone had to go first. I’m prepared to go first.”

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GEN3 CHALLENGE AWAITS THE STARS THE FIRST BACK-TO-BACK TEST SHOWS GEN3 IS NOT EASY

By Paul Gover, News Editor

The under-bonnet of a Gen3 is significantly different to the Gen2 ...

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DRIVERS WILL have a much tougher time when they trade up to their Gen3 racers for season 2023.

The first true back-to-back test of the all-new Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, at Queensland Raceway recently, highlighted the shortcomings of the new cars.

And it’s entirely intentional.

Supercars wants to strip back the aero grip, make braking tougher, and promote errors when the new cars start to race.

There is still no decision on a controversial switch to electronic shifting with wheel-mounted paddles, but already the signs are clear.

“It definitely looks like they will be a hard car to drive. Which will be a good thing for the drivers,” the technical chief of Supercars, Adrian Burgess, tells Auto Action.

“It will be a good thing if driver control and skill comes into it a bit more.”

The QR hit-out was led by Will Davison in the Ford camp and Broc Feeney, while Zane Goddard - who does not have a fulltime Supercars ride this year - was the only crossover driver who got time in both prototypes.

All three drivers report difficulties in adjusting from their existing Supercars

experience, something that pleases Burgess.

“Everything looks to be tracking towards the targets we set ourselves. We knew it would be harder.

“When you take away all the downforce, and some of the power, and some of the smoothness of the power delivery, it’s bound to have an effect.

“We predicted it would be a little bit harder to drive, a bit looser on brakes and a bit less planted in high-speed corners, and that’s what we’re seeing.”

The test ran into a couple of niggling problems, but nothing to stop the cars.

“We had a few issues along the way, which is what you normally expect and plan for. We did still get a lot of laps done.

We leaned a hell of a lot.

“We’ve got a few areas of the cars to tune up and a few things we want to change.”

That includes the throttle response, one major change with a drive-by-wire pedal and without the individual throttle bodies in the fuel injection.

Burgess reports that the cars will be back soon at Queensland Raceway, followed by a couple of days at Winton.

The likely dates are from February 16 in Queensland and February 22 in Victoria.

“We’re really just starting the process. This is just the first two days of a long process.

WHAT THE DRIVERS SAID POST-TEST

Images: MTR Images “We’re trying to get a good six or seven days of testing in before this season starts.”

He promises the cars will do demonstration laps at the season opening and that will be followed by a range of activities on race weekends through the rest of season 2022.

“We will be running at some events. We’ll do some demos and rides and things. It will be different each time,” says Burgess.

Meantime, the QR test drivers were all excited by their first serious hit-out in the Gen3 racers.

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ZANE Goddard explained that the Mustang had a couple of throttle issues, but nothing that kept it off the track for a sustained period.

“It went pretty smoothly,” he said to AA. “The throttle sensor, just had a couple of little hiccups, but nothing crazy.

“We ended up just playing around with the sensor a bit and it was fixed, pretty much straightaway. It’s all learning stuff – it’s pretty standard for a new car.

“Obviously, when we usually do a test, it’s fine tuning the car and trying to find the optimum set-up for whatever track we’re about to race at.

“This is a completely different – this is making sure stuff works; what does what with the new car ... it’s new territory.

“So everything we do is a pretty big change.

Every time we roll out, day to day, week to week, the cars will be taking big steps forward.

“Those first two days, from the start to the end, I could feel noticeable differences – the cars felt a lot more comfortable, a lot more race ready.

Feeney (pictured above) had not driven the Gen3 machine since essentially shaking it down prior to Bathurst and was impressed with the progress made.

“The first time I drove it, it was making sure I could do laps at Bathurst; now it’s about developing it for 2023,” Feeney told Auto Action.

“So ... anti-roll bars, suspension ... there’s a few little different things on there that are different, and it’s starting to feel a lot more like a racing car.

“There’s a lot of stuff to go on over the next 12 months. The cars are going to feel completely different again, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction.”

Davison confirmed that, in his view, with the new parts, it has gone from shakedown to legitimate testing, turning dozen and dozens of laps throughout the day and trialling different setups.

“They got some key mileage late last year on some engine elements and basic componentry stuff; now we’re taking that next step to move from basically shakedown running to try and get some quality mileage on all the parts,” Davison concluded.

With Dan McCarthy

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ASIAN AIRLIFTS ARE BACK ON THE SUPERCARS SCHEDULE THANKS TO GEN3

By Paul Gover, News Editor THE DAWN of the Gen3 era in Supercars will also signal the start of a new overseas drive.

Races in Asia are the primary target but Supercars is also confident that it will be able to sell cars outside Australia for the first time.

Overseas expansion could also become the trigger for extra carmakers to join the Chevrolet-versus-Ford stoush at home.

“My focus will be to re-invigorate the opportunity for an international event,” the newly-appointed CEO of Supercars, Shane Howard revealed exclusively to Auto Action.

“That’s Supercars competing in the Asia-Pacific region. That’s the first thing.

“I think we absolutely need to be doing international events. I think that’s important to the category. We’re a national sport, but we do need some strong international markets.”

As head of Supercars Events before his elevation to CEO, Howard was instrumental in the airlifts and overseas action at Shanghai in China, Austin in Texas, and Abu Dhabi and Bahrain in the Middle East.

He now believes the Gen3 racers, with vastly more international appeal than the homegrown Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, will be a game changer for foreign raids.

“There are benefits for manufacturers and sponsors. Our Gen3 product is suited to those markets. (And) our competition is second to none,” he says.

Apart from the overseas opportunities, Howard says Supercars is primed for a return of the Adelaide 500 if the South Australian opposition – led

by Peter Malinauskas – is able to unseat the anti-racing government at this year’s election.

“Obviously, we’d embrace that and grab it with both hands. That was an amazing event and we would love to be back in Adelaide with a street circuit.

“If the opportunity comes to us, then we will deliver it and do whatever is necessary to deliver that event at its highest level.”

There is still plenty of Covid uncertainty ahead of the new

Supercars season, but Howard believes Supercars is well-placed to deliver the events, even with the latest Covid intervention.

“We will work with governments to deliver the events and governments want major events to go ahead,” says Howard.

“We will be having an event in New Zealand. We’re in conversation with the New Zealand government constantly.

“We have a very strong supporter base, they’re a very loyal base, and we’ve raced there for a number of years and that market is extremely important to us. We’ve navigated the last two years and we will comply and adjust if necessary, but we are planning to execute that event on the nominated date.”

On the overseas front, Howard has vast experience as he worked closely with the mercurial Tony Cochrane, the great entertainer, who drove the original push into China and beyond. While Cochrane did the wheeling and dealing, it was Howard – like office ace Wayne Cattach – who followed to turn the dreams into reality.

“It was originally driven by Tony. The first race that we did with an air uplift was China. Then on to Bahrain, Abu Dhabi as a standalone and a Formula One support.”

But he cautions on the time it will take, and the investment required, to take Supercars out of Australia again.

“My view on securing events, because I’ve seen what it takes to get them, is that they are not easy. They are hard work.

“You have to get off your arse and get over there and do the work. It’s a big operation.

“We have to move a lot of freight and people and it’s not cheap. They have to be in the right region and have to meet the right commercial obligations for the teams and us.

“We’re the best people to promote our category internationally and take up those opportunities and I’m really looking forward to that. “(Gen3) allows us to open up to more manufacturers and then an international strategy supports all that. I think that’s very important. It’s very important for our growth and our expansion.”

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GEN3 BETTER FOR RACING

By Dan McCarthy DRIVERS ARE reporting that the Gen3 Supercars, now being driven in anger, on full attack, are hard to drive and are certain that they will produce more exciting racing and better entertainment for trackside spectators and TV audiences. As reported on page 4-5, two extensive days of testing took place at Queensland Raceway last week with a number of the regulars jumping behind the wheel.

One of the reported issues with the current Gen2 machines is that for a ‘Touring Car’ they are too reliant on aerodynamics, which means that the cars are very well glued to the road.

Aerodynamics also make it hard to follow someone closely without overheating front tyres – and thus not being able to overtake.

Dick Johnson racing driver Will Davison reported with a smile on his face that the car was not easy to drive, a real beast to tame in the corners.

“It’s definitely not easy to drive,” Davison reported to Auto Action. “It’s all relative, but it’s a very different beast; feels very different to any Supercar I have ever driven before.

“It’s definitely a huge step in going away from what we know and what we feel in Supercars.

“Particularly in the engine department, throttle department, and overall balance of the car – it is certainly a big shift away from what we’re used to.

“It’s quite exciting, certainly working hard behind the wheel. The engine delivery is incredibly different – you’re basically wrestling the car a lot; it’s quite tricky; the car moves around a lot; it’s hard work.”

When the cars were revealed at Bathurst in December, many people were concerned that Supercars may have lost its DNA. Zane Goddard, who tested both the Camaro and Mustang, happily reported that this was not the case.

“I was pleasantly surprised, I was not sure what it was gonna feel like,” Goddard told AA. “In the low speed, mechanical stuff it feels exactly like a Supercar, straightaway. I felt very comfortable.

“In the high speed, same thing – mechanically feels all the same, just that a little bit less aero, which was something the category was targeting, should enhance the racing.

“We didn’t get the chance to race the cars together. How well they follow each other will be a test in the future. But it felt very comfortable, I was really happy after the first session to come in and say, yeah, this still feels like a Supercar.”

A man making his full-time Supercars debut this year is Feeney. He belives that drivers will be able to achieve the same lap time sliding and fighting the car as someone who drives silky smooth.

“The easiest way to put it is it’s different,” he said to AA “It’s a different feeling and how you’re going to get a lap time out of it.

“I’m still probably very far away from how I should be driving it, but it’s a little bit different in style and a little bit of a different feeling inside the car.

“How the car moves around is quite different, but it’s a cool car to drive. You’re sliding out of the corners and to be honest, , it’s not affecting the lap time, which as a driver has been pretty cool.”

Goddard was asked plain and simple, will it improve the racing? His answer … “100% – while the racing is still good. with the current cars, there’s that little bit of interference from the car in front which makes it easy to cook the front tyres from understeer and that sort of stuff.

“I think these new cars are going to eradicate that, like say Queensland Raceway Turn 1 and

SMP SUBS IN FOR NEWCASTLE THE NEWCASTLE 500 has been postponed. Once again it is Sydney Motorsport Park to the rescue, as it will host the opening round of the Supercars Championship.

The decision was made due to the current COVID-19 concerns in Newcastle and the likely effects on track construction.

SMP poses less of a threat, as it is not a street circuit, and allows Supercars to get underway without any problems.

The Sydney venue will hold races under lights, taking the date of the Newcastle event from March 4-6.

It is not all over for the Newcastle Street Circuit – it will host a round later in the year, possibly the final round, when it is hoped the pandemic is more under control.

“Given the continuing evolving and unpredictable COVID situation, it has become too challenging to stage a complex multifaceted event on the streets of Newcastle for tens of thousands of race fans in March,” Supercars CEO Shane Howard explained.

“Putting on an event of the scale of Newcastle, in the middle of its CBD, requires an enormous amount of work to ensure it runs to a world-class standard.

“We have been in consultation with the City of Newcastle throughout January and understand that constructing and operating an event of this size during the current COVID period has caused concern in parts of the community.

“As a street circuit built in the heart of the CBD, the event provides enormous economic benefits to the region, and we want to ensure that happens again in 2022. We are working to confirm the rescheduled date as soon as practicable.

“We thank our fans, volunteers, local businesses, Destination NSW, the NSW Office of Sport and City of Newcastle for their ongoing support.

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“We fully intend to stage this year’s Repco Newcastle 500 in Supercars’ trademark style, and we are confident that we will be able to successfully do this later in the year.

The Lord Mayor Cr Nuatali Nelmes expressed that the Newcastle 500 would have been subject to a strict COVID plan in March, and that postponing the event allows it to be a bigger and better event later in the year.

“City of Newcastle staff have been in regular contact with Supercars regarding the local situation,” she said.

“We all agreed that right now, and regardless of the additional precautions taken to run the Newcastle 500 safely, the community would feel more confident about the race proceeding later in the year.

“The Repco Newcastle 500 has attracted a growing number of visitors from all parts of NSW and throughout Australia and New Zealand.

“With people still hesitant to travel due to the high number of COVID cases across NSW and the NZ border remaining closed, the right decision was to postpone the race and wait for visitor confidence to rebound over the coming months.”

Howard is delighted that SMP has stepped up to the plate and filled the slot of Newcastle and looks forward

to more exciting racing at the venue after it hosted four rounds in 2021.

“We are excited to be opening our season under lights in Sydney in just over a month’s time,” he said.

“In 2021 the venue provided fans with some of the most exhilarating racing we have ever seen in Supercars.

“Sydney Motorsport Park is a permanent circuit with infrastructure for competitors and fans already in place.

“We’re looking forward to our first race of 2022, to take place under the spectacular lights in Sydney in 40 days’ time.”

Dan McCarthy (For existing Newcastle 500 ticketholders, those tickets will remain valid for the yet to be announced new date of the event).

GODDARD THROUGHLY COMPARES GEN3 CARS 2 its pretty high speed and I definitely don’t get the sensation that I’m driving on the aero anymore. I feel like it’s definitely driving off tyre grip and the mechanical balance.

“It’s different you play with the car with your feet, manipulating it with the brake and throttle. So to me, it definitely feels like a low downforce car.

“It’s easy to make mistakes, so I feel like it will be easier to capitalise on the car in front when they make a mistake, or if you get a good run, so I don’t think aero is going to play as big a part, which is really important.

“If we can make that racing better, it makes the spectacle better, makes it more enjoyable for us behind the wheels as well.

I think there’ll be plenty of overtaking to watch.”

With Mick Reynolds

LAST WEEK Zane Goddard became the first driver to have a run in both the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang and explained to Auto Action that already the two cars are very similar.

The former Matt Stone Racing driver was a substitute for Anton De Pasquale – the Queenslander was racing in Dubai with the Grove Racing team.

Goddard drove both the DJR Ford Mustang and Triple Eight Camaro at Queensland Raceway and despite the different engines and distinctive bodyshells the cars, he felt they were very equal and had a similar feel.

“Obviously it is early days with aero packages, so there are slight little balance differences in that regard, but nothing crazy,” he told Auto Action.

“Started doing some things to try and resurrect that on the second day and straightaway it was pretty close – it’s not really going to take too much to sort out.

“The engines at the moment, same thing. The

way the drive-by-wire works, different throttle maps, the way the engine delivers the power and how good the drivability is ... both the engines are sort of getting tuned the same way.

“It’s all in the preliminary stages as far as I can tell – sitting in the seat, pushing that throttle pedal gave me very, very similar sensations, I felt comfortable in both of them.

“Every time you jump in it feels more and more responsive, more racey.

“The engines are quite different, so you might see little traits that are different between the two, but on the grand scale, they’ll be pretty similar.

“Timewise, I think they’ll be identical around a lap. It’s all promising; it’s the first proper test, so to start off that close is really promising.”

Goddard was asked by AA if one was currently easier or more comfortable on the edge to drive than the other at this point in time.

“At the moment they both give you that slightly different feel,” he expressed. “It’s not like

one is a negative and one’s a positive – at the moment one car’s a bit quicker in this section and one cars a bit quicker in that section and in many ways, it’s how race cars are.

“The big difference is going to come when it’s handed to teams and they play around with set-up and stuff.

“That’s where you’ll start seeing some cars come into their own in certain areas and some cars in other areas.

“I think it’s a good base setup for both – there’s a lot of tunability so it’ll be exciting once they roll out see what direction people and teams go with their cars. It’s a completely new chapter in the whole sport.”

He went on to explain that he felt he had less vision in the Camaro, but other than that there were very limited differences.

“I think the Camaro might have a slightly smaller field of view, I don’t know the exact dimensions or measurements, but it felt maybe the slightest little bit tighter,” Goddard concluded.

Dan McCarthy

CHANGES FOR FORD SUPPLY

By Paul Gover, News Editor FORD TEAMS in Supercars will have a new engine supplier for the Gen3 era Long-time Ford guru Rob Herrod (right) is taking over the V8 program in a ‘samesame, but different’ move that will change the details but not the direction of the Gen3 program with Ford’s productionbased 5.4-litre Coyote engine.

Gen3 development and homologation was begun by Mostech Race Engines, the long-time supplier to Dick Johnson Racing, as part of the team’s role as the official homologation team for Ford in Supercars.

But the poor health of company boss Steve Amos has forced him to step back and Herrod is taking up the slack by creating a new company, Herrod Performance Engines.

He already has plans to accelerate supplies of essential parts from the USA and oversee the on-track engine work as the Ford Mustang is readied by Supercars for the start of Gen3 competition.

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HPE will also be the engine supplier to Shell V-Power Racing and the Blanchard Racing Team this year.

“This is an exciting development for me and a proud moment in my business and family history,” Herrod tells Auto Action.

“There is not much that I don’t know about the Coyote family of Ford engines and I’m looking forward to this involvement in the Gen3 era in Supercars racing.”

Key Mostech personnel will continue with HPE, including Bobby Irvine, and Amos will also be a silent partner.

“This is an exciting moment because it builds from Rob Herrod’s impressive Ford history and connections.

The Gen3 Mustang combo is as close as it gets to the car in showrooms,” says Ryan Story, chairman of Dick Johnson Racing.

“Rob is an out-and-out Ford blue-blood.

This move only adds to the integrity of our program and the skill set of our organisation.

It’s unfortunate that Steve’s health problem has been the instigator for this

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announcement. We wish him the best and we’re fortunate to still have him involved.”

The change has the support of Ford Australia as well as Mark Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Motorsports.

Herrod says his first priority is to accelerate the supply of Gen3 parts for the Coyote program to ensure engines are ready on schedule.

“The new engine business is an extension to Herrod Performance and I have the long-term contacts and experience to get things happening,” he says.

Herrod is a long-term business partner with DJR, including development of limited-edition Mustang models that have carried the names of Dick Johnson and Scott McLaughlin, although he is committed to the independence of Herrod Performance Engines from the start of the 2023 campaign.

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DICK JOHNSON Racing driver Anton De Pasquale has managed a sixth-place finish in the Dubai 24 Hour alongside Stephen and Brenton Grove, as well as German Sven Muller. De Pasquale, who won six Supercars races in 2021, guided a Grove-sponsored Porsche to sixth overall in the first round of the 2022 24H GT Series season in his off-season cameo appearance. JN

NEWLY APPOINTED Supercars CEO Shane Howard has been warmly endorsed as he prepares to take on full-time leadership. Howard has served as acting CEO four times but was finally confirmed as the permanent replacement for Sean Seamer. Supercars Chairman Barclay Nettlefold spoke highly of Howard after his appointment: “The response today has been overwhelming,” Nettlefold said. “Shane is the right man for the role. He’s got more experience than anyone, he understands the business and the sport and he provides strong leadership, stability and continuity.” JN

WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI United has secured leading engineer, Geoffrey Slater, for the 2022 Supercars Championship. Slater will join the Clayton-based squad as Race Engineer, working alongside the team’s new recruit Nick Percat. Slater has a successful history working with Supercars squads including Britek Motorsport, DJR and Tekno Autosports. He has also worked in the USA, winning the 2020 Daytona 24 hour (GTLM class), 2020 Michelin Endurance Cup and finishing second in the WeatherTech Championship. RV

F1 BUZZ DRIVING AGP TICKET SALES AUSTRALIAN GRAND Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott has forecast bumper crowds for the 2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix despite mixed turnouts to recent big ticket sporting events.

Cricket’s Big Bash League (BBL) has seen a dramatic decline in crowds this season due to several factors – including compromised scheduling and fan hesitancy – while the Australian Open is operating with crowds at 50 per cent capacity due to government Covid restrictions.

April this year will be the first time Australia has hosted a full F1 event since 2019, Covid forcing cancellations in 2020 and 2021.

Looking ahead to the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, Westacott revealed that ticket sales so far have been strong.

“People are coming to Albert Park via ticket sales in a big way,” Westacott enthusiastically told Auto Action “We’re working on 100% capacity at the moment, until we are told otherwise.

“We’re building extra grandstands, naming new grandstands after former winners at Albert Park – whether that be Jenson Button

or Damon Hill who won our first event here in 1996.

“New grandstand tickets are going to be released onto the market for sale on February 8.

“To also cater for the large amount of general admission fans who are coming along with newfound interest in Formula 1 we’re increasing the amount of general admission viewing hubs in the venue.”

When asked why he thought the Australian public was flocking to F1 in times of reduced crowds, Westacott pointed to the current crop of drivers and the success of F1’s current media strategy.

“It’s because of Oscar (Piastri), Daniel Ricciardo, Netflix and the highlights of last year,” Westacott said.

“Formula 1 is doing things right from a sporting and spectacle point of view. There’s intrigue and unpredictability. When you look at the top of the grid, people are drawn to it.

“If you’re an afficionado of the sport, you’re seeing Verstappen and Hamilton; if you’re generally interested in sport, you’re lured into it because of what Netflix has done.

“Formula 1 has increased its social footprint and digital footprint; it’s appealing to more and more people.

“Generally, people like events and we haven’t seen as many events in Australia – we haven’t been able to travel to events.”

On the topic of travel and Covid-related restrictions, Westacott confirmed that all people including drivers must be fully vaccinated to attend the event, after the Novak Djokovic debacle that consumed the Australian Open.

“We’ve worked very, very closely with the Victorian Government throughout 2021 and in the lead up to 2022,” Westacott said.

“Of course, we’ve also worked very closely with Formula 1.

“The rules are simple to get into the country and the rules are simple to operate in Formula 1.

“To come in for the event you will need to be 100% vaccinated, and there won’t be exemptions sought for anyone from anyone.”

The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix will be held at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit from April 8-10. Josh Nevett

WEBBER: NATIONAL PRESSURE WON’T FAZE PIASTRI A FEATURE-length documentary detailing the rivalry between Ford and Holden is well into production and is set to hit cinemas across the country a matter of months.

The project titled Ford vs Holden is being made by Queensland production company WildBear Entertainment, which is aiming for an April release date. Queensland Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk has thrown her support behind the documentary, which is receiving funding from Screen Queensland. Homegrown actor and motorsport enthusiast Shane Jacobson will narrate the film. JN

THE PHILLIP Island Auto Racing Club (PIARC) is looking to welcome new motorsport officials heading into the new season. Officials can be as young as 14 and will work under supervision in the non-competition areas, while people over the age of 16 can work trackside where guidance and training will be provided. A number of members past and present hold or have been appointed to senior positions within Motorsport Australia, while several have received international recognition from the FIA. JN

8 I www.autoaction.com.au

by Josh Nevett FORMER FORMULA 1 ace Mark Webber is confident that our next F1 star Oscar Piastri won’t feel the weight of Australian public expectation when he earns a full-time seat.

Piastri will spend this year as Alpine’s reserve driver in the hopes of an F1 berth next year, after winning consecutive titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2.

With the glamour of racing in the top tier of international motorsport comes public attention and expectation, especially in a nation such as Australia, where such a strong emphasis is placed on sporting achievement.

Webber had the hopes of the nation resting on him throughout his 12-year career, and Daniel Ricciardo joining him on the F1 grid for the last few years of his career.

Speaking on how he thought Piastri would handle life in the spotlight as an F1 driver, nine-time grand prix victor Webber said the young Victorian had all the tools required to navigate it successfully.

“Oscar is his own individual – you could call him a sophisticated Australian,” Webber told Auto Action.

“He’s very polished, very organised, very economical with his words, very economical with his trophy cabinet. He means business.”

Webber did not believe Piastri would be fazed regardless of whether he has the advantage of sharing the grid with fellow Aussie Ricciardo, who would take a share of the publicity burden.

“I think whether he’s on his own or there’s another driver on the grid, it won’t really affect Oscar,” Webber says.

“The public will gravitate to the individuals as they come, Daniel (Ricciardo) was different to me, who was different to Casey Stoner, and then you have Pat Rafter, Ash Barty ...

“When you compete internationally, we arrive here for two weeks, compete and then we leave.

“Of course, with their enthusiasm they public follows those individuals as they like.”

Piastri has been awarded the Sir Jack Brabham Award for the second straight year, becoming the first driver to do so.

The 20-year-old has now returned to Europe ahead of his new role at Alpine,

having spent the last month at home with his family.

Piastri will fly home next for the Australian Grand Prix, scheduled from April 8-10 at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne.

The 2022 F1 season is set to kick off in Bahrain from March 18-20.

PIASTRI ADDS TO TROPHY CABINET FORMULA 2 Championship winner Oscar Piastri has become the first driver to win the Sir Jack Brabham award in consecutive years.

For the second year running, the Sir Jack Brabham award was presented to Australia’s rising motorsport talent, who received the accolade at the home of the Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park.

Former Formula 1 driver and recently retired Supercars Race Director Tim Schenken presented the award, which recognises the best performing Australian racing internationally over the course of a season, on behalf of Motorsport Australia, .

Past winners include multiple-time grand prix winner Mark Webber, Indy500 and IndyCar Series winner Will Power, multiple-time F1 race winner Daniel Ricciardo and NASCAR Cup Series winner Marcos Ambrose.

“I am very honoured to receive this award for the second consecutive year. Obviously the first time was special in itself but to do it again is just incredible,” Piastri said.

“It’s quite special knowing that I am in the rare company of people to have won the award twice, with Will Power being the only other.”

Piastri has since returned to Europe to spend the 2022 season as the Alpine Formula 1 team reserve driver, a role that will see the 20-yearold out of competitive action for the year unless he is required to substitute at the top level.

When considering what the year ahead holds, Piastri had a positive outlook.

“It is a bit strange,” Piastri told Auto Action.

“Obviously, as racing drivers we naturally want to go out and race so it’s a very different looking year for me and I’m little bit disappointed I’m not on the grid.

“I’m still aware of the opportunities that I have this year to improve myself and prove further why I should be on the grid.

“I haven’t done an F1 race before, so I guess I don’t really know what I’m missing out on.

“If I get the call up, then that’s just going to be a bonus rather than the year being a frustration.”

The Victorian will continue to train and test regularly throughout the year to avoid losing the momentum that earned him three consecutive titles in Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Formula 2, with the hopes of earning a full-time F1 seat in 2023.

New technical regulations are the talk of the town in F1 this year and Piastri hopes that his lack of experience may be offset by their newness if he gets an opportunity next year.

“Next year, a lot of the teams will probably have a bit more direction on how the cars need to be set up and how they need to work,” Piastri predicted.

“Hopefully if I’m on the grid next year, the teams have got a bit of idea but obviously not too much that I can be harmed by the fact that I’m a rookie coming in.

“I guess all those new variables for everybody will also be new for me, it levels it out a little bit.”

Josh Nevett

TEAMS GET SAY ON NEW COMMISSION ALL SUPERCARS Championship teams will have a say as part of the newly restructured Supercars Commission.

Prior to the RACE consortium taking over the ownership of the Supercars Championship, together team owners possessed a 35% ownership in the category.

This is no longer the case under the ownership of RACE – however the Commission has been reorganised to cater for all teams and give everyone a fair say up and down pit lane.

Previously, under the old ownership structure the Commission was made up of team principals, former drivers and people that have been in the sport for a long period of time – notably however, not all teams had members on the Commission.

In 2022 this has changed All Supercars

Championship outfits will now have an equal say, according to Mark Skaife (one of the new RACE Board members.

“It’s as a consequence of our revised Racing Entitlements Contract, which has gone from the REC to the team’s Racing Charter,” Skaife explained in a press conference which included Auto Action.

“On the Commission, every team will be represented, as a team principal, or a significant person within that organisation to look after the team’s issues and the way that it relates with Supercars.

“We’ve (the RACE consortium) spoken a lot; we’ve worked very hard with that structure and Neil Crompton will continue to chair that (the Commission).

“Instead of selected team representation, there will be complete team representation

and it actually forms essentially as a TRC, – it forms their voice, it forms their method of interacting with Supercars on a daily basis.

“So, from a sports technical perspective, it should have a far wider and greater general influence in terms of every team having a say.”

Newly promoted CEO Shane Howard will also be involved in the Commission.

Dan McCarthy

BOARD MEMBERS NAMED RACE chairman Barclay Nettlefold has revealed all of Supercars’ new Board members.

“The board comprises of Mark Skaife, myself and Stephen Macaw of investment firm Henslow, who was leading the negotiations for some of the investors, and John McMellan from the ARG (Australian Racing Group) investment category,” Nettlefold began.

“Together, we have Barry Rogers on the board and recently announced one of the DOMA group investors as well, (Jure Domazet), so the Board has been set.

“Through the new charter and through the TRC, for the teams, there’ll be team inclusiveness on the board, especially as it relates to the racing side of it and the day-today technical aspects, of which Mark Skaife will be very important to the board and overseeing that side of it.” DM

AMRS PRESENTS

2022 SUPER GT AUSTRALIA 4HR UNDER THE STARS Four hours of endurance racing under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park

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• 4 hour twilight/night endurance race at Sydney Motorsport Park • Dry-break refuelling NOT required - 3 x 5 min compulsory pitstops • Two to three drivers per car • Competitors receive 2 x 25min and 1 x 45min prac sessions on Fri, 2 x 15 min qualifying sessions, top 10 shoot out and 4 hour enduro • Live stream coverage of the race via Fuzzy Media

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ELIGIBILITY

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NO DRY BREAK REQUIRED

Entries are filling fast, see website www.amrseries.com.au or contact SGT Aust Category Manager (Matt) on mattb@amrseries.com.au AutoActionMagazine

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YOUNG QUEENSLANDER Lachlan Bloxsom will race in the second tier Porsche Sprint Challenge this year after signing on for a full season with McElrea Racing. Bloxsom will take on the new challenge after competing in the Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Series in 2021 – he entered two rounds in Townsville and Bathurst with a best race finish of 11th. The teenager was also selected by Erebus Racing to test in its Supercar at the end of the 2021 season. JN

A SIX-ROUND calendar has been revealed for the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge in 2022. To be held across at least four states, the second tier of one-make Porsche racing in Australia will again feature as one of the lead categories on the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships schedule for this year, alongside categories from the Australian Racing Group (ARG). The season will commence at Sydney Motorsport Park in May. RV

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has announced Supercheap Auto as its new Official Auto Parts Partner in a multi-year deal. The automotive parts and accessories retailer will focus on the motorsport community in its involvement, supporting grassroots motorsport programs such as the FIA Girls On Track program in Australia, along with Ricciardo’s Racers junior development program.

As part of the new deal, Supercheap Auto will have a strong presence at events with activations and offers for teams, officials, competitors and spectators. JN

JON MCCORKINDALE will make the switch from Super2 to Trans Am this season, swapping his Holden VF Commodore for a Ford Mustang. The experienced 31-year-old has purchased the ex-Ian McAlister Ford and will debut when the series kicks off at Race Tasmania next month. McCorkindale finished 15th in the Super2 Series standings last year after starting the season in Super3. His new machine will be adorned by the familiar green Dial Before You Dig livery. JN

SYDNEY MOTORSPORT Park will again be on show this year with the dates for the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships event finally confirmed. SMP will host a slew of categories from May 27-29 after the date and venue for the New South Wales event was previously listed at TBC. ARG categories such as the TCR Australia Series, S5000 Australian Drivers Championship and GT World Challenge Australia are expected to be part of the final line up. JN

10 I www.autoaction.com.au

NEW SUPERCARS STRUCTURE A POSITIVE

By Dan McCarthy NEW SUPERCARS owner and chairman Barclay Nettlefold and board member Mark Skaife have outlined why the new ownership structure is already paying dividends.

Late last year the RACE consortium led by Nettlefold purchased Supercars.

Under the previous owners and for some years before that Supercars teams collectively have owned 35% of the series. Nettlefold believes that the change in the structure enables the RACE board to have more time to focus on growing the business as they now own all 100%.

“We’re able to strategically work with the leadership team, with Shane (Howard newly appointed Supercars CEO) and focus on the investment side of the business,” Nettlefold outlined on a media call which included Auto Action.

“Work on the growth opportunities, the digital platforms that we want to invest heavily into and Gen3, and what an exciting platform Gen3 is!

“Then it’s really up to us to then invest in it for the betterment of the sport and the teams. “(The new structure) just makes it a lot more streamlined and, for Shane and I, it enables us along with Skaifey to really communicate properly to the teams in a succinct manner, and get the respect that an owner should in regards to the investment thesis.”

Teams will not be disadvantaged however, as each Supercars squad has a member on the new-look Commission.

The Commission will continue to allow teams to make suggestions to the board based on conversations regarding technical and sporting regulations.

Skaife, a member on the board, will oversee the Commission and is immensely proud of the new Supercars Championship structure, he expects it to be very effective.

“It’s something that we’re immensely proud of, we recognise that the custodians or the caretakers of this sport are so important to the future of the game,” Skaife said in the same conference.

“The method of the RACE group, getting the investors together to be able to acquire not only from Archer but the teams, as a 100% ownership structure, is a very exciting thing for the sport.

“The thing that we said to investors the whole time through that is that our ethos is to reset and re-energise this sport.”

Skaife continued, explaining how Nettlefold has already laid the foundations in the last few weeks, and is excited to see where RACE can take the Supercars Championship.

“Barclay and his business acumen and connections together with our connection with TLA, together with our stakeholders, and most importantly, together with the leadership group,” he said. “It’s a very, very strong organisation.

“We’ve got very, very, very strong relationships, (newly appointed Supercars CEO) Shane Howard is another sign of that.

For Shane to step up from COO to CEO is a really powerful statement that we’ve got very, very safe hands on the wheel.

SA MOTORSPORT BOARD TO BE REVIVED PLANS TO revive the South Australian Motorsport Board have been revealed, should the state’s opposition be elected into power.

The board was originally established in 1984 and chartered with the task of promoting motorsport events within the state.

One year later the state hosted its first Formula 1 World Championship round at Adelaide’s Victoria Park, an event that it hosted for 10 years.

The board was also behind the creation and management of the Adelaide 500 in 1999 until it was disbanded in 2016, five years prior to the event’s eventual demise.

However, South Australian opposition leader Peter Malinauskas has announced his intention to revive the SA Motorsport Board if he is elected into office as part of his plans to promote Adelaide and South Australia through motorsport events, including bringing back the Adelaide 500 and the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

Last year South Australian premier Steven Marshall announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the diminishing revenue the event would be axed, effective immediately.

Just days later Malinauskas flew to Sydney to meet up with then Supercars CEO Sean Seamer and signed a deal confirming that his party would bring back the event if elected into office in March.

As well as being tasked with reviving and running the Adelaide 500, the reformed Motorsport Board will also be responsible for identifying new motorsport events and promoting, conducting, and managing other motor racing events including the World Solar Challenge.

Policy material released by the Labor party has outlined that the board’s strategic priorities will be to: n Promote Adelaide and South Australia through motorsport events n Drive national and international awareness of events n Regain Adelaide’s title as the motorsport capital of Australia n Support the local economy by providing opportunities for South

Australian businesses to showcase their products n Support the growth of the South Australian major events industry by prioritising local South Australian businesses to provide services and supplies n Expand national and international awareness of the Adelaide 500, Adelaide Motorsport Festival, and other events n Provide an exceptional Adelaide 500 event experience n Surprise and excite Adelaide 500 patrons by continually reviewing, refreshing, and improving product and event content The revived board will contain nine members with a broad range of experience from motorsport to tourism and of course marketing.

Should Malinauskas be elected as South Australian Premier in March, Supercars has confirmed that it will do everything in its power to allow the legendary event to return.

“Obviously, we’d embrace that and grab it with both hands. That was an amazing event and we would love to be back in Adelaide with a street circuit,” new Supercars CEO Shane Howard said.

“If the opportunity comes to us, then we will deliver it and do whatever is necessary to deliver that event at its highest level.” Dan McCarthy

ALBERT PARK TRACK UPGRADES UNVEILED

By Josh Nevett TRACK RESURFACING work at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit is just about complete and some big Australian Formula 1 names have had their say on the new-look precinct.

The project involved milling and resurfacing 70,000 square metres of circuit using more than 13,000 tonnes of asphalt, something that had not been done since the track was constructed in 1995.

Further, the circuit has undergone a significant redesign with seven corners modified to increase the pace of the track, quickening it by a claimed 5s per lap.

After taking his first look at the completed resurfacing, Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott was thrilled with the outcome.

“I have been happy with the progress, it’s been a project that’s gone for four or five years,” Westacott explained to Auto Action “There’s been technical challenges along the way that we’ve worked on.

“There’s a lot of technology and a lot of wonderful, hard work that has been done by Victorians to put this down – it’s a tribute to the technical capabilities here.

“The new spec cars will have closer racing, you can actually tail the car in front and expect to be able to overtake and be in a competitive position.

“Making sure that the racing is going to be as exciting as possible is a reason why Formula 1 has changed the cars for this season. There’s a reason why we resurfaced the track for the first time in 25 years.”

Speaking on the specific changes made to the layout of Albert Park, Westacott flagged turns 6 and 11 as locations to watch for improved racing this year.

“We expect the widening of turns to enhance the

racing, particularly the increasing speed at Turn 6 where they’re going to go from about 90 km/h to 150 km/h, which sets up speeds in excess of 330 km/h an hour around Lakeside,” Westacott said.

“The main location is Turn 11 at the south end of the lake, Ross Gregory Drive – we expect that to be a major overtaking opportunity.”

Appearing at the circuit to collect his second Sir Jack Brabham award, Formula 2 champion and Alpine Formula 1 reserve driver Oscar Piastri also praised the changes.

“It looks good,” Piastri told AA. “It’s been quite a difficult track for overtaking in the past, but I think the new changes mostly make it better.

“It’s going to be an exciting spectacle and hopefully the widening of some of these corners will improve it.”

Australia’s Formula 1 star of yesteryear Mark Webber started in 12 Australian Grands Prix over his career and believed the surface was in better shape than ever.

“I think the surface is very good – you can’t have the same surface for long periods of time,” Webber said outside pitlane.

“I just cannot reiterate how hard the Australian Grand Prix Corporation worked under pretty tricky circumstances to say the least, so I’m very, very proud of them.

“Let’s see how it races – of course it’s faster.

“That’s going to be brilliant for the fans to see the cars at those sorts of speeds, particularly in qualifying.

“Racing wise, you’re a brave man to say if it’s better or worse, but you’ve got to have the bravery to go out there and make some design changes.”

The 2022 Australian Grand Prix will take place from April 8-10 in Melbourne.

TRUCKS STILL MIGHT FLY

By Paul Gover, News Editor THE SPECTACULAR Stadium Super Trucks could be back on the Supercars program in 2023.

Far from being rejected by Supercars, the category’s new CEO Shane Howard says the current situation with the SST racer is more about customs than customers.

The trucks have been shipped back to the USA and will not have a role on the 2022 program at Supercars events, but Howard is open to an early return of the spectacular V8powered pick-ups.

“We supported Stadium Super Trucks for a long time. To be honest, we were their biggest supporter,” Howard tells Auto Action.

Supporters of the wild jumping trucks have complained about the loss of the pick-ups, which were parked through 2021 as the Pandemic shut down the category and its regular American racers led by off-road legend and former IndyCar racer Robbie Gordon - were locked out of Australia.

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The trucks have now been shipped back to the USA, where they were built by Gordon’s team in California, because of import restrictions. Competition cars are usually imported on a ‘carnet’ which requires them to be sold locally usually with huge tax hits including Luxury Car Tax if the price is over $70,000 - or returned to their original destination.

“I think the trucks had to go out of Australia for carnet reasons,” says Howard.

But he is not ruling out a

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comeback.

“I’d never say they are gone forever.

They have provided some great entertainment.

“We like to put in some other entertainment, like the SSTs, on our programs.”

Talking timing, Howard says 2022 is out but he is happy to talk about “Not this year, because we’re pretty much loaded with our categories.

But they could come back.

“2023 is a possibility. But we also need the category to be strong with the top drivers.”

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STOP / GO MASERATI, THE luxury car brand owned by Ferrari, has announced its return to motorsport by signing up to compete in the all-electric Formula E World Championship from 2023.

According to Maserati, Formula E marks the first step in its motorsport strategy, a sport in which the Italian manufacturer has so much history.

By signing up, Maserati will become the first Italian brand to compete in Formula E. DM

JUAN PABLO Montoya will link up again with Arrow McLaren SP for a second consecutive tilt at the Indianapolis 500 with the team. The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion will again join the squad’s regular drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist for both the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis 500 takes place on May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. RV THE INDYCAR Series field for 2022 is just about complete after the signings of Tatiana Calderon and Connor Daly, as well as veteran Tony Kanaan for the Indianapolis 500. Calderon has committed to a part-time campaign with AJ Foyt Racing while Kanaan will return to Chip Ganassi Racing to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Fellow IndyCar veteran Daly will also be on track this year after he signed with Ed Carpenter Racing to steer the #20 Chevrolet for the full 2022 season. JN

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) has revealed a GT3 concept car at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 as the brand announces its intentions to accelerate its customer motorsport activities. The GR GT3 Concept is aimed at more experienced customers participating in GT3 events, the pinnacle of customer motorsports. As well as the GT3 concept, Toyota revealed the GRMN Yaris, a 500-unit limited edition fully tuned model of the GR Yaris. DM

SUPERCARS KEEN TO ENGAGE FANS ONLINE Josh Nevett SUPERCARS IS set to bolster its online presence in the hopes of engaging current fans and attracting new followers.

The new RACE group ownership team has plenty of resources when it comes to reaching the masses in the digital sphere – namely those of TLA Worldwide and TGI Sport which both specialise is sports marketing and technology.

As such, newly appointed Supercars CEO Shane Howard believes that media channels are an area that the organisation will seek to develop going forward.

“Through our digital communication and fan engagement we can get assistance from Barclay and really grow those areas,” Howard said.

“Our current fans are so important to

the sport. We want to retain them, engage with them, respect their loyalty, but also expand to new business and new fans and we think we can do that.

“If you look at last year or the last two years, our E-racing and those sorts of things. That was very well received from the fans.

“I’ve got a great group of staff and people behind me with so much knowledge in regard to marketing, the digital space and the media side of the business.

“We’re motorsport and we’re an entertainment company, we’re there to entertain people both at the track, in broadcast and obviously with the other digital platforms.”

Formula 1 has led the way in recent years when it comes to having a presence

online, dramatically increasing the volume of its content across an ever-growing array of online and social media platforms.

The Netflix Drive to Survive documentary has also been a global phenomenon since hitting screens in 2019, building the category’s fanbase considerably.

Supercars has shown its intent to innovate online with the Supercars ESeries, a live streamed simulator racing tournament featuring professional drivers and elite gamers.

Supercars Chairman Barclay Nettlefold, who is also Chairman of TGI Sport, shared the same views as Howard when it came to the future of Supercars’ media division.

“Our big focus in the future is digital and fans,” Nettlefold said.

NEW PORSCHES HANDED OVER SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN’S new Team Penske livery for the Road America round has been revealed.

A far cry from his bright 2021 artworks, the new design revolves around the muted colour combination of white and black with yellow accents. The 2021 Rookie of the Year will be backed

by Sonsio Vehicle Protection at Road America, the company that has also signed on to be the title sponsor for the IndyCar Series event. JN

12 I www.autoaction.com.au

PORSCHE CARS Australia has completed the handover of its new 992 Cup cars to their new owners and drivers at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The new 992 vehicles were utilised in the Porsche Supercup last year, but are now being distributed outside of Europe for 2022.

Australian Carrera Cup competitors will race the 992s for the first time this year and got their first taste of the new machinery at a handover event which took place at SMP from January 23-25, with the bulk of the testing occurring on the 25th.

For more on the Porsche handover, see the next edition of Auto Action. DM

MULTIPLE FORMULA FORD MANUFACTURERS NOW LIKELY MCLEAN EYES SUPER2 SERIES AND SUPERCARS SEAT FORMULA FORD is now likely to remain as a multiple manufacturer category after Motorsport Australia took note of competitor feedback.

Motorsport Australia Director CHARISMATIC SUPER2 Series frontof Motorsport and Commercial runner Matt McLean has re-signed with Operations Michael Smith opened Eggleston Motorsport and has two targets up to Auto Action about the current in 20 – win the title and secure a Supercars state of play in the incredibly popular Championship seat.

Australian Formula Ford category.

Eggleston Motorsport has always been a Smith explained that the original front-running team. It assisted Paul Dumbrell idea Formula Ford now appears to be to a second-tier Super2 Series crown in 2014, substantially less likely after listening to as well as helping Will Brown and Brodie competitors views.

Kostecki into the Supercars Championship.

“We’re really wanting the DNA to stay McLean won the Rookie of the Year title in the same,” he said to AA. 2021 and wants to back it up with the title, his “I know one of our preliminary only Super2 objective. recommendations was to look at a “The intention for this year is to go out and single manufacturer path,” he said. win the title in,” he explained to Auto Action.

“Whilst the (Formula Ford) working “We achieved our goals and they were all group hasn’t formed a view, one way realistic, I definitely feel that winning the series or another on that, I think we’re coming is another realistic goal that we can have for this around to the view that, potentially a year. We’ve got two goals – one is to go out multi-manufacturer format would be and win the series and the other is to try and a better path to go, because that’s get to the main game by 2023, so that when consistent with what Formula Ford has Gen3 comes out it gives guys like myself, always been in this country.

“We had the stakeholder forum, we then had the survey, and then we invited people to make submissions.

the perfect opportunity to have a good result straightaway.

“We see so many times when rookies do go to the Supercars Championship it takes them a while to get up to speed with the experienced drivers that are in the field, but it’ll be an even playing field when Gen3 comes out.”

The Boost Mobile sponsored driver elaborated, expressing that he treated 2021 as “We’ve taken the time to speak to a foundation and learning year before making every single one of those people or the big step in 2022. email every single one of those people.

“I remember at the start of the year when “I guess as a consequence of that I first started racing in Super2, I thought if I we’ve come around to the view that could just be inside the top 10 that would be perhaps a multi-manufacturer concept good,” he recalled. Then, after going so well in is the way to go.”

Round 1, I got excited. I thought perhaps I can Smith feels that if they can get the win the thing. rules right, then a multi-manufacturer “After realigning my goals and deciding that series will continue to work if I could get a top five that would be good, successfully. if we can win Rookie of the Year that’d be “In order to do that (a multi-brand another goal; and after doing that the sole

category) you have to get the rules right, we know that, it’s a lot simpler to craft a set of rules when you’re only have one homologated manufacturer.

attention is to try and win the series outright this year.”

Like Supercars, Super2 now has a qualifying session prior to every race. McLean felt this was a weakness last year.

However, he is confident that he can consistently qualify up the front in 2022.

“Anytime that we didn’t go as well as we’d hoped, it was plagued by some poor qualifying performances.

“But ultimately, if we’re, wanting to “There wasn’t a race where I didn’t go forward achieve or carry on the philosophy of or at least hold position, I just sort of found Formula Ford Racing we need to be myself having to pass a lot of cars last year. able to do it in a multi-manufacturer “Like at Townsville – there were two environment.” really good rounds when I raced there, Smith believes the reason that but qualifying results were terrible. It was Formula 4 did not work in Australia something that I addressed doing a category was because it did not appeal to the like SuperUtes – it was just about feeling that Australian motor sport scene, this is grip from under me, which I believe we’ve why it is essential that Formula Ford addressed now. If I can just keep that up in remains as close as possible to its the New Year this year, I think it will be on!” roots.

Dan McCarthy

“Formula 4 didn’t work here,” he admitted. “It’s clear, people are very passionate about Formula Ford Racing “Our thinking is have it as an

evolution of Formula Ford Racing, as distinct from trying to introduce something that’s entirely new that we know with our Formula 4 experience hasn’t worked.”

Smith also admitted that the plan for a 2023 introduction along with the reintroduction of championship status is looking ambitious.

“If I’m being really honest, I think 2023 introduction might be a bit ambitious at this point,” Smith felt.

“But we haven’t formed a fixed view on that, the Formula Ford Association of course, will be key to all of this as well.

“What I will say is our current thinking is to run Formula Ford, the current cars as a national series next year, and then at a point in time, whether that’s 2023 or 2024, we will introduce a new car as a championship.

“We’d run existing cars in parallel with the new ones as sort of a mixed grid and that would happen for a period, broadly speaking, I’d be anticipating that it’d be three to five years, something like that.

“I guess ultimately, it depends on the take up of any new car. DM

RACHELLE SPLATT IS RACING FOR THE HORIZON IN A NEW CHALLENGE

By Paul Gover, News Editor Although the time with ‘Rosie’ is working well, Splatt still craves with my family. I’m just happy to be involved with Peter and HER TOP Fuel dragster is still parked, still waiting for a sponsor, her Top Fuel hit.

PremiAir, being at the drag racing events and supporting them.” but Rachelle Splatt is about to feed her need for speed at Lake “You get to have a lot more fun time in the speedster, because She missed the deadline for this year’s Australian title in Top Gairdner in South Australia. you’re in it for longer. But the Top Fuel car is a lot more intense Fuel, so is aiming to be ready for the next summer season at the of the illustrious names that won in the ONE OF the country’s longest serving She is aiming for an Australian land speed record on the and requires a lot more concentration. back end of 2022. category administrators Margaret Hardy category. outback salt flats, after hitting 208 miles-an-hour (334km/h) last “It’s still dangerous, the land speed racing, so you have to focus It’s been a long time since she raced, and even her last time in Hardy assisted all of these drivers on passed away from cancer on Thursday year in her first visit to the local home of record runs. on the same things to keep yourself safe.” the car was only during a demonstration during the Supercars their route to Australia’s top-level.

August 19.

Splatt is driving for the D&D Land Speed Racing Team in a Splatt, a Melbourne native, has recently moved to Brisbane after meeting at Townsville.

She was liked by all who knew her Hardy was involved in motor racing Lakester called ‘Rosie’, a specialised record runner with a body forging close tied to Xiberras and PremiAir. “The last time I raced? I can hardly remember. I think it was at in the industry which is why the motor for decades and was known for her shaped from the fuel tank used on a Sabre jet bomber, and will The 52-year old is still fit and sharp and knows what she wants.

Willowbank, a few years ago. sport community is sad to hear of her dedication to Formula Ford. head to South Australia in the last week of February.

“I miss it. You can’t even explain how exciting it is to drive these “Last time I was in my car we went to Townsville. We did a passing.

Hardy joined the Light Car Club as She was headed for a record last year, before Speed Week was cars,” she says. burnout and a launch on Saturday night on the straight.”

During her time in the category, the office manager and began working abandoned, and believes she could crack 250 miles-an-hour “I wanted to get out of Melbourne and be up in Queensland Running a Top Fuel car is crazy expensive and Splatt knows it she was named a Life Member of the with the Australian Formula Ford (402km/h) with a good run in ‘Rosie’. will take a lot to get back on the track.

Formula Ford Association. championship 1978, doing paperwork “The plan is to go and better the 208. I think it can do 250. We “It’s about $10,000 a pass. And that’s if nothing goes dramatically Formula Ford Association for the category throughout the ‘80s. don’t really know, but I think so,” Splatt tells Auto Action. wrong. So we are probably looking for $60,000 per event. That Early in the following year she became representative Phil Marinon said “To get a record you have to back it up. I couldn’t do that would be the minimum.” she remained very connected to the the administrator of the category and last year because it got rained-out and called off. I got But she has the pieces in place once the cash comes along. category. was tasked with organising national acknowledgement, but it wasn’t offical without the back-up.

“The car will come out of PremiAir Racing. It would need to be and was always focused on the result and present took to social media to “Margaret was a tireless Administrator series events, a role she held until 2013.

“I drive for Mark Dunn and his family, so three of us will be 100 per cent, because that’s how they do things. rather than looking for accolades. send their condolences. for Formula Ford Association and also She has dealt with many of Australia’s sharing the car at Lake Gairdner. Mark and his son Kurt will drive “But they are busy with their car. We’ve just had our off-season the AFFM including category manager “Margaret was very dedicated to Outside of Formula Ford, Margaret motor sport stars over the years and as well. We’ll be in different classes, changing engines, so not and we were going to be getting the car going. But there was no also took on roles such as the race for the national competition,” he told all things Formula Ford and has was well-known as a hardworking and taking records off each other.” funding.” secretary for Sandown Raceway.

Auto Action. recently assisted the association in passionate worker.

The speed record runs have come while Splatt, one of But Splatt still has her memories and her hopes.

Hardy was diagnosed with “Her attention to detail and ability to the production of a book on 50 years In her time as category manager Australia’s best-known and most successful drag racers, has been “It is an adrenaline thing. Definitely. Just the buzz.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2019 support the competitors has been very of Formula Ford in Australia and seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig working on a comeback plan.

“The high you’re on when you get out at the other end is hard to and went into Stage 4 in May. strongly acknowledged on social media disappointingly will not get to see the Lowndes, reigning 1000 victor, Will The idea is to form a two-car outfit with Peter Xiberras, through explain. I’ve never done anything that comes close.

Auto Action sends its condolences to final result.”

Davison, David Reynolds, Chaz Mostert and is undisputed.

PremiAir Racing in Brisbane, as the Top Fuel category looks to “Parachuting? That’s something I would not do. I like highs, but her friends and family. DM “Margaret was a very private person Many Australian racing legends past and Anton de Pasquale are just some reemerge from the doldrums. not heights,” she laughs.

VALE: MARGARET HARDY – FORMULA FORD’S GUIDING HAND

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WILLIAMS TARGETS TOP 10

By Dan McCarthy AUSTRALIAN OPEN-WHEEL driver Calan Williams has signed with Trident to contest the FIA Formula 2 Championship and has outlined that one of his targets this year would be to finish in the top 10 – but feels he can achieve more.

A podium finisher in the FIA Formula 3 Championship last year, Williams is looking to build on that momentum and knowledge as he steps up to Formula 1’s second-tier Championship in 2022.

“It’s mostly about development,” Williams told Auto Action. “For me this this year, I have to learn as much about the car as possible, because this is quite a big step.

“Naturally it’s going to take some more work to adapt to this new car and as a result.

“Obviously you want to learn the car in the shortest period of time possible, but you also can’t rush it.

“This year for sure is definitely about trying to maximise the results and I think we have a good chance of performing strongly.

“I need to focus a lot on the development this year, and the good results will come.”

Trident won the teams championship in Formula 3 last year, however in recent times have not been as strong in Formula 2.

Last year the team scored a couple of podium finishes with Bent Viscaal who went

on to finish 14th in the championship.

Williams has seen good steps forward from the team in recent years and believes a top 10 finish in the championship is very much achievable.

“The team is very, very professional, very structured,” Williams expressed. “I think it’s a really good indicator of what can be achieved with them.

“It’s a team built on actual experience in the series and I think that’s a really strong

attribute to have within a team and that’s one reason I’m so excited to work with them.

“Considering that, my main goal is development.

“If I were to finish Formula 2 in the top 10 in my first year, I would be happy.

“I think more than that is definitely possible, but to prioritise too much would be irresponsible.

“I think finishing the top 10 in the first year would be quite a good achievement in

Formula 2, just one step away from Formula 1.

“Do I think I could achieve more? Yeah, for sure, but that’s not my focus at the moment.

I need to prioritise development to progress myself, as far as possible.”

Williams’ teammate is yet to be announced – however we do know that the West Australian will not be the only Aussie on the grid, as 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship runner-up Jack Doohan will race for UNIVirtuosi.

AUSSIE ACQUIRES WILLIAMS ENGINEERING BUSINESS BIG NAME Australian businessman Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s iron ore company Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) is set to acquire Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), an offshoot of Williams Formula 1 team.

WAE is significantly involved in motorsport; the technology and engineering business currently provides batteries for the Extreme E and ETCR global electric racing series’ and is set to take on that role for Formula E’s Gen3 cars.

The deal between FMG and WAE is worth approximately $309 million.

FMG, founded and chaired by Forrest, will utilise the resources of WAE to further its development of green industrial transport equipment to reach net zero carbon emissions.

“This acquisition brings together leading thinkers and engineers into one organisation to drive progress and combat climate change,” a WAE

statement read.

“WAE will bring its race bred critical battery technology to FFI (Fortescue Future Industries, an FMG-owned global green energy and product company), which will in turn enable Fortescue, one of the largest iron ore producers in the world and a heavy carbon emitter, to realise its industry leading 2030 net-zero target.”

Forrest expressed that decarbonisation was an urgent issue and that the deal was a significant step towards achieving this goal for Fortescue.

“This is the race of our lifetimes – the race to save the planet from cooking,” Forrest said.

“The speed at which we move matters. Together FFI and WAE will work to decarbonise Fortescue – with the aim of achieving that faster and more effectively than anyone else in the world.”

Josh Nevett

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HONDA STAYS WITH D’ALBERTO HONDA AUSTRALIA has announced that it will continue its partnership with Tony D’Alberto into the 2022 TCR Australia Series.

As a result, Honda will be the major sponsor on D’Alberto’s Wall racing Honda Civic Type R TCR racing car throughout the season.

It will be the fourth straight year that D’Alberto has been backed by Honda, dating back to the inaugural TCR Australia Series in 2019.

D’Alberto will start the new season featuring the striking yellow tribute livery that celebrates the recent arrival of the ultra-exclusive Civic Type R Limited Edition in Australia.

“It’s fantastic to be back again with Honda and Wall Racing for the 2022 season of TCR Australia Series,” said D’Alberto.

“I know how significant it is to have manufacturer support when you go racing and it’s been an absolute privilege to represent Honda over the last

few seasons, so it’s great to be working with them again this year.

“TCR Australia is a super competitive championship. It has a really strong mix of young and experienced drivers, the cars are run by top level teams and the competition is fierce, so I’m sure it will be a tough battle again out on the track.

“Since I last drove the car at Sydney Motor Sport Park we’ve had some upgrades come through from JAS Motorsport in Italy, so I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel, dialling-in the car and working with the Wall Racing crew to get the most of the of Honda Civic Type R package.”

D’Alberto will continue to compete in the #50, the number that he has carried in all TCR Australia Series campaigns, which was originally used in the maiden 2019 series to celebrate Honda’s 50th year in Australia.

WITH LUKE WEST

REVVED UP AA’S COLUMNIST BELIEVES THERE’S CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM UNDER SUPERCARS NEW LEADERSHIP

SPORTS SEDANS CALENDAR RELEASED

By Josh Nevett THE NATIONAL Sports Sedans series is set to shine as a Supercars Championship support twice this year as part of a five-round 2022 calendar.

Despite having only completed one national round over the last two seasons due to COVID, Sports Sedans are locked in to run on the Supercars bill at both Winton in country Victoria and The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

Before those highly anticipated events, the season kicks off with the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships at Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit from March 18-20.

The return of national sports sedans competition will be bolstered by strong entry numbers, with up to 30 cars predicted to pack the grid.

Category Administrator Michael Robinson believed that the combination of high-profile events and new names makes for an exciting season ahead.

“I can say there’s four or five

new competitors already to the series including Nick Smith, Scott Cameron and Tim Tritton.” Robinson told Auto Action.

“Some people have been working on building new cars for the last two to three years that are finally ready to run in Nationals.

“We should have 30 entrants from around the country at these events which will be a good thing.

“I think it’s a pretty good chance for fans to attend high profile events that they haven’t been able to at good tracks.”

In huge news for the category, the season opener is set to receive TV coverage from Channel 7.

“Supercar rounds with television is a big draw card and a feature that we’ve been pushing for a long time,”

Robinson said.

“The first Shannons at Phillip Island is a good event with TCR, it will be broadcast on TV as well.”

It won’t just be the new competitors who bring new metal to the series, as some of the returning crop will debut fresh machines of their own in 2022.

“The Tamasis have a second car, a well-known Nissan 300ZX that is planned to be on the grid at the opening round,” Robinson explained.

“John Gourlay’s second Audi is also very close to being at the first round.

“It’s all very exciting for the public to be able to get in and mingle with us.

We’re not exclusive, they can come and sit in the cars and so on.”

2022 NATIONAL SPORTS SEDANS CALENDAR 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

18-20 March 20-22 May 29-31 July 2-4 Sept.

4-6 Nov.

Phillip Island Vic Winton Vic The Bend SA SMP NSW Sandown Vic

Shannons MA Nationals Winton Supersprint Supercars OTR Supersprint Supercars Sydney Master Blast Sandown Historics

THORNBURROW EYES OFF S5000 BERTH Josh Nevett TRANS AM Series driver Edan Thornburrow is targeting an S5000 seat after testing the open wheeled machines during the recent Garry Rogers Motorsport combine in Tasmania.

Thornburrow finished runner-up to Nathan Herne in his debut Trans Am season and will kick off his sophomore campaign at Race Tasmania in February.

As part of his preparations the Sydneysider attended the recent Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM) young driver combine in Tasmania, receiving coaching from two-time Supercars champion and NASCAR race winner Marcos Ambrose.

The GRM combine gave Thornburrow an opportunity to complete laps of both Baskerville Raceway and Symmons Plains Raceway in Trans Am, TCR Australia Series and S5000 machinery, but it was the latter car that attracted his interest.

“The Trans Am was like home for me but the S5000 was cool,” Thornburrow told Auto Action.

“It was my first time in an open wheeler, so they threw me in the deep end, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

“It’s got plenty of power, the tyre is quite a hard tyre, so you’ve got to catch the car a little bit.

“I wasn’t used to the wind on your helmet, the physical workout that it is. It was a good experience.

“I got out of it and my face lit up, it’s a really cool piece of kit.”

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Thornburrow has no set plans aside from racing in Trans Am this year, however he was keen on the possibility of entering S5000 in the near future.

“The short-term, immediate goal is Trans Am so we’re going to be focused 100% on it this year,” Thornburrow explained.

“But ultimately I would love to jump in an S5000.

“Whether it’s this year or next year, a round or two, we will just have to wait and see what comes our way.

“I’ll be setting a goal for it and working towards it either sometime this year or next year.”

Race Tasmania will kick off the Australian motorsport season from February 11-13, featuring the National Trans Am Series as well as TCR Australia, the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship and three local categories.

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CREDIT WHERE credit is due. Supercars is really starting to get its ducks in a row. A raft of positive recent developments has this self-proclaimed Negative Nelly thinking a return to the category’s glory days – such as this millennium’s earliest years – might just be possible.

In the space of a month late last year Supercars: gained a new owner that appears to give a damn; revealed two stunning-looking racecars upon which to rebuild the ontrack product from 2023; and staged a compelling grand finale at its spiritual home won neck by worthy, popular and marketable drivers.

Now in the early weeks of 2022 comes confirmation of exactly who is guiding the series forward, with Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd announcing its board. Those appointees can be summarised as being an ever-present figure with first-hand knowledge of the category’s first quarter century (Mark Skaife), two Australian Racing Group reps (John McMellan and Barry Rogers) and three freshly engaged businessmen from non-ARG investors (Henslow’s Steve Macaw, Doma Group’s Jure Domazet and Barclay Nettleford).

The latter, apart from possessing a name straight from an Ivy League frat house romcom, is an outdoor advertising and sport governance specialist. Supercars events, particularly those on street circuits, provide many opportunities for track signage, so expect to see a renewed focus on shoring up existing temporary venues and adding new ones. Doma Group is an ACT-based residential and commercial property developer, which would explain the basis for last year’s rumours a revitalised Canberra street race.

Just what influence ARG’s ownership stake in RACE has on Supercars’ traditional support series and its very own lineup of categories will be fascinating to watch. Remember that ARG’s showcase event, an inaugural Bathurst International headlined by a 500km TCR enduro for local and overseas hot hatch teams, has twice been postponed and is earmarked for November this year. To me, the intertwined relationship between RACE and ARG has much scope for fireworks.

I also can’t wait to see how RACE drags Supercars teams kicking and screaming into a new era of entertaining fans rather than technical masturbation. Archer’s decade of ownership resulted in teams having more influence than during the Tony Cochrane era. Decisions were made in late 2021 with little thought to the fanbase. SMP4, when teams gave fans the two fingered salute, deciding they didn’t want to race on a wet track, was the lowest point.

2022’s best news thus far is the appointment, for the first time, of a new Supercars CEO who is a born-and-bred motorsport enthusiast. The new mother duck is Shane Howard, son of Tasmanian sportscar racer Bert Howard, and former driver and motorcycle racer himself. I was lucky enough to meet Bert at Symmons Plains’ annual V8 Supercars round about a decade ago, a few years before his passing, and hear of his Lola Mk I, Elfin 400 big banger and Formula 2 Matra exploits. Bert Howard also told of Shane’s runs in the Matra at Symmons and Baskerville.

So, dear AA readers, the sport appears to be very good hands now. Shane Howard, whose time working in the sport dates back to 1997, headed Supercars’ events department when the category was really cranking. If anyone knows what the average racing fan wants, it is he.

On a side note, Supercars, of course, is the promoter of the Bathurst 12 Hour, now postponed to May 15. Had the B12 run in its traditional February slot, sunrise would have been around 6.30am. On May 15 the sun will peak above the ranges at 6.45am, meaning more early morning laps racing in the dark.

Even more tantalisingly though, the sun will set at 5.10pm. Thus, the race will, for the first time, conclude in darkness. That’s something this average race fan can’t wait to see.

Luke West is a long-time Auto Action columnist and author of The Immortals of Australian Motor Racing: the Local Heroes.

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NEW GRESINI ERA TEAM GRESINI is headed into a new era as a customer Ducati team with two youngsters, Enea Bastianini and rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio, with the liveries being revealed.

The Italian team founded by the late Fausto Gresini will return to being a satellite team this year, after running the factory Aprilia outfit since 2015.

Team Gresini is now led by his wife Nadia Padovani Gresini and will field a strong youthful rider line-up.

In his debut season, two-time MotoGP podium finisher Bastianini remains on a Ducati but switches to the Gresini team. He will be joined by rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Both riders will race Ducati Desmosedici GP21 machines, a bike they were able to ride at November’s Jerez post-season test last year.

Di Giannantonio, will not have to wait as long, he will be the first to take to the track in Sepang’s first test, which is reserved exclusively for rookies.

Now with #49 on the front of his machine, Di Giannantonio’s season will get underway on January 31 with a three-day shakedown.

Nadia Gresini is optimistic about the season ahead, and is confident in the ability of her new riders.

“We’re finally presenting a project we strongly believed in and one we have been working non-stop for during the last year,” she said.

“We’re very motivated and we ended up being the first MotoGP team to present itself; plus, I believe our bikes are beautiful – and I hope all the others will like them, too.

“I would like to think that Fausto is looking at us from above and that is proud of his family.

There is almost no distinction between natural and work families, we’re one.

“I must say that I saw both Diggia and Enea in great shape and eager to start: we’re aiming at being among the protagonists and show up at the parc fermé sometimes.”

Dan McCarthy

ROSSI CONFIRMS FOUR-WHEEL SWITCH

NINE-TIME MOTORCYCLE World Champion Valentino Rossi has confirmed a full-season entry in the GT World Challenge Europe Series.

This year is Rossi’s first season away from bikes, after retiring from MotoGP at the end of the 2021 season and, as he indicated, he has moved onto four-wheels.

Rossi will compete in both the Endurance and Sprint Series for front-running outfit Team WRT which campaigns Audi R8s.

Following a successful test with the former Bathurst 12 Hour winning squad at Valencia in December, Rossi has finalised a deal to contest all 10-rounds of the GT World Challenge Europe series with the Belgian outfit.

The Italian motorcycle legend will continue to race with the iconic #46.

“I am delighted to join Team WRT for a full Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe programme,” Rossi said.

“Everybody knows that I have always been

a great car racing fan and that I have always been interested in racing on four wheels once my MotoGP career would come to an end.

“Now I am completely available to devote myself to a car racing program at a high level and with the right professional approach.

“Team WRT is the perfect fit I was looking for and I am anxious to start this new adventure in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe with them.”

Joining Team WRT has aligned Rossi with the most successful team in the championship’s history.

The team amassed five from a possible six race wins last season. The Belgian outfit has been particularly dominant in the Sprint Cup and is always a contender for victory in the categories main event the 24 Hours of Spa. The Sprint schedule includes visits to two Italian circuits, Misano from July 1-3, while the Endurance Cup visits Imola a month later.

The SRO Motorsports Group founder and CEO Stéphane Ratel is chuffed to see Rossi

join the championship and is confident it will be a big boost for the championship.

“I am delighted to welcome Valentino Rossi to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS grid for 2022,” he said.

“Having followed his illustrious career in motorcycle racing for more than two decades, it is truly exciting to witness the start of this new chapter in GT machinery.

“To attract a competitor of Valentino’s stature is a tremendous vote of confidence for our championship and for GT racing in general.

“He will bring new energy to our paddock and I look forward to watching him on-track this season.”

Rossi is not a complete newcomer to the series having made his debut in a pair of Endurance races at Monza and the Nürburgring during the 2012 season.

The official test days take place at Circuit Paul Ricard on March 7-8 with Round 1 at Imola at the start of April. Dan McCarthy

“Our next step, I feel like I need more time on the bike I need hours, my preseason was not in a normal way.

“But now we have time to ride with different

kinds of bikes to take more time to adapt my body now to racing style and let’s see, let’s see but looking forward to go to Malaysia test.”

Dan McCarthy

MARQUEZ EXPECTS TO ATTEND TEST SIX-TIME MOTOGP World Champion Marc Marquez is confident of being at the first of the pre-season tests after an eye injury forced him miss the final two rounds of the 2021 MotoGP season.

Marquez suffered the eye injury after winning two back-to-back MotoGP races last year and looked set to finish the season inside the top five until a Motocross training accident ended his season early.

In the last couple of weeks Marquez has been able to jump back on a number of bikes after the eye injury ruled him out or riding for several months.

Firstly Marquez leapt onboard a motocross bike and since then has conducted two days riding Honda road bikes on grand prix circuits.

He firstly rode the RC213V-S at Portimao completing 65 laps and was delighted with

16 I www.autoaction.com.au

how it all felt.

“Of course, today I’m very happy,” he said at the time. “I’m very happy because of the feeling what I have with a motocross bike, was important to confirm in GP circuit with like Portimao.

“At Portimao top speed is around 300km/h with the bike that I ride, also many up hills and down hills and some change of directions and it was important.

“We confirmed that good feeling, so this is something that makes me very happy.”

After this Marquez rode Honda’s CBR600rr, a change from the bike he usually prepares on, after this test he was confident of returning for the first preseason MotoGP test from February 5-6.

DIFFICULT PRE-SEASON FOR AUS MOTOGP MEN AUSTRALIAN REMY Gardner, set to make his MotoGP debut in just five weeks, has fractured his right wrist.

Gardner suffered the injury in a ‘small’ motocross training accident on Saturday the January 15 and required surgery by Dr Mir, MotoGP’s own doctor.

The procedure took place in Barcelona on the following Tuesday, during which Dr Mir placed two screws in Gardner’s injured wrist to help him recover.

Mir reported the operation was a success and that Gardner would be able to start his recovery in coming days ahead of the first of the MotoGP preseason tests in Malaysia.

Although not ideal preparation heading into his maiden MotoGP season, Gardner is positive he will be fine for the rookie ‘Shakedown’ test at the Sepang International Circuit which takes place from January 31-February 2.

“Small motocross crash,” Gardner said on Facebook. “Operation went well.

Shouldn’t slow me down though.”

Gardner and his fellow rookie, Tech 3 KTM teammate Raul Fernandez, will remain in Malaysia before they take part in the first official 2022 MotoGP preseason test at the same venue less than a week later.

The final pre-season test will occur at the Mandalika International Street Circuit from February 11-13, just weeks before hosting its maiden MotoGP round.

Gardner’s injury comes after he pipped his teammate Fernandez to the Moto2 Championship in 2021.

His fellow Australian MotoGP rider Jack Miller has also not had the pre-season he was planning.

When back in Australia the Queenslander tested positive to Covid-19 just days before returning to Italy, his mandatory self-isolation has forced the factory Ducati team to postpone its launch from January 28 to February 7.

“Jack Miller tested positive for Covid-19 after undergoing a molecular test on Wednesday 19 January,” a Ducati press release stated.

“Therefore, unable to leave for Europe to take part in the official photo shoot of the Ducati Lenovo Team 2022. For this reason, the presentation of the team has been postponed to February 7.”

Miller himself reported on social media that he was fine, but disappointed not to be able to travel when originally scheduled.

“Unfortunately, I’m still here at home in Australia due to testing positive for Corona, so I’m currently unable to travel,” he said in a video.

“I just want to let you all know that I’m doing fine, no symptoms, still able to continue on with my training and whatnot here on the farm but yeah, just unable to travel at this point in time.” Dan McCarthy

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FORMER WRC DRIVER SAMPLES TCR AUSTRALIA CAR SIX-TIME FIA World Rally Championship event podium finisher Chris Atkinson drove a TCR car for the very first time on the weekend and expressed interest in contesting a round or two in the future.

The former factory Subaru driver jumped behind the wheel of Liam McAdam’s Audi RS3 LMS TCR at Queensland Raceway.

Despite his rally background, Atkinson is familiar to the world of circuit racing, having competed in the Bathurst 12 Hour driving of course a factory Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C. Atkinson was impressed by the TCR car and expressed interest in competing in a round of the series if the opportunity presented itself.

“I haven’t done much racing lately so it’s definitely something that is on my radar if a good opportunity comes up,” Atkinson said.

“I think the TCRs are the sort of cars that would be great fun racing as well. Super close competition, door-to-door racing would be really cool in them and you see that in the racing as well.

“The speed you get for the lap time, the value is a great level to get into motorsport.”

Although he had done a bit of circuit racing in the past, a front-wheel-drive racing car was a new experience for the New South Welshman.

“I’ve been doing a lot of car tests at Queensland Raceway so we wanted to put a TCR car on there to see how it compared to the road cars we’d been testing,” Atkinson explained.

“I was pretty happy with my pace straight away, but it’d be good to explore it a bit more. It nearly did the same time as I’d done in a GT3RS with a lot less power, so it shows how much performance these TCR cars have. And I think there’s a lot more in it.

“It was good because I’d never tested a race car at Queensland Raceway and it’s funny how the lines are more aggressive as well as the positions you’re able to put the TCR car in compared to a road-going model.

“The fact I could be much later into the corners and wider where a road car doesn’t let you go that far across the track, but the TCR handled it with ease.

“It was impressive.”

McAdam was joined at Queensland Raceway by Luke King, who raced a Melbourne Performance Centre Audi in last year’s series, while fellow Lachlan Mineeff completed laps in his Purple Sector Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR. The opening round of the TCR Australia season, Race Tasmania takes place from February 11-13.

MCLAUGHLIN YELLOW SUBMARINE

AS HE did in 2021, former Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin will contest the legendary Indianapolis 500 in the famous yellow Pennzoil sponsored machine.

For decades the #3 Team Penske IndyCar has been backed by Pennzoil for the 500-mile race, and for the second year running it is New Zealander

McLaughlin that gets the honour of driving the ‘Yellow Submarine.’

McLaughlin confirmed the news in a short social media post in which he said.

“Back in the yellow sub with @Pennzoil for the 500 #theproofisinthepennzoil.”

The well known and distinct yellow livery has been run by many IndyCar legends including Rick Mears, Johnny

Rutherford and more recently Helio Castroneves.

Racing for Meyer Shank Racing in 2021 Castroneves won the Indy 500 and will make his full-time return to the series this year.

While McLaughlin was the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year last year when he crossed the line in 20th position.

FAMILY TIES STRENGTHEN AT HARRIS RACING NEW SPONSORS and a rookie driver will spearhead a renewed Harris Racing assault on the Turtle Wax Trans Am Series following a successful stint with long-time driver Aaron Seton.

Led by noted former racer and businessman Craig Harris, the Queensland based team will this year enhance its family orientated credentials as son John will take on the driving duties of the Ford Mustang starting at Race Tasmania on February 11-13.

John previously contested the Queensland Production Cars, racing a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, but the new challenge of muscling a Trans Am Ford Mustang is a prospect.

“It’s super exciting,” said Harris.

“We planned this a couple of years ago and this was always the plan to move into Trans Am and it’s just worked out at a good time for us.

“The first shakedown was definitely interesting, being on the other side of the car, having all that grunt to only two tyres, it was a lot different to drive.

“There was a lot going on, let’s just say that.

“I can’t wait. I love those little battle packs that form and I’m just looking forward to racing drivers my age as well as the stature in

the category.”

Studying Engineering at university, Harris is hopeful of emulating the impressive performances of rookies in 2021.

“I’m optimistic and I definitely know there are plenty of challenges this year, so if I could be like where the other rookies were in 2021, I’d be very happy,” he said.

Father Craig revealed long-time sponsor Castrol will continue to support the team continuing a relationship which began in 1983.

Added support comes from three local Queensland companies Superior Jetties, Ahoy Club and Ownit Homes.

“We’re really happy with how the program is progressing,” summarised Craig.

“I think we’ve got a very good package. We won’t get ahead of ourselves, this year for John is a learning curve as it was for some of those young guys last season then we’ll see how it goes after it’s finished.”

AWC Race Tasmania will once again commence the national circuit racing season with opening rounds of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship and the Turtle Wax Trans Am Series.

YAMAHA RNF REVEILS LIVERY

The Pennzoil livery is not McLaughlin’s first livery reveal of the year, already the Road America livery he will run in June has been unveiled.

The 2022 season will launch on the streets of St. Petersburg on February 27 and can be streamed live on Stan Sports. Dan McCarthy

THE NEWLY rebranded and restructured satellite Yamaha MotoGP team WithU Yamaha RNF has revealed its first paint scheme for riders Andrea Dovizioso and Darryn Binder.

Yamaha RNF was formed after Petronas pulled out as naming rights sponsor of the previous team’s iteration and saw the team restructure at the top.

The Yamaha YZR-M1s were revealed in spectacular fashion with a show that included opera singers, a virtual audience only and many guests including those of the team.

Despite a sabbatical season, Dovizioso is a three-time runner-up in the MotoGP Championship, having won 15-times.

He will enter his 20th full season across all categories of the World Championship in 2022.

The Italian rode the final five grands prix for the Petronas team alongside the now retired Valentino Rossi, ‘Dovi’ is confident those handful of weekends will allow him to hit the ground running in 2022.

“I’m really ready for this season, Dovizioso said. “I’m training a lot in the gym, on my Motocross bike. I removed the plate on my collarbone early December in order to feel better for this year. Everything is going well.

“I’m so happy to start this full season after five races of testing last year, which was very important to start early with the Yamaha, which is different to what I used the last eight seasons.

“I’m convinced that this will help me a lot to approach the tests and the races in 2022 in a better way. I know more about the bike, about the engineers and the team in general.

“The new colours are adding to the amazing overall picture and I’m looking forward to the test in Malaysia. The last two years we couldn’t ride there, so I’m really happy to go

to Sepang.”

Darryn Binder, brother of two-time MotoGP race winner Brad will become only the second rider in MotoGP history to jump straight from Moto3 to MotoGP, following Aussie Jack Miller.

The younger of the Binder brothers celebrated his first ever victory in Catalunya 2020 and collected five further podiums in the course of his Moto3™ career, the popular yet controversial figure will want to show that he is ready to race in the premier class.

“The colours of my new bike are just beautiful,” Binder said. “Once you see the design and how everything is going to look like for the season, it just makes you so excited to get out and actually ride with the new livery and then you know the 2022 season is officially starting once the team launch has happened.

“I definitely can’t wait! It’s going to be so awesome, I’m very, very excited for my first

season in MotoGP! “Our goal is just to take it step by step.

Obviously, it’s a big jump from Moto3 to MotoGP and I only want to take it gradually and build up as high as I can.

“I don’t want to do anything too crazy, but rather take one step at a time and go up slowly, but surely. I’m really excited, now I can’t wait for the Sepang test to get everything going!”

In less than a week, the Yamaha YZR-M1 will be on track, piloted by Binder for the three days Shakedown (Rookie) test at the Sepang International Circuit.

The premier class rookie will very soon be accompanied by his teammate Dovizioso from 5th to 6th February for the first official pre-season test in 2022.

The first race of the year will commence on March 6 at the Losail International Circuit.

Dan McCarthy

PEUGEOT’S WINGLESS HYPERCAR PEUGEOT HAS revealed more images of its LMD machine, the 9X8 set to debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship in coming months notably tested with no rear wing.

Momentum is building as the French manufacturer completed a test of its 9X8 at MotorLand Aragon last week.

The machine first hit the track in December last year and has returned to the tarmac for the first time this year.

The absence of a rear wing was immediately obvious, however Olivier Jansonnie, the Technical Director of Peugeot Sport’s WEC programme stressed that the unique aerodynamic design of the car means that no rear wing is necessary.

“This configuration is permitted by

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the ACO/FIA Hypercar regulations,” said Jansonnie. “Our calculations and wind tunnel work have confirmed the pertinence of our decision to run without a rear wing.

“Along with the developments and settings this option calls for, we expect it to be validated as we test at different circuits with differing characteristics.”

Throughout 2022 Peugeots research and sign-off work will continue on the simulator as well as the planned monthly track tests that will improve speed and reliability.

Just a couple of days ago the 2022 WEC entry list was revealed and contained two Peugeots, however the former Le Mans winning manufacturer has stated that this is a test season and will not rush

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development to get it on the grid.

“Team Peugeot will not attend the first of the six rounds that make up the 2022 calendar which kicks off at Sebring in Florida,” said Stellantis Motorsport Director Jean-Marc Finot.

“The 9X8 will make its race debut based on its level of readiness, reliability and competitiveness as agreed with the championship’s organisers who we will keep regularly updated as our development programme progresses.

“We could have opted for attending selected races only without committing to the season. That would have been possible but less coherent.

“Instead, we have chosen an approach that will enable the team to be fully

immersed in the discipline, resulting in much closer collaboration with the organisers even if the 9X8 doesn’t contest every race as our development work and the homologation process continue.”

It is understood that Peugeot must commit to one of the first two races to allow for entry in the Le Mans 24 Hours, without contesting Sebring, the brand must race in the 6 Hours of SpaFrancorchamps on May 7.

Porsche intends to join the championship next year, the German marque has also been testing there machine which made its test debut late last week.

A full Hypercar feature is in this issue of AA from pages 32-35.

Dan McCarthy

LATEST NEWS

PENRITE STEPS UP GROVE RACING INVOLVEMENT IN 2022, not one, but two Grove Racing Ford Mustangs will be sponsored by Penrite Oil with the Australian oil company taking the naming rights sponsor from 2022 and beyond.

In 2021 David Reynolds joined the then Kelly Grove Racing outfit and with him came Erebus sponsor Penrite.

Only Reynolds car was sponsored by Penrite last year, however in 2022 as Lee Holdsworth joins the team squad Penrite has upped its deal to sponsor both Mustangs.

Both Mustangs will feature the striking black, red and gold colours of Penrite that we have seen in the Supercars Championship for a number of years.

“Penrite is a proudly Australian familyowned business and we could not be happier to partner up with a like-minded,

locally-owned Supercars race team,” said General Manager, Sales & Marketing of Penrite Oils Toby Dymond.

“Australian manufacturing is very important to Penrite, so to be in a position to increase our support of a self-sufficient Supercars team like the Groves is great.

“It is fantastic that we are continuing our long association with Supercars, and with our driver David Reynolds who is regarded as one of the best in the business.

“And now to have reigning Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth in our team and in our colours, we feel very fortunate, and we can’t wait for the season to start at Sydney Motorsport Park.”

As he did in last year former Bathurst 1000 winner Reynolds will run in car #26, while the returning full-timer Holdsworth

HMO CUSTOMER RACING REVEALS STRIKING NEW LOOK FOR 2022 LEADING SUPERCHEAP Auto TCR Australia team HMO Customer Racing has revealed a bold and striking new look to its expanded three-car Hyundai team for 2022.

The inaugural series-winning squad will campaign fresh hues that keep in theme with their past liveries, while incorporated some of the factory stylings that Hyundai Motorsport’s global TCR program is known for.

The liveries included increased support from its ’N Performance’ division, a relationship that has accelerated since the final round of the series at Mount Panorama last year.

Each of the team’s i30 Ns have the ’N’ branding on the doors, roof and rear wins.

The cars also carry common sponsorship from DPO, Nulon and Rondo.

HMO will enter three cars in the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series in 2022, with Nathan Morcom and Josh Buchan to be joined by rookie Bailey Sweeney.

While it is not the first time the team has run three cars, it is the first time that the team has entered three cars from the full season.

The opening round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will be held at Symmons Plains Raceway – the secondrunning of the AWC Race Tasmania event.

CLICK HERE to secure your tickets to AWC Race Tasmania.

will compete with #10– a number previously run under the Grove Racing banner.

Grove Racing team owner Stephen Grove was delighted to see such an iconic brand jump onboard with the second machine.

“To have an iconic Australian brand like Penrite to be a part of Grove Racing’s first full year at the helm of our Supercars team is fantastic,” said Grove.

“Penrite is a well-respected Australian company who Grove Racing have worked with in 2021 and for them now to step up to support both of our cars is a great opportunity for our team to assist in growing the Penrite brand. We are truly excited for the year ahead.

“Like the Grove Group, Penrite is a family-owned Australian company that

shares the same business values and there are strong synergies between our two organisations.

“Like all Supercars team, we want to win, and that will always be the aim, but first and foremost, we want to continue to grow, develop our Ford Mustangs and work our way up the grid. This year is about moving forward, improving the business, advancing the team and creating a sustainable and competitive future.”

The opening round of the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will now be held under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park from March 4-6.

Ahead of the Sydney event, Penrite Racing will conduct a pre-season test at Winton Motor Raceway on February 22.

Dan McCarthy

MA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH SUPERCHEAP AUTO MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has announced Supercheap Auto as its new Official Auto Parts Partner in a multiyear deal.

The automotive parts and accessories retailera will focus on the motorsport community in its involvement – namely through Motorsport Australia’s Member Rewards program.

Supercheap Auto will also support grassroots motorsport programs such as the FIA Girls On Track program in Australia, along with Ricciardo’s Racers junior development program.

As part of the new deal, Supercheap Auto will have a strong presence at both the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships and the Motorsport Australia Rally Championship with activations and offers for teams, officials, competitors and spectators.

Supercheap Auto Managing Director Benjamin Ward was proud to announce the partnership with Motorsport Australia.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Motorsport Australia and delivering a host of benefits as well as support

to those competing in motorsport, particularly those who do so at the grassroots level,” Ward said.

“At Supercheap Auto, motorsport is in our DNA. We’ve been involved in the sport for decades as a sponsor of some of the biggest and best events, teams and competitors and love seeing the passion, commitment, and dedication from those who live and breathe motorsport, as we do.

“The Motorsport Australia partnership is a great opportunity to provide support for those competing or officiating from grassroots to national level, as well as supporting a range of popular Motorsport Australia events, including national rally and circuit racing events.”

Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca also welcomed the new deal.

“Motorsport Australia proudly welcomes Supercheap Auto as our Official Auto Parts Partner,” Arocca said.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of Benjamin and his team, and everyone at Motorsport Australia is eager to work with Supercheap Auto

to deliver some great benefits for those competing at a grassroots level.

“We’re also excited about Supercheap Auto’s support of both the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships and the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship. Both these national events promise to deliver a big 2022, with events across the country scheduled.

“The support of the innovative FIA Girls On Track and Ricciardo’s Racers programs is also a great vote of confidence in our joint commitment to support and grow the sport for future generations. This will be a great partnership and we look forward to working closely with Supercheap Auto for many years to come.”

Supercheap Auto has sponsored several areas of Australian motorsport over recent decades – it is the naming rights partner for the TCR Australia Series and was the naming rights partner for the Bathurst 1000 until 2020.

The brand has over 300 stores across Australia and New Zealand and more than 4,500 staff. Josh Nevett

MOTORSPORT COMMUNITY RECOGNISED IN AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS AUSTRALIAN FORMULA 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo headlines a number of members of the motorsport community recognised on the Australia Day 2022 Honours List.

The McLaren driver has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) following “Significant service to motorsport as a competitor and ambassador, and the community.”

In addition to his service to motorsport as an eight-time grand prix winner, including most recently the Italian Grand Prix at Monza last year, Ricciardo is also announced late last year that he had become an ambassador for Save The Children, with a focus on education outside of the traditional classroom environment.

Ricciardo joins the likes of Toby Price, who had the honour bestowed upon him last year, as well as Mark Webber, Jack Brabham, Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife and Peter Brock.

Beyond Ricciardo’s recognition, seven other members of the motorsport community have also been recognised this year.

VHRR President Ian Tate (pictured above) was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his contribution to historic motorsports.

While Terence Bracken of Tasmania, Leslie Power of Western Australia were also awarded Medals of the Order of Australia (OAM) for “service to the motorsport industry”.

Kay De Luca and the late Anthony De Luca of New South Wales were given the same recognition for service to motoring clubs and to the community, as was Ian Digby of South Australia for service to the community and to the motor industry. Rhys Vandersyde

ROGERS WANTS TO SEE BASKERVILLE RETURN GARRY ROGERS Motorsport and Australian Racing Group part owner Barry Rogers wants to return to Baskerville Raceway in Tasmania after a successful trip to the undulating Tasmanian circuit last year.

In 2021 ARG categories Trans Am, Touring Car Masters and TCR Australia each had a non-championship round at Baskerville following just days after the opening round at Symmons Plains.

Baskerville is not on the schedule this year, but would be very keen to see it return once more in 2022.

Although AWC Race Tasmania won’t take in Baskerville this year, Rogers confirmed plans are in place to return there for the next edition.

“It’s fantastic to kick off Australian motorsport in Tasmania for a second year running and let’s hope in 2023 we can return to the doubleheader,” Rogers said.

Rogers recently returned from Tasmania as he visited Symmons Plains as part of the GRM Combine event, this saw half a dozen young drivers get laps in a TCR, S5000 and Trans Am at the classic Tasmanian venue.

Symmons Plains will again kickstart the season, and Rogers believes it is a great place to begin.

“It’s great to get the season started in Tasmania, there’s no better place then down there during the

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summer,” said Rogers.

“There’s been a lot of interest. The television news has been out, the newspapers have done likewise, we’d walk into somewhere with our team uniform on and people ask about Race Tasmania, they’re all looking forward to it.

“I think what we offer with our categories within ARG is big bash type style where one class finishes and another starts, it’s non-stop action. When fans come to the races, they don’t want to sit on the hill and watch safety car or

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ride cars going around, they want to see action.”

Rogers highlighted the support received not only from fans but by the Tasmanian Government and the regulating body Motorsport Tasmania.

“There’s nowhere in Australia where you get the support you do in Tasmania,” Rogers expressed. “The government and Motorsports Tasmania are really behind the sport.

“I was speaking to the Minister for Sport and Recreation, Jane Howlett at Baskerville during the combine and I said, ‘if you think the home AFL, you think Victoria even though it’s played around the country, the home of NRL is New South Wales, but if you think motorsport, it doesn’t have a home.

“I mean Bathurst is the obvious location because its such an iconic place, but in Tasmania there is Baskerville, which is Australia’s oldest permanent circuit. I know it’s only a club circuit, but there are certainly things in place to get it up to national level and add Symmons Plains, I believe Tasmania is the home of motorsport.

“Of course, Longford as well where there is a lot of history and tradition.”

Race Tasmania will again feature TCR Australia, the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship and the Trans Am Series from February 11-13.

NEWS EXTRA

PETER XIBERRAS IS ALMOST UNKNOWN IN SUPERCARS – BUT NOT FOR LONG

By Paul Gover BEFORE YOU ask, his name is pronounced ’Shib-a-rus’.

Supercars fans will need to know, because Peter Xiberras is the newest team owner in the category and has plans to lift the former Team Sydney off the bottom of the pitlane and build a respectable and credible outfit to carry the name of his company, PremiAir Hire.

Xiberras already knows about the dangers of motorsport.

As a Top Fuel dragster pilot he has run through the benchmark 1000-foot strip in 3.74 seconds at 325 miles-and-hour. Just for clarity, that is 523km/h from a standing start in 304 metres.

“I love driving the Top Fueller. It’s the one time I get to relax,” Xiberras tells Auto Action.

But diving deep into Supercars, springboarding off the high tower, is something new even for him.

And the sharks are waiting in the deep end . . .

Xiberras has already taken a pounding on social media over his driver choices, retaining Garry Jacobson but taking Chris Pither in place of former race winner Fabian Coulthard.

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That could be seen as a cash grab, because Pither is likely to arrive with a bag of CocaCola gold, but a proper picture of Xiberras emerges during a weekend at Sydney Dragway.

His Top Fuel team is family. His wife Carmen arrives with a freshly-baked cake, one of his daughters is cleaning engine parts, Pither is schmoozing his backers and Rachelle Splatt – the first woman anywhere in the world to crack 300mph (482km/h) is watching the action while she works on a plan to join the boss in a two-car team.

There is none of the glitzy glamour of Supercars, but this is real. Xiberras packs his own parachutes and is in charge of refuelling his racecar.

But he is often sneaking behind the team tent to take care of business. The real business of PremiAir, not the business of winning at drag racing.

“I’m a control freak. I think probably the best way to describe me is hard, but – I feel – fair,” he tells Auto Action.

“I’m always doing something. There is always something to do.”

It’s a common attitude among the children

of migrants, and Xiberras’ parents both arrived from Malta before he was born.

The 53-year-old Sydneysider qualified as a fitter and machinist after leaving school and has always had a rock-solid work ethic.

“I worked for a company for 10 years and all I did was work. I didn’t have any passions outside work. Then I started my own business in ’94, and the first 10 years I was just a workaholic,” he says.

Some people – including Carmen, his wife of 29 years and mother to their four children – would say he is still a workaholic.

“He’s never home. Always working. On the road,” she laughs.

But there is deep respect there, too. And acknowledgement that he is a great father and provider.

But, even before the work and the business and the success, Xiberras was already hooked on cars.

“My old man was a Ford man and I was all for XA Hardtop GTs and the XYs. Then, it was ’78 or ’79 with Brockie in the Torana, I fell in love.

“I was a typical car nut, fixated on Peter Brock and Bathurst. I’ve been a Holden man ever since.

“Then what happened was, I started to get involved with cars. I had a ‘32 Ford Roadster.

“Then I was trying to have a road car, a drag car and a show car, in one. It wasn’t going to work.

“A mate convinced me to buy a drag car.

Just to thrash it.

“Of all things, it was a Ford Capri. The first words out of my mouth were ‘No F-ing way’.

But it had a Chev in it, and I campaigned that.

I started in Super Sedan. Which is grass roots racing.”

Over time, the bug bit hard and he graduated to the all-out speed machines that compete in the elite classes of drag racing.

Not a modified road car, but a purebred speed machine with more power than grip and more quarter-mile speed than anything on the road.

“I always had a thing about dragsters. I love them. A dragster came up for sale, which I bought and put a blown small-block Chev into.”

“But you fool yourself that you will get to this speed, or the time, and you will be happy. But you never are.”

Well, Peter Xiberras never was.

“I went to the Winternationals and thought ‘Where has this been all my life?’. It was unbelievable. So I decided to travel and race.

“I got a truck and trailer and it belonged to a guy who had a Top Fuel operation. I came home with the truck, trailer, racer, engines.

The whole shooting match.

“I cannot remember the excuse I had for the missus. But it must have worked.”

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Along the way came a professional crew chief, Tim Adams, and a Top Fuel operation based at the PremiAir facility in Brisbane.

“I’ve been doing this Top Fuel thing for seven years. I think if you’re scared of it then you’re a fool to get into it. I show it the utmost respect, because I know it can hurt me.”

But that was just the sideline as PremiAir grew and grew. It started as an optimistic start-up with hire equipment and is now, with a parallel fuel company, an East Coast giant with 140 staff and a massive inventory of equipment and a huge turnover.

Xiberras is a smart man but also an incredible workhorse. There is nothing in his business that he cannot, or will not, do. Even if that means driving a truck overnight to ensure an interstate delivery goes off as promised.

“When you’re driving a truck from Sydney to Brisbane you’ve got 10 hours to work out problems and strategies. I find it really easy to get caught up in head office and this way I can get around the branches. The beauty of driving a truck and doing deliveries is that I can visit the branches and and talk to my managers.”

Supercars was calling as a way to promote his company, and a way to feed his need for speed. He already had a car collection – “my favourite is old-school, a Torana A9X or L34” – but prefers a working-class ute as his daily drive.

“It started a bit over two years ago, when Jonathan Webb started Team Sydney and went to a two-car team. He didn’t have access to a second car and I had one. It was one of those last-minute deals,” Xiberras recalls.

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“It was a Triple Eight car. The one that started life as a VF (above), then got converted to a Team 18 car, then did the aero testing.

“Just as I rent generators and compressors, I figured I’d rent a Supercar. I figured if it paid for itself then it would be a good idea.

“We ran it for two years, in Coke colours in 2020 and PremiAir in 2021 with Garry Jacobson.”

But the Team Sydney experience was not what Xiberras expected, or hoped, or wanted.

He could see from his Top Fuel experience how things could, and should, be better and done better.

“I found the old Team Sydney a challenge. I reckoned I could fix it.”

So Xiberras, who had been happy to stay in the background, decided to get onto the front foot and make Jono Webb a buyout offer.

There was some backwards-and-forwards, but eventually the deal was done.

The first step was to send the team’s two Commodores back to Triple Eight Race Engineering – “they will be exactly the same as Shane van Gisbergen is driving” – move the team’s other assets to Brisbane, sign drivers and recruit the crew.

“To be up front, I’ve got no technical idea of what I’m doing. But I’m one of those guys who sits back and watches. I see what people do right and what they do wrong. Look at successful times and times with no success.”

“I’m going to find all the smart people. And communication is the key. No-one has all the answers.”

So, what will success look like in season 2022?

“Right now we’re the last team in the pitlane.

If we can move up a place of two it means we’re turning it around.

“This year is all about learning. It’s all about learning the ins and outs of a Supercars team.

Next year we’ll be all the better for it.

“Especially with Gen3 coming. Supercars is obviously putting a lot of emphasis and effort into reducing costs. So a lot of teams will be more profitable with the new style of racing.

“But, at the end of the day, if I want to make money I go to work. I go to the racetrack because I enjoy it.”

In the longer term, like any successful businessman, Xiberras wants to win.

“That has to be the ultimate goal. To win the championship or to win Bathurst.

“If you’re not going into this and you’re not thinking about winning then you are just wasting your time. And your money.

“I hate wastage. Money has to be spent to make it better. And I have no problem with that.”

Clearly, Peter Xiberras is a man with a plan, as well as the cash and and commitment to make it happen.

But his mantra for PremiAir Racing simple and easy to convey.

“The one thing that keeps coming back to me is this: if I’m standing in the garage and I’m the dumbest guy there, then I’ve succeeded.”

Chris Pither returns from the Supercars wilderness to drive one of the PremiAir cars.

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NEWS EXTRA

BEHIND THE SCENES: DALE MOSCATT AFTER 400 RALLY STARTS AS A CO-DRIVER, DALE MOSCATT STILL HAS HIS EYES AND FOCUS ON THE NEXT EVENT

By Paul Gover WHEN DALE Moscatt guided Molly Taylor to the finish of her first Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia (above), he had 400 extra reasons to celebrate.

It was his 400th rally start in a motorsport career that has taken him all the way from NSW club events to the World Rally Championship as a professional co-driver.

Moscatt has ridden alongside some wickedly quick drivers through his career, including Aussies Chris Atkinson and Scott Pedder as well as mercurial Russian youngster Evgeny Novikov.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to sit with a lot of very talented drivers, national and even a couple of world champions. It’s amazing to see all of those guys go about their work and I have the utmost respect for them,” Moscatt tells Auto Action.

But things began much more humbly when he first rode in the ’suicide seat’ at the Oberon Rally in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney in 1995.

The same event gave him his first win just five years later, co-driving a Mitsubishi Lancer GSR for Shawn Urquhart.

These days, the 47-year-old from Kirrawee in Sydney, spends a huge amount of time away from home – and his wife Selina and their children, 10-year-old Kye and 8-year-old Chloe – as he plies his trade as a professional co-driver.

Moscatt, tall and thin and very focussed, has an impressive record and is famed for his focus and attention to detail.

“I think all good co-drivers have great organisation skill, or even some form of OCD, and I probably tilt a fair way towards that latter spectrum myself,” he jokes.

Moscatt qualified as an electrician after high school but hanging out with mates from TAFE, and an interest in cars, quickly led him into motorsport. The earliest days were in circuit racing but the rally bug bit hard.

“We realised they had 1200 corners instead of 12 at the track and that was the type of adventure we were looking for.

“The circuit racing was cool fun but doing the same thing over and over at that amateur level was a bit boring to me. When we started

20 I www.autoaction.com.au

rallying I did quite a few rallysprints as a driver and I’ve always been a very competitive person so obviously gave it my all, even in those days, and did fairly well.”

He found his niche in co-driving but still knows he is quick behind the wheel.

“One year, when I was doing Targa Tasmania with Grant Denyer in the official BMW Mini team, GD had to miss Day 2 with a TV filming clash. So we did a deal with the organisers that if I drove that day with a substitute codriver they would still let our results stand.

“It took me one stage to get a feel for the car and listening to a co-driver myself, but we were soon up to speed and managed to beat our team mate Paul Stokell and Rick Bates on a couple of stages. So I think I pleasantly surprised most people when I got in the zone down the east coast there ...” Moscatt quips.

Moscatt has records of every driver and every event, but it’s easy to pick the quickest.

“I think if I had to put money on one of them to win a single stage showdown on speed alone I guess Evgeny Novikov would be my pick. He was a remarkable talent.

“I started with him when he was only 17 and his natural ability and feel behind the wheel was incredibly rare. Our stage wins in the 2009 WRC Acropolis rally in Greece (see image above right) made him the youngest ever stage winner in WRC history, a record that still stands to this day.”

But Novikov was unruly and undisciplined, and Moscatt walked away when the young Russian refused to listen to his warning about a giant jump at the 1000 Lakes rally in Finland.

“I had a lot of people telling me I was crazy and it was getting dangerous. Accidents are part and parcel of our industry but the biggest thing for me was that we were having the same types of accidents and not learning from these mistakes.

“I felt like after the last crazy jump, and subsequent crash into the trees not long after on that same stage, I wasn’t being listened to and that if I wasn’t able to get the message across as to where these dangers were and where to take less risks then I was better to leave.”

Not that he worries about crashing …

“I don’t actually get scared in a rally car. I remember when we rolled off the edge of the road in Cyprus (with Novikov), as we were tumbling over and over – around 80-odd feet down the side of the mountain – my head was just full of the maths on how many points we were losing by not finishing that day and what that did for our start position for the next event.”

It’s typical stuff, but just one of the challenges.

“Being a professional co-driver is very difficult in a whole lot of ways. One of the things most people wouldn’t see or realise from the outside is that doing this full-time I am running a business and unfortunately that business is very reliant on many things outside of my control.

“Most of the time, drivers don’t know too far in advance what their budgets are and you basically have no idea as to what events and with that what form of income will be coming in for the following year until teams and drivers start making their own decisions first. It can be brutal, so the networking side of things is just as important as the actual job you are doing inside the car.”

So how does he prepare and how much work is involved?

“My preparation for an event varies quite a lot depending on what type of rally and if that driver has done the event before. These days we always have cameras in the cars both in recce and in the rally so there is always onboard video to study and notes to prepare in the lead-up to events, as well as the usual logistical things.”

His career highlights are many and varied, although he prefers gravel events to tarmac, including a WRC round in Norway on snow.

“I’d say that, and the frozen lake rally at almost -30 degrees in the north of China, brought the biggest smile to the dial,” he says.

But what about picking one driver, one car and one rally?

“Tough one. I think I would go for the

Arctic Rally in Lapland, usually anywhere between -15 to -30 degrees C with fantastic snow banks to lean on. I’ve known Seb Ogier for a long time from when we were (Citroen) teammates in 2009 and, along with (co-driver) Julien Ingrassia, we stay in contact and get along well.

“I think he would have no problem understanding my notes in English and we’d have a great time in the car. So, let’s go with Seb Ogier, in a 2021 Toyota Yaris, in the Arctic rally And I get to drive the last stage with Julien calling the notes to me as the bonus!”

Not that he is thinking that his career is even close to the end.

“Fortunately for me, like a good wine I think I’m getting better with age. I’ve racked up a huge amount of experience over the course of my career, so I guess I bring a lot more with me to my role these days.

“I’ve always loved to travel and I’m enjoying the off-road and rally raid events a hell of a lot at the moment, so I’ll certainly be doing plenty more of that in the near future.

“There is no retirement plan or strategy in place, there’s plenty more adventures around the corner, so I’m still head-down and focussing on the next chapters.”

with Mark Fogarty

THE FOGES FILE IMAGES: MOTORSPORT IMAGES

AA’s proud pundit rejoices in the return of the Tasman Cup and defends F1 ENTHUSIASTS OF a certain age have longed for the return of the Tasman Cup championship.

In our youth, it was the pinnacle. A summer series in New Zealand and Australia that was virtually a southern Formula 1 title.

From 1964-69, the Tasman Cup saw F1 stars race here for a crown second only to the world championship, which back then was decided over as few as eight Grands Prix.

Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Bruce Look at the line-up for the Warwick Farm Tasman Series round in 1968 – front row Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Chris Amon; second row Piers Courage, Denny Hulme; third row Frank Gardner ...

McLaren, Denny Hulme, Graham Hill, Chris Amon, Piers Courage and CHRIS PITHER IS A TOP BLOKE. HE HAS TALENT, TOO. Jochen Rindt were just some of the crown. But fun in the sun was the main in Jan/Feb, just not cojoined under the recent Hungarian Grand Prix. It had big names who spent January and appeal. the Tasman Cup banner – although, everything: drama, suspense, fierce BUT NEITHER those, singly February DownofUnder.

I missed the semi-F1 glory years, but sponsored by theWHILE same XIBERRAS tobacco and Pither racing and an unexpected winner. orIneven is enough to are currently in the motorsport There was Lewis Hamilton, alone on the together, later years, their 2.5-litre I’d read about them. I became involved company. get you awere Main test Game gig for in the coming spotlight, are Shane Howard variants cars in the F5000 era, when Matich, I wrote a comment piecesointoo The the grid on intermediate tyres as the Supercars. F1 season. and Michael three-litre Graham McRae and Peter Gethin were Australian after the ’75 seriesMasi. rest flooded into the pit lane to change Cameron McConville and The light is shining on Howard The Tasman series was, showcased the the big stars. denouncing the uncomfortable transto slicks ... never seen that before! still is, a top –bloke. is – finally – the CEO top locals Frank Matich, Spencer The first story I ever wrote – published Tasman alliance, because earning he approbation With the rest starting from the pit lane Luke Youlden and Warren Supercars, whilewas Masi is the Martin, Kevin Bartlett andLuff Leo in Auto Action nearly 50 years ago – in NZ. But I calledofthe split – and in an unholy scramble, it set the stage both have a bucket-load of talent, of rumours about his future Geoghegan, among others – against was about McRae and his ’72 Tasman not popular whenfocus I covered the ’76 for a thriller – and it was. and best so does Zane Goddard. the Race Director the in the world.

Cup-winning Leda GM1. standalone seriesasacross The Ditch.in Formula Hamilton’s fightback was Do youwhen see them on took over fromto drive himI paid from obscurity grizzling, Pither is stillThe working One. Even F5000 tribute toinMcRae on our web newhard Tasman Cup will evoke a confirmation of his brilliance. the Supercars grid? Exactly.

Supercarssite to afollowing worthwhilehis career to get In anythe money for this year.

Howard is thearight 1970-75, the Tasman Cup had recent death. storied history while ushering newpick at theOut front, Ocon in his underdone But then international we come to Pither, racer.

Now, some say he has of open-wheel right time, since immense prestige. as a serious early F5000 Tasman days, he was thepeoplegeneration stars.his skill set will Alpine held off Sebastien Vettel, who just been thrown a giant have already writtensuccessive already fired his shot Once in Supercars.

Supercars maximising his Aston Martin.

Thishas year’s end-of-season Oz-onlySome people man to beat, winning titles it extendsbe to perfect seven to orkeep more lifeline byTasman the manseries who decided are ’71-73. complaining that And missed. forward as the new RACE When battles Masi said “Toto, –it’s called revived for S5000, him off and from events in NZ anddriving Australia, it will Behind them, galore to acquire backmarker TeamAustraliaFabian notmy Pither, provides and a motor race, OK? We car endorsed

by Motorsports and Coulthard, In 1975, firstshould year as aTo provide some clarity: be truly worthy ofconsortium the Tasman Cup the cashFernando Alonso fending offwent Hamilton Sydney with multi-million dollar still be sitting alongside Jacobson at I reported Pither has a clear shot, marketing muscle. racing, ” that should have been the NZ, won’t bea the same, but it will thrill professional journalist, thenot hadchampionship title. proved the ex-world champion takeover. the PremiAir team. title shoot-out at Sandown as he has only had two full seasons As for Masi, he is being made things. diehards.

Tasman Spaniardend stillofhas what it takes.

Part of the plan for Peter after all,Warwick is the manBrown, with tail-ender outfits despite the scapegoat for a whole range of is But now there is talk The future prospect ofXiberras four roundsCoulthard, between Johnnie WHY F1 IS INTOXICATING There a lesson here.

Mixofupa the at NZ PremiAir Racing is four to have Pither who led the team in 2021.

And he is Lawrence making his debut inAT 2006, bothas president shortcomings and mistakes inorder the and secret deal between FIA and in and another in Australia Walker and Kiwi Graeme HISand peak of the outsiders have athe chance. racing alongside Garry Jacobson in Supercars. he and Coulthard to late be inMax Grand Prix arena.

Mercedes-AMG sacrifice Masi in January/February, mimicking a proven winner (who won the crossover 1970 series in deserve FIA, the Mosley observed Same could be said fortoSupercars. through season as he looks But, despite his considerable Never should the conversations for the goodofoforder, F1. the original, is 2022 intoxicating for a 2.5-litre Ferrari Dino). Supercars. that Formula 1’s fascination was When the fieldgreater gets out to build credibility and support for assets, is not considered Look at Pither’s racing record by suspense. between team bosses and the Thathappen. is rubbishWe andwatch wrong in enthusiasts old and new. Big-bore V8 Coulthard John Goss won the race after underpinned anything can his team.

by Xiberras. and you Racethat, Director haverarity been made way.

Masi is one of the very open wheelers driven by local andthe right fitWalker’s fence-ripping crash, withfind eight national Mosley’s view was like the F1 racesevery out of duty, occasionally Jacobson is continuing after Instead, Brown’s he has chosen championships across Australia on television, turning every in the history international aces racing for an historic sixth Pither. place clinching what of goals in soccer,public the anticipation of rewardedbest by administrators epics. racing for the outfit year And it’s would not because he final has aTasmanand his homeland, upset New Zealand. transmission to all its of motorsport – no-one knows the title – what’s not tolast like? be the title. results or great battles–inyou F1really kepthave For predictability, the prospect but Pither isunder being40, recalled after havegiant cash –toand pay perhaps One of those is thefans Super2 of upset ruleskeeps better,F1 andfans he isenthralled. a fair and If you’re you may no pot ofI Coca-Cola also reported helped interested. listen to Toto Wolff – into a piece of an a dreadfulofseason in 2021, thethe Tasman for the drive.

– and lobbying. man.is riveting. concept how important hasten – the demise of thechampionship Tasman in 2018He wasthose right. F1political followers have for Every sohonourable often, a race samewas. year that James Courtney In fact, atCup the moment Pither in 1976, titles don’tthe come easy.

As for the decisions When I read one experienced Cup championship when decades endured dominations and about racing Hungary was one of those rare thrillers abandoned theaSydney ship. pre-eminent. does not have anysummer Coke money to was So Peter has made his for the at Spa and AbuofDhabi, only Masi F1 reporter radio When I was kid, it was F5000 series split intoXiberras the boring races prospect a from bizarre start todescribing upliftinghis finish.

Pitheron – and we are about thePeter wheels for season (NZ) ’22. anddecision and it’s Pither for 2021. and thriller. a handful of F1 insiders know “sarcastic and F1Now heroes holiday here, racing grease – Stuyvesant Rothmans once-every-so-often It is whytransmission F1 is worthaswatching.

You to discover if his talent all the Internationals. chat and online Still seven Let’s see how he goes. his brief from the top heartless” almost seriously – foris aenough prestigious Despite (Aus) races One of those redeeming races wasof the FIA. just never know. it left me seething.

A RACING RECALL with Paul Gover

THE PG PERSPECTIVE

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PUBLISHER

Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Bruce Williams DEPUTY EDITOR NEWS EDITOR STAFF JOURNALIST ART DIRECTOR

Dan McCarthy

Paul Gover Josh Nevett Neville Wilkinson

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Caroline Garde

NATIONAL EDITOR

Garry O’Brien

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Mark Bisset

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Rhys Vandersyde

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AUSTRALIA Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Garry O’Brien, Geoffrey Harris, David Hassall, Bob Watson, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn.

Paris Charles FORMULA 1 Luis Vasconelos US CORRESPONDENT Mike Brudenell

Charlie with Sebastion Vettel and Michael Masi

Image: Motorsport Images

IT’S YOUR MOVE, FIA THE NEXT FIA World Council for Motor Sports meeting is just around the corner. While most of these meetings are held just to rubber stamp decisions made by the different commissions the Federation is divided into, the Paris event, scheduled for February 3, will have some hot topics open for discussion in the agenda.

First of all, this will be the first big meeting chaired by new FIA president Mohammed Bin Sulayem and, with a new group of people in charge, it’s reasonable to expect a change of style in the traditional processes of approving the Commission’s proposals. Then, of course, it will be very interesting to hear what conclusions the investigation into the events that marked the end of the 2021 Formula One season has reached, and what recommendations will be made for the World Council to approve.

Given sporting authorities are not known for admitting mistakes, my expectations regarding this investigation are very much under control. Yes, the FIA is likely to admit there was some unnecessary confusion, some procedures were not followed as they had been in the past, but I seriously doubt the Federation will go further than that and admit its

With Luis Vasconcelos

F1 INSIDER own rules were broken - as many believe was the case.

What will be more revealing about the investigation, will be the recommendations made to improve the way Race Control operates, because it’s clear for almost everybody that the current system is outdated and needs changing.

Formula One got used to, during the 25 years in which Charlie Whiting was in charge of running the Grand Prix, having one man doing all the jobs at the same time – and doing it well. The former mechanic had a vast experience, charisma, everyone’s respect and a very direct approach to all matters, so Sporting Directors had learned they were wasting their time trying to influence him and Team Principals didn’t dare openly question his decisions – not to his face, at least. Likeable he was, like few other people in the sport,

but he was firm and fair, so with the teams letting him get on with his work, Charlie’s life was, in a way, easy.

One element that has been forgotten in the discussion surrounding Michael Masi’s decisions in the final moments of last season is that Charlie had good old Herbie Blash in Race Control with him and that made for a combined Formula One experience of 90 years in the making of quick and fair decisions.

Masi, of course, is not Charlie Whiting – no one is, of course – and by that, I mean he lacks the experience, the gravitas, if you want, the former Race Director had.

But he also doesn’t have a Herbie Blash by his side and has been left basically on his own to do a lot more than a man should have to do in such short and pressurised amount of time.

I believe the FIA, rightly, won’t sacrifice Michael Masi in spite

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE? Latest News, Glen Dix - The Man with the Flag, ‘Race Tasmania’ preview, more Sprintcar action, Road & Track... plus heaps more AutoActionMagazine

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of Mercedes’ pressure, but will keep him as Race Director, while providing the Australian with a professional structure around him – a structure that will protect him from undue pressures, with people that will deal with the minutiae when queried by the Sporting Directors and will only call on the Race Director’s judgement when strictly necessary.

Team Principals, of course, will be banned from the FIA radio channel, as the kind of interference Christian Horner and Toto Wolff tried to exert in Abu Dhabi was akin to Real Madrid and Barcelona’s presidents running down to the pitch, during El Classico, to shout abuse at the referee!…

The old structure worked in very particular circumstances, with a very special man running the show.

But that man is gone. No-one can be his direct replacement, the rules have become more and more complicated – they could do with a serious clean up, couldn’t they – and that’s why what the FIA needs to implement is a much more complete and professional structure in Race Control, to make sure events are decided and cleared up on track and controversies don’t drag on for months or years.

PHOTOGRAPHERS AUSTRALIA Ross Gibb, Rebecca Hind, Mick Oliver, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Rhys Vandersyde, Richard Hathaway, MTR Images, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter, autopics.com.au INTERNATIONAL Motorsport Images ADVERTISING MANAGER Bruce Williams All Advertising inquiries bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 Editorial contributions may be sent to Auto Action. No responsibility will be accepted for their safety. If you require the return of any sent item or items, please attach a separate, stamped and fully addressed envelope

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FORMULA 1 NEWS – LUIS VASCONCELOS

IMAGES: Motorsport Images

TOP TEAMS DEMANDS PUT SPRINT RACES AT RISK FORMULA ONE’S plan to run at least five Sprint Races in 2022 risks being thwarted by a financial dispute led by three teams, thought to be Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari. With the approval of at least eight teams required to change the Sporting Regulations for the current year, the opposition of those three teams, with AlphaTauri also likely to side with Red Bull on such a fundamental issue, would sink Stefano Domenicali’s plan to have five, possibly six events with Sprint Races on Saturdays.

With the budget cap in place since the start of last year and set at US$145 million,

the teams were given extra US$150,000 to make up for the cost of running each Sprint Race in 2021 – three in total, granting them an extra US$450,000 to spend – and could spend another US$100,000 per event to replace damaged parts, in case of accidents, like the one that took Pierre Gasly out of the Monza Sprint Race on the first lap.

This year, the Formula One Group and the FIA were planning to keep the same system, extended to the five or six Sprint Races that would be on the schedule, but the top teams demanded the budget cap to be increased by half a million dollars per Sprint Race event and that’s after one of them – believed to be

Red Bull – initially demanded the budget cap to be moved up to US$150 million with no extra allowance in case of accidents.

Formula One, however, has been inflexible in the negotiations, and with the three top teams refusing to sign up for the introduction of the Sprint Races in the 2022 Sporting and Financial Regulations, Domenicali’s plan may fall by the wayside.

The Italian had announced, late last year that his plan was to include six Sprint Races in this year’s calendar, nominating Bahrain, Imola, Canada, Austria, Netherlands and Brazil as the events that would add an extra race on Saturday.

BAD BLOOD SPILLS ON PROST-ALPINE SPILT ALAIN PROST’S departure from Alpine was far from peaceful!

That’s the least one can say and, very much like some of his moves while he was a racing driver, the Frenchman hasn’t been able to contain his anger at being sidelined by the French manufacturer and has gone on a media campaign, spilling the beans on everything that is not right with the team he worked for until the end of last year.

The four-times World Champion has been tremendously critical of Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, claiming, “he wants to be the only one on the spotlight, wants to rule on his own and has been pushing away anyone that can take that away from him.”

In an interview with French newspaper L´Équipe, Prost stated that, “I was the one who didn’t accept the contract I was offered for 2022, because I didn’t feel my contribution to the team was being valued. But they leaked the story to make it look like I had been sacked and that just shows a tremendous lack of respect.”

Looking back at 2021, Prost said that “The 2021 season was very disruptive for me – I felt that the old ones in the team had to go. I accept the change, because we don’t have to do F1 always the same way – we can do it differently, and that is what throughout the last year has been done. But for me, it became too complicated.

I was no longer involved in the decisions. Sometimes I did not even agreed with team but I had to continue to defend the official line. Even as a member of the Board of Directors,

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I discovered certain decisions at the last minute. One might not be heard, but at least one should be warned in time. It’s a question of respect. Relations became more and more complicated. I felt that there was a lot of jealousy. What I don’t appreciate is the relationship and the lack of respect for people.

“When the team boss doesn’t even say hello to you when you arrive at the circuit, it’s because there’s no more fun. There isn’t even any respect anymore. And then it just can’t work.”

But the Frenchman didn’t stop at that and volunteered some negative information about Alpine’s 2022 Power Unit: “There’s a small reliability problem with the engine – during the simulation on the test bench they’ve discovered the Power Unit is not working at the desired level.”

And, to cap it off, Prost also admitted former Aston Martin Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer could be on his way to Enstone to lead Alpine’s sporting operation: “I like Otmar and for sure he’ll be a good element for the team if he’s allowed to do his job without interference. If he comes, that is…”

As the Formula One Commission needs motions to be approved by 28 out of the 30 possible votes for changes to be made during the season in which they’ll be effective, the situation doesn’t seem too favorable to Formula One’s wishes. Both the FIA and the FOM have 10 votes each, while the teams have one vote each. That means that any motion can be blocked if just three teams vote against it, so Domenicali needs to at least convince Red Bull to accept his offer, as AlphaTauri would vote the same way as the main team and that could leave Mercedes and Ferrari isolated and defeated in this crucial vote.

RED BULL CLOSES ON PORSCHE DEAL RED BULL is believed to be on the verge of signing a deal with Porsche that will see the German manufacturer rejoin Formula One from the start of the 2026 World Championship and in partnership with one of the most competitive teams in the sport.

With the Volkswagen Group heavily involved in the discussions about how the future Formula One engines will look, a decision to join the sport is expected soon with both Porsche and Audi making the move.

Given Red Bull’s links with the German car manufacturer, it has always been taken for granted that the Austrian team would be getting their future engines from one brand of the Volkswagen Group but McLaren became a real alternative, particularly for Porsche, thanks to team principal Andreas Seidl’s links with the Weissach-based company.

However, recently, McLaren CEO Zak Brown indicated he believed Porsche would be joining forces with Red Bull from 2026, explaining that “I’m hearing they [Volkswagen] are going to do something with Red Bull on the Porsche front. I think they’ve spoken with a handful of people on the grid. And as you would imagine, we have conversations, but in the short term, and medium term, we’re very happy where we are.

“So, we’re going to just wait and see if they are going to enter the sport because I think that’s not been definitively decided.”

Although Porsche’s last two forays into Formula One – with McLaren between the final part of 1983 and the end of 1987 and, later, with Arrows in 1991 – involved simple supplying of engines to the teams, it is widely

believed the German manufacturer is now looking at buying an existing team and running it independently, to match what the company did in the WEC a few years ago – with great success.

While Red Bull is not actively for sale, by 2026 Dietrich Mateschitz will be 82 years old and his trusted Helmut Marko will reach the age of 83, so it’s not out of the question that the Austrian billionaire will decide to sell the team – in a deal that could easily be made a lot more attractive to Porsche if the initial price was low, but included Red Bull branding for the long term, as a form of completing the payment.

In the same way that Mercedes has a factory entirely devoted to the design and development of Formula One powertrains in Brixworth, but has massive technical support

from the main company in Stuttgart, Porsche could easily take over the new Red Bull Powertrain facility in Milton Keynes, send some of its most promising technical staff there, and continue to give technical support from the Weissach factory.

Given that Red Bull still depends on Honda to supply (and assist in running) Power Units this year, the Austrian team will not be keen to make any announcement regarding a partnership or sell out to Porsche before the end of 2022.

But negotiations are certainly going ahead at the highest level, with the final push for a deal expected only after the 2026 engine regulations are published and the Volkswagen Group takes the decision to return to Formula One after an absence of 35 years ...

NO VACCINE, NO PASS PROOF OF full vaccination will be mandatory for anyone working at the tracks during any Formula One Grand Prix, the teams have been told in a communication from the Formula One Group.

Internally, the FOM and the FIA have also informed their staff they need to have proof they received the mandatory vaccination against the COVID-19 virus, including the booster jab most countries are still rolling out in Europe as, without that document, no-one will be issued a pass and, therefore, will not be able to enter the circuits.

Over the last two years, Formula One has invested in a program to test everyone with access to the Paddock every 72 hours, using the services of Eurofins in the European races and of the local state-run laboratories in other countries. Each team has had dedicated testing facilities, as do the FIA and the FOM, with the media also having a few booths available in all circuits.

That has forced the Commercial Rights Holder to make a serious investment, as the

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deals for testing don’t come cheap, but with the vaccine now being widely available, it has come the time to reduce the amount of PCR tests required on site and make vaccination mandatory for all Formula One personnel.

That much had already been admitted by Formula One’s CEO Stefano Domenicali during last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The former Ferrari Team principal said that “having finished a season with 22 races, it makes us cautiously optimistic for what the start of the 2022 season should be like, where COVID may still be present. But it is no coincidence that one of the last things approved in the last FIA World Council, as a precaution, is to have all F1 staff vaccinated to be in the paddock.”

While the decision will not affect any of the drivers or top team personnel, a few Formula One regulars have opted against taking the vaccine, so they may be forced to change from the race teams to the factorybased crews. And unless he changes

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stance, Medical Car driver Alan Van der Merwe will lose his job, as the South African has been quite open about refusing the vaccine, admitting, “this may affect my professional possibilities, but it’s the stance I believe is the best for my own health.”

Van der Merwe’s refusal to get vaccinated saw him miss last year’s US, Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix, as proof of full vaccination was mandatory in those three countries, but he had a final outing in Abu Dhabi, as the Emirati state only required negative PCR tests for anyone attending the Grand Prix.

Formula E’s Safety Car driver Bruno Correia subbed for Van der Merwe in the three races he missed and is a possible full-time replacement for the South African although, for now, the FIA is waiting for the current incumbent to make a final decision about his vaccination process before making a move.

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TIME FOR CHANGE

ZAK BROWN URGES THE FIA TO REGAIN CONTROL OF F1 AND NOT ALLOW UNDUE INFLUENCE BY THE BIGGER TEAMS, OR THEIR CONTROVERSIAL ‘B’ TEAMS – AUTO ACTION’S F1 CORRESPONDENT LUIS VASCONCELOS ELABORATES McLAREN CEO Zak Brown has accused the top Formula One teams of “looking for excuses to raise the cost cap and win World Championships with cheque books.” In a lengthy statement published on McLaren’s website, the American manager added that, “the ongoing lobbying by certain teams to increase the cost cap for sprint race damage is a continuing example.”

In an article in which he also criticised the existence of B teams, claiming they’re a threat to the progress of the sport, and urged the FIA to take full control of the sport, adding that he hopes the new leadership from recently elected Mohammed Bin Sulayem will put Formula One “back on track.”

Brown, however, also has a lot of praise for the way the sport handled the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that, “the past two seasons have been challenging for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only from a human perspective, but also economically and logistically. We have adapted to overcome the difficulties that have affected everyone across the globe.

But as we prepare for the coming season, we are confident that the promoters, regulators and our own partners and people will confront any challenges with courage and a determination to succeed.”

In a statement that seems aimed at making clear to the FIA what a big team like McLaren wants to see for Formula One’s future, before the next and quite crucial World Council for Motor Sport, to be held in Paris on February 3, Brown pulled no punches when explaining his views about the way the top teams always put their

own interests, way ahead of Formula One’s global interests.

Addressing the current dispute about the 2022 budget cap, the McLaren CEO wrote that “with the spending limit reducing to US$140m this year and US$135m next, the new financial regulations present us – and the sport as a whole – with a fairer framework to compete by reducing the inevitable advantage of the biggestspending and best-resourced teams.

“However, we must continue to drive economic sustainability across the sport.

Some teams still look for excuses to raise the cost cap and win world championships with cheque books.

“The ongoing lobbying by certain teams to increase the cost cap for Sprint Race damage is a continuing example. The Saturday sprint race initiative by Formula 1 has added new viewers and raised the profile of the sport to expand its global fanbase. However, these teams continue to demand a raise in the cost cap by an inordinate amount of money, despite the clear evidence that little damage was incurred during these races last year, in a thinly veiled attempt to protect themselves from their competitive advantage being eroded.”

Going even further on his accusations towards Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, without mentioning them by name, Brown added: “The current governance structure of the sport enables a situation where some teams, to protect their own competitive advantage, are effectively holding the sport hostage from what’s best for the fans and therefore the sport at large.

“These teams seem unable to accept that a budget cap is in the best interests of the sport and cannot kick their habit of

Red Bull times two ... not even any pretence about this four-car ‘B’ team set-up.

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Some teams still look for excuses to raise the cost cap and win world championships with cheque books.

Brown points out that McLaren and Alpine are the only two genuine ‘single’ F1 teams on the grid ... spending their way to the front.”

But the McLaren man didn’t even stop there and addressed the controversy surrounding ‘B’ teams, technologically dependent on their main teams, going as far as stating they’re not proper constructors: “The threat of A and B teams has not gone away, and it is vital that the governance of the sport is strengthened to prevent this.

The regulations, as they stand today, are heavily biased towards B teams/customer teams, which is not in line with F1’s principle of a group of genuine constructors competing with one another on even terms.

It is diminishing what being an F1 ‘team’ means and the fabric of the sport.”

The American then made it clear that, from his point of view, “F1 needs to be 10 true constructors, where each team – apart from sharing the PU and potentially the gearbox internals – must design and produce all parts which are performance relevant. Right now, there is too much diversity in the business models between teams. Trying to apply the same set of complex regulations to each, and then policing them effectively, is needlessly complicated and compromised as a result.

“This cost-capped environment should allow teams to become more recognisable entities in their own right within a realistic budget, without the concern of significant performance differences based on how much each team can spend.”

He then concluded that, “in a nutshell, the current situation allows B teams to be overcompetitive compared to Constructors, and A teams to be overcompetitive by having the benefit of a B team. Without a correction, the way things stand mean that any team with championship aspirations needs to have a B team in place and that simply is not Formula 1.”

Still on the same topic, Brown also addressed another negative impact this kind of association has on the way the sport is run: “The voting pressure placed by the A

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teams on their B teams is not consistent with the promotion of an equitable sport based on individual team merit. As I have said before – and these teams won’t admit to it – there are times when some smaller teams vote against their own interests to satisfy the agenda of their A team.”

Inevitably, Brown also put his two cents in regarding the way the FIA handled the events of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but pointed at the bigger picture to show that, in his view, major changes are needed in the way the sport is run – without too much interference from the teams: “The election of Mohammed Ben Sulayem last December as the new president of the FIA provides the opportunity for collective reform of the way Formula 1 operates. It is obvious to focus on the events of Abu Dhabi at the end of last season, which are the subject of an FIA investigation – but this was a symptom rather than cause in my view.

“There have been systemic issues around alignment and clarity on who makes the rules – the FIA or the teams – that have manifested themselves in the past couple of years, at times in a high-profile way.”

Looking back to the last couple of seasons, the American pointed out there were earlier signs things were not right in the sport:

“The signs of organisational difficulties could be seen at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix and at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, both hallmarked by a seeming lack of preparation for the events unfolding and temporary inertia on the solutions.”

The McLaren leader then gave his view on how the FIA and the Formula One group should operate to regain full control of Formula One: “Greater clarity on the roles of the FIA and F1 and the need for increased leadership of the sport will undoubtedly be on the agenda for Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Stefano Domenicali and their respective teams.”

In a clear dig at Max Mosley, who ruled the motorsport world with an iron fist between 1992 and 2009, Brown admitted that, “previous administrations pursued a mainly autocratic style of governance, so to point the sport in the right direction it was necessary to take a more consultative approach with teams and stakeholders.

“But now the sport has been successfully reset – moving forward there is a need to shift back to stronger, more directive leadership and governance at the top of the sport.”

Echoing what is a common sentiment in the Paddock, Brown explained that

‘B’ Teams go racing: Williams, Alpha Tauri, and Haas – fair or not?

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“it is clear that some of the rules and their governance are not acceptable as things stand. No one is happy with the inconsistency in the policing of the regulations, but which has been habitually exploited by teams for competitive advantage.

“I have said before that the teams have too much power and it needs to be reduced.

We have a significant role in the drafting of the regulations and governance of Formula 1 and that influence is not always driven by what is best overall for the sport.

“Yes, teams should be consulted, and their informed perspectives considered, particularly on long-term strategic issues.

But at times it has seemed the sport is governed by certain teams.

“Let us not forget that we, the teams, have contributed to the inconsistencies in the policing of the regulations as much as anyone. It is the teams who applied the pressure to avoid finishing races under a Safety Car at all costs. It is the teams who voted for many of the regulations they have complained about.”

The American clearly pointed the finger at Christian Horner and Toto Wolff, who did all they could to lobby Michael Masi, the Race Director, in the decisive moments of the last race of 2021: “It is the teams who have been using the broadcasting of radio messages to the race director to try to influence penalties and race outcomes, to the point where an over-excited team principal plays to the gallery and pressurises race officials.

“This has not been edifying for F1. At times it’s felt like a pantomime audition rather than the pinnacle of a global sport.”

To end on an optimistic note, Brown concluded by saying, “I am confident that we will see increased leadership from the FIA and F1, and that collectively as custodians of the sport we will focus on evolving the sport and not shirk responsibility when it comes to tough decision-making.”

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A CLEAR DIRECTION SHANE HOWARD IS NEW TO THE TOP JOB AT SUPERCARS, BUT HE HAS EVERYTHING HE NEEDS TO SUCCEED AS CEO. HE SAT DOWN WITH AUTO ACTION’S PAUL GOVER TO TELLS US WHY.

IMAGES: Motorsport Images/oldracephotos.com-Geoff Harrisson; Bruce Smart/Supercars

THERE IS one very big difference between Shane Howard and every other CEO who has served at Supercars.

Howard is a genuine motorsport man.

He grew up in Tasmania surround by cars, watched his father racing some classic Aussie sports cars including a brutal Elfin 400 V8, turned spanners as a mechanic before he turned to building the Indy street circuit on the Gold Coast, and has an office filled with motorsport memorabilia.

Amazingly, he even rode as the passenger on a racing sidecar motorcycle, ’swinging’ off the side at Mount Panorama.

“It was pretty wild. My arse has touch the asphalt through The Chase,” Howard reveals to Auto Action with a laugh.

“Back then you’re young and crazy and will have a crack at anything. I had a pretty big incident at Lakeside with the sidecar and had bit of time off work. So, I realised I had to be a responsible human. And I stopped.”

So he is well used to the challenges of motorsport at all levels, including as a competitor, and not just as a smartly-

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dressed Supercars insider with a crisp white shirt and well-groomed mane of silver hair.

Howard has been with Supercars for 20 years, heading up the operations team and occasionally – actually four times, by his own count – serving as the interim CEO through a series of changes in the top job.

Now he is getting his shot at the top and from the top, thanks to the new RACE ownership group and the departure of the most-recent chief, Sean Seamer, for a job in the USA. Howard admits he has tried in the past to make the final step in Supercars but believes the timing is right for him in 2022 and beyond.

“I have had my hat in the ring a few times. And I’ve been interim CEO a few times,” he reveals.

“There was previously a very strong emphasis on bringing in someone with strong media skills. But I think it’s changed – the synergy with the new ownership, with the skills they bring and then what I bring.”

It helps that Supercars has a solid long-

term broadcast deal, excellent funding after the RACE buyout, and a new ownership structure that removes the teams from dayto-day operational decisions.

So Howard will operate without many of the recent pressures, although he will be responsible for delivering the Gen3 package and has a renewed emphasis on international expansion.

But his basic message – and direction – is clear.

“The number one thing is that we are is an entertainment business and that’s where our focus needs to be,” he says.

“My number one objective is to elevate this story to the highest level it can be. To elevate the consumer experience.

To ensure our teams are operating on the best platform for their business.

“And that we entertain our fans. And satisfy our shareholders.

“If you put everything together, then it works out.”

Shane Howard credits his early mentor Tony Cochrane with much of his approach to his new role.

So ... easy then?

This time, the 62-year-old veteran is more expansive and more insightful.

“It’s hard work. But it’s about leveraging all those things. If I could take all the good out of every chairman and CEO I’ve had then I’ll do a good job.”

But there is one name that keeps cropping up. It’s Tony Cochrane.

It was the great entertainer who first recruited Howard into the Supercars tent, tapping his organisational strengths to deliver on his giant promises to transform touring car racing into a mainstream sport and not just a petrol-powered sideline act.

“I saw what a difference Tony Cochrane made. I’m not TC, there is only one TC. He’s an absolutely brilliant man.

“He cuts through bullshit and he gets things done. He makes shit happen.

“The lessons I learned from him, I can apply. But also the lessons about the relationship side of the business.

“He was also enormously strong in working with governments. Putting on a street circuit, and building the track in an urban environment, is a lot of hard work.

Some of those events take five to eight years to get up.”

Howard was in at the ground level for the explosive growth in Supercars, but all that was a lifetime into the future when he was growing up in Launceston in Tasmania.

His father Bert was a keen racer who drove some classic cars, including the ex-Lou Molina Monza, a Corvette that had been raced by Murray Carter.

One of his early signature cars was nicknamed ’ The Batmobile’ and it rode in one of Australia’s first fully-enclosed trailers.

“It kinda looked like a D-Type Jaguar. A lot of race cars back then were specials.

He raced the Monza at Longford.

“We were at Calder park testing it, and I was six or seven. He said ‘jump in the dickie seat.’ We went for a blast – and I remember it pretty well.

“I think my goggles blew off. I was crying, but the old heart was pumping.”

Young Shane was a motorsport convert, long before he met his wife Bernii or the arrival of their 32-year-old daughter.

He walked the paddock at Longford with his dad and got autographs from the grand prix stars of the day, including Graham Hill.

Top: Three of the new RACE Board – Messrs Howard, Nettlefold and Skaife; bringing a mix of solid motorsport background and fresh marketing ideas to Supercars. Above: High on the agenda – a return to the streets of Adelaide – State elections permitting ...

“I remember going around the paddock and I was pretty shy as a kid, but dad took me around and I listened to their stories and got their autographs.

“That was kinda my first introduction. I loved it. I loved the event, loved the racing, loved the cars. I was hooked.”

His own racing career, as an apprentice mechanic, began shortly before he decided to leave the safety of Tasmania.

He had already raced a Formula Three car and thought he had some talent.

“As a young kid you want to be a grand prix driver, right? One of my dad’s good

Townsville – the northern Queensland street circuit has been a successful introduction during Howard’s COO time at Supercars.

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mates was a guy called Geoff Smedley, who was an engineer (ED: Smedley passed away just a couple of weeks ago – see page 57). He had done a lot of work for Colin Chapman in Formula One. He wrote me a letter of introduction and I headed off with the ambition to go to Europe and do whatever I could.

“But I didn’t get there. I got to the Gold Coast. I basically didn’t have any money.

That was the impediment.

“I had about $36 in my bank account.

Then I met my wife.”

He got a job in the construction business and the company won the contract for the engineering and construction work on the original Indy circuit on the Gold Coast.

“I pretty much started at the bottom and work my way through to construction engineering manager. For something like 11 years.”

When he ran into Cochrane things began to happen, fast and big.

“I was offered a role to manage Bathurst.

At that time, Tony Cochrane had left IMG to form their own company. They were in a bit of a hole for expertise to run their first Bathurst. It was only about nine weeks before the event.”

The Cochrane approach, from the early days of Indy through the ramp-up in Supercars,

keeps Howard busy and invigorated.

“He was very strong with his opinions.

But it was all about entertainment. It was all about the fans.

“I formed a very close working relationship with Tony and then he came to me and asked me if I would go to Supercars to head up the promoting arm.

That became Supercars Events.

“Tony also employed my wife to start the Paddock Club for Supercars. She did that and I did events. At that time the office was … tiny, and there were probably eight or nine employees in total.”

Howard was kept very, very busy. It began with nailing down the marquee event at Mount Panorama, then spreading the focus in all directions.

“There was a massive strategy around creating Supercar events. First of all, the goal was to ensure that we had Bathurst, that we protected Bathurst.

“Tony and the board looked at what happened with IndyCar and also what was happening in the NRL, and also there was a lot going on with cricket as well.

“The lesson out of that was IndyCar needed to control Indianapolis, and didn’t, and that hurt them. So we needed to control Bathurst. I assisted Tony in securing that. It was a big deal.”

Support categories are important and TCM is already a favourite with the fans.

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Above “... we needed to control Bathurst. I assisted Tony (Cochrane) in securing that.”

Below: Part of the young Shane Howard’s early motorsport career involved hanging off the side of a motorcycle sidecar ...

Below right: One of Howard’s earlier roles included oversight of the Newcastle circuit build.

As Supercars moved into promoting its own events, starting with a race at Eastern Creek, it accelerated rapidly and exploded onto street circuits with help from state governments.

“The board had made a decision we needed to be strong in NSW and in Sydney.

They were watershed moments in taking events to the people.

“The success in Adelaide, with Formula One and then Supercars, was another watershed moment. Tony negotiated that deal, but the Adelaide event was promoted by the South Australian Motorsport Board.”

Howard has also seen how things can trip-up, like the one-off flyaway event at Austin in Texas and the failure to land a deal for a race in Malaysia.

But he is confident that a new era is coming in Supercars.

He talks with excitement about the new RACE ownership, the potential of the Gen3 cars, and even the return to a morenormal racing season in 2022.

“I’m not happy with the frustration that Covid brings to the table. I don’t think anybody is. You are doing a dance all the time to deal with that,” he says.

“Wouldn’t it be great to be back to normal and just focus on the racing and the on-track experience?”

But there are plenty of green shoots.

He believes the season will start on time on the streets of Newcastle, and that the return to Pukekohe in New Zealand will happen as timetabled.

“What I’m strongly encouraged with is the commitment from the governments to keep borders open. There is some grief that comes from that but, hopefully, it’s short-term. Trying to deal with border closures is extremely challenging and can be paralysing.”

Howard also has the challenge of splitting his work time between Supercars’ headquarters in Sydney, after spending all his time working from the satellite office on the Gold Coast.

And then there is the new Supercars board, the new personalities and agendas for the RACE members, and plans for significant overseas expansion once the Gen3 racers are ready.

“Am I a firefighter? You could say that,” Howard admits.

“You’re always putting out a few fires, and making sure it doesn’t turn into a bushfire. But, like most businesses, it’s about relationships. Working with the teams. Understanding the fans.

“Most importantly, the lessons that Tony passed on to me were about the entertainment side of the business. He has been a very strong mentor to me.”

So Howard is keen on the potential of S5000 single-seaters, loves the history and excitement of historic V8s, and is not ruling out a return of Stadium Super Trucks.

“You need a variety of support categories. Carrera Cup and 86 are really strong categories,” he says.

“Carrera Cup is an international platform.

And 86 has a lot of kids coming out of karting, and it’s affordable.

“Super2 is obviously the development ground for our whole eco-system. Every current primary driver has come through Super2.

“But we also like to have some heritage events. TCM is already a favourite with the fans.

“S5000 is a pretty exciting class. Bigbanger open-wheelers. We’re excited about having them.”

So he is excited about the challenges, but also knows that Supercars can be a a political battlefield.

In the end, he falls back to a simple summation.

“I think the level of competition we run at is testament to how good Supercars is.”

“We’re in the top tier of motorsport and, with that, comes enormous competition. It drives tension. And that’s healthy.”

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Shane’s father Bert Howard was a real racer and had some great cars, including this Lola Mk1 Climax, the Molina Monza Special and an Elfin 400 Ford. Seen here in the Lola at Baskerville in February 1968 dicing with Mike Bessant.

Shane Howard, aged 17, at the wheel of the Denis Lupton/Ian Cook built Devione LC2 Nissan Formula 2 car at Baskerville in 1977.

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2022 WEC – THE FUTURE IS NOW!

IMAGES: Motorsport Images

A NEW GOLDEN ERA FOR LE MANS SPORTS CARS, AND THE WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP, IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. TOYOTA IS ALREADY WINNING WITH ITS HYPERCAR CONTENDER AND PORSCHE HAS BEGUN TESTING AN ALL-NEW RACER AS DAN MCCARTHY LOOKS AT THE LIKELY OPPOSITION FROM PEUGEOT, ACURA, AUDI, BMW, CADILLAC AND FERRARI. HYPERCARS ARE about to revitalise Le Mans and breathe new life into top-class sports car racing thanks to the biggest manufacturer battle in the recent history of the World Endurance Championship.

The hybrid racers that battled through the early part of the 21st century, when Audi, Porsche and Toyota scrapped for success at Le Mans with ultra-costly and super-complicated contenders, are done and so are the giant bills for cars which were more expensive and had more technology than anything sitting on a Grand Prix grid.

The new Hypercar rules were eased into action for Le Mans last year and produced an entirely predictable domination by Toyota at the French 24-hour classic and through the rest of the WEC races. After all, Brand T had the only new-age hybrid in the field.

But, with costs down by an estimated 80 per cent and cars only 10 seconds slower over a lap at Le Mans, there is huge interest from a range of carmakers who are looking to promote their green credentials and advertise their hybrid technology through racing success.

BEHIND THE HYPERCARS

The double-pronged Hypercar technical rules are intended to consolidate sports car racing in the USA and the rest of the world, bringing a common platform for the FIA and IMSA. So the old LMP1 and DPi categories are out, with LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) starting last year on the FIA platform and LMDh (Le Mans Daytona Hybrid) coming to IMSA this season.

So the same cars and the same companies and the same

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Top and above: Toyota got a head start on the field by running (and winning) at Le Mans last year. drivers will be able to race head-to-head on an even playing field at such sports car classics as Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring.

A Balance of Performance (BOP) system, similar to the ones in GT3 sports cars and TCR racing, will also be introduced to tweak the details.

Ten manufactures have already committed to running

a Hypercar by the end of 2024, although only Toyota and Glickenhaus from the ‘States have already raced.

The others are Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Cadillac, Peugeot, Alpine, Audi, Acura (Honda) and Toyota.

“Hypercar marks a turning point for Endurance,” says Pierre Fillon, who is president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which runs Le Mans.

Peugeot and BMW (below) have come up with very ‘futuristic’ designs –the former without a rear wing ...

The front of the BMW is, in initial concept form .... spectacular.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH HYPERCAR CLASSES Minimum weight: 1030 KG Balance of Performance: Guaranteed level playing field Maximum output: 500 kW Number panels: Pantone red 653 Single tyre manufacturer: Michelin Controlled costs: Budget reduced by 80%

“By reigning-in costs, this new top class is the dawn of a bright future for the discipline with the prospect of major manufacturers returning to engage in thrilling battles on the track.”

LMH

The first year of Hypercar was a non-event, as Toyota won all six races and scooped Le Mans and the WEC titles.

Glickenhaus turned up, but that was about it.

But things should change fast, as the LMH rules allow for greater variety in both the technical approach and visibly through the distinctive characteristics of the bodywork.

The cars will finally diverse on styling, with lots of cues from showrooms, although the FIA has assured teams of sporting equality to improve racing and reduce the costs.

The idea is that manufacturers such as Peugeot and Ferrari can spotlight their road-going Hypercars on the track, similar to what already happens in GT3 racing at showcase events like the Bathurst 12-Hour.

The LMH rules allow teams more creativity and innovation when compared to LMP, with more lenient aerodynamic restrictions. Peugeot has already shown what can be done by removing the rear wing from its show car, while the Toyota was originally pictured as a targa-top car without a roof.

Like the old LMP1 rules, both hybrid and non-hybrid power units are allowed and manufacturers can choose

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Porsche, typically, is already testing – for a 2023 debut. two or four-wheel drive.

“Le Mans Hypercar should please both manufactures and fans, resulting in spectacular cars and high level of competition,” says FIA Endurance Commission president, Richard Mille.

“We’ll see greater variety across the competitors, while the more cost-effective regulatory approach is something much needed in the current economic climate.”

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At this stage only Toyota Gazoo Racing and Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus have machines that run to the LMH regulations, but that will change soon.

Last year, non-hybrid LMP1s WEC machines were able to race alongside LMH cars in the top category, although pegged back by several seconds a lap.

Alpine ran with an LMP1 machine but has not committed to the LMDh regulations from 2024.

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LMH PERFORMANCE WINDOWS

Cadillac’s futuristic concept art also does away with a traditional rear wing

Porsche, on the other hand retains a full rear wing – at least on its ‘concept’ imagery.

The idea of ‘performance windows’ is a new regulatory approach to the top category of sports cars in order to keep performance equal.

It has been made possible by the application of a precise and modern way of measuring performance parameters, along with the experience that can only come thanks to efficient data acquisition and analysis processes.

Performance windows will create a minimum and maximum value for areas such as power unit and aerodynamic performance.

As an example, power is being pegged at a maximum of 500 kiloWatts, while a minimum weight of 1030 kilos has been set.

But the parity process runs much deeper.

During the homologation process, the cars are measured in a wind tunnel and the bodywork is scanned. In a massive departure from the LMP1 era, once this is done the design of the cars is then “frozen” for their homologation lifecycle of five years.

The only exceptions will be for reliability issues or proven performance deficits compared to other cars in class.

The power limit is not just measured in a dynamometer cell, as engine performance will be measured on-track at all times with the use of torque meters to ensure that each Hypercar remains within the 500 kiloWatt performance window.

With the performance targets clearly defined, manufacturers can choose the most cost-effective solution for their individual situation without sacrificing performance.

Several other cost-saving measures have been undertaken, as all testing is monitored and supervised, with very limited and controlled use of expensive materials.

The suspension is also simplified, with a double-wishbone design compulsory for all cars and all high-tech aids – including active systems and mass dampers – forbidden.

The minimum weight of a gearbox is 75k kilograms, with the use of magnesium or aluminium casing and bellhousing mandatory.

Notably, there is also a single aero kit permitted, without the distinction of a low-drag package for Le Mans and maximum downforce at other races. Through the LMP1 years, Toyota and other leading manufacturers would change the aero performance of the car to match the layout of individual circuits.

In order to avoid substantial development costs, as well as the complexity of equalising multiple different aero packages, the logical choice was to implement a ban on changes and a restriction to a single set of bodywork.

Michelin will be the exclusive tyre supplier for both WEC and IMSA races, another area of potentially costly conflicts, although the sizes vary to suit rear or all-wheel drive packages.

2023 LE MANS

THE TWICE-around-the-clock sports car classic will celebrate its centenary in June. To mark the occasion, at least 10 manufacturers are expected on the grid, with Mazda, McLaren and even Lamborghini reportedly showing interest in joining at some time in the future.

Having already run a single car, US ‘privateer’team Glickenhaus will continue to run a one-car operation.

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LMDH

THE COST of an all-new Le Mans hybrid racer should be around US$1.5 million.

From this year, the new LMDh Hypercars are eligible to race in WEC races alongside LMH machinery.

In the USA, IMSA’s new LMDH regulations also come into effect this year but are a lot more restrictive than the LMH rule set, with manufacturers sharing the same technical baseline.

The main difference from the LMDh regulations is that automotive manufacturers work together with one of four approved chassis constructors – Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic or ORECA – to develop their LMDh race cars.

Six manufacturers have currently committed to these regulations.

The key basics of the WEC package carry over, as between the manufacturer’s internal combustion engine and the spec hybrid system, the LMDh machines will have a combined power output of 500 kilowatts (670 BHP) and minimum weight of 1030kg.

The cars will be a maximum of 2.0 metres wide, 5.1 metres long and run on a common wheelbase of 3.15 metres.

Once again, LMDh rules allow automotive manufactures the freedom to run with their own body styles, giving them the opportunity to bring their own identity such as the latest prominent BMW grille.

While the body of each brand will be distinctly different, each LMDh machine will have a controlled underfloor.

Importantly, the hybrid system is standardised to reduce costs and keep competitors on an equal playing field. Bosch, Williams Advanced Engineering and Xtrac are the suppliers.

“ACO and IMSA have led a collaborative effort along with

“ ”

the four chassis constructors and the three hybrid powertrain suppliers to come up with a common LMDh solution,”says IMSA’s Technical Director, Matt Kurdock.

“The Bosch motor is integrated with the Xtrac gearbox, while the Williams Advanced Engineering battery will be integrated with the Bosch motor controller. This is all in a compact assembly, which installs from underneath the survival cell in an isolated compartment from the driver.”

BALANCE OF PERFORMANCE

IN ORDER to keep competition equalised and to keep budgets under control, the FIA and ACO have introduced a Balance of Performance (BoP) system.

The Hypercar BoP has been made specifically for the new Hypercar class and has taken knowledge and experience accumulated from other championships over the years.

Both the FIA and the ACO have history using BoP in other categories, as the FIA started balancing out its GT racing in he mid-2000s,and is constantly improving the process under the GT3 regulations.

The FIA World Touring Car Cup and all other TCR categories around the world, including Australia’s own category, use the BoP system.

All of the experience gained has been taken into account when developing the Hypercar BoP. One of the most effective measurements in the BoP system is the cars’ torque meter, which allows for better control of powertrain parameters on track.

The effectiveness of the Hypercar torque sensors is protected by making them resistant to electromagnetic fields and heat. They are placed onto the driveshafts to measure and limit the BoP-allocated power.

WITH THE PERFORMANCE TARGETS CLEARLY DEFINED, MANUFACTURERS CAN CHOOSE THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION WITHOUT SACRIFICING PERFORMANCE.

Peugeot has released a degree of detail on its car ...

ByKOLLES

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Spy cameras caught the Peugeot during an early test.

WHO IS WHERE WITH WHAT TOYOTA – THE world’s biggest carmaker has been involved in the World Endurance Championship since the 1980s and this has continued into the Hypercar era. The team’s GR010 Hybrid was the dominant force machine in the 2021 World Endurance Championship, as it won all six races including the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours, and will be the the benchmark for all rival brands.

ALPINE – THE French maker is re-committed to sports cars in addition to its Formula 1 program. Alpine was involved in the World Endurance Championship as an LMP2 team for a number of years, taking two class titles and three Le Mans 24 Hours class wins, before the Hypercar rules were introduced. The brand joined the Hypercar class in 2021 and was the nearest challenger to Toyota throughout the season, competing with a scaled-back LMP1 car. Alpine will remain in the LMP1 machine this year and indeed the next before switching to a full-house Hypercar under the LMDh rules for the 2024 season.

GLICKENHAUS – THIS small American car manufacturer joined the sport in 2021 competing as the only other LMH built machines in the class aside from the two Toyotas. The V8 powered cars are the mastermind of American film producer and businessman James Glickenhaus. The two 007 LMH prototypes showed potential but lacked the race pace of the Toyota and Alpine. In time, this good looking car could come good, but only one is being entered again in 2022.

PEUGEOT – PEUGEOT has won the Le Mans 24 Hours three times, most recently in 2009 when David Brabham was one of the drivers. The French company has already begun testing its distinct 9X8 on track, most recently at Motorland Aragon. The brand has committed to making its Hypercar debut in WEC this year, but has not nominated a race – Le Mans would be a giant gamble. What has been confirmed in recent days is that the brand will not race in the opening round at Sebring, instead testing to make sure the car is on, or near, the front-running pace when it makes its debut. The drivers have already been announced with former F1 drivers Paul Di Resta, Kevin Magnussen and Jean-Eric Vergne as well as Le Mans 24 Hours winner Loïc Duval, Mikkel Jensen and Gustavo Menezes. Notably, compared with the other cars revealed so far, the Peugeot is unique in that it does not have a rear wing.

PORSCHE – THE most successful Le Mans 24 Hours manufacturer is Porsche. The German marque will return to top-tier endurance racing for the first time since it wrapped up three straight LMP1 manufacturer titles in 2017. Porsche has announced that from 2023 it will run two cars in WEC as well as two in the IMSA Sportscar Championship under the LMDh regulations. Not only is Porsche making its return, but the German brand will team up with Team Penske which will field all four Multimatic built cars from 2023. Like Peugeot, Porsche has begun testing its car and will undoubtedly have enough testing to roll out competitively in 2023.

AUDI – LIKE Porsche, Audi departed top-tier endurance racing after the dieselgate scandal involving its Volkswagen parent company. But it has a rich history and a huge list of Le Mans and WEC wins. At this stage the German manufacturer has not released details of its car or its driver line-up. But the car is set to debut at the Daytona 24 Hours in 2023 and will be under built under the LMDh regulations in association with chassis supplier Multimatic.

BMW – ANOTHER German manufacturer that has deserted Formula E in favour of sports cars, BMW was the outright winner of Le Mans in 1999 and has scored countless class wins in sports car racing. It will field two LMDh machines in the IMSA Sportscar Championship and there are reports that BMW has begun its build with Dallara and BMW M Sport engineers and the car will be tested and launched in the coming months before debuting in 2023.

ACURA – ACURA is already involved in endurance racing, competing in IMSA’s current top-tier DPi class and will stay under the new regulations.

The manufacturer has won Drivers’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles over the last three years, including the time when its program was run by Team Penske, and will look for much of the same in 2023.

CADILLAC – THE American manufacturer released one visual of its car when it announced it would sign-on for the LMDh pacakge for 2023. Like a number of other manufacturers, Cadillac will debut at the blue riband 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona before competing at Le Mans for the fifth time. The program will be run with legendary American team Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), as well as Action Express Racing (AXR), using a Dallara chassis.

FERRARI – FOR the first time in 50 years, the legendary Italian supercar company will be racing for outright honours at Le Mans in 2023.

Competing under the LMH rules, Ferrari will race with AF Corse, the same team that currently runs its LMGTE Pro machines. The Maranello-based brand has not taken won Le Mans since 1965, just before Ford began its steamroller success with the GT40.

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Living Legend

Vern Schuppan

SPORTSCAR ACE VERN SCHUPPAN PART TWO

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL, VERN SCHUPPAN, GIVES MARK BISSET THE INSIDE LINE ON LE MANS SUCCESS, BECOMING A BIG NAME AS A DRIVER AND TEAM OWNER IN GROUP C SPORTS CARS, AND THE PLEASURE AND PAIN OF BUILDING THE WORLD’S FASTEST ROAD CARS TACKLING THE GREAT RACE Vern Schuppan shared a Falcon at Bathurst with Alan Moffat in 1976 and the pair led The Great Race until the water pump failed.

He also raced with Dick Johnson and drove alongside John Harvey at the Holden Dealer Team at Mount Panorama, for a best finish of fifth place, but despite all his overseas success there was no triumphant homecoming for the Aussie international.

Schuppan’s introduction to touring car competition had been an unlikely one, as he drove a family-style four-door Ford Granada on the 1973 Avon Tour of Britain, a highlyunusual event that was a lot like the Dulux Rally in Australia. Over 1000 miles and three days the competitors tackled a series of circuit races and special stages in the British forests.

But he was hob-knobbing with royalty and the winner of the event, in a lumbering Chevrolet Camaro Z28, was future world champion James Hunt.

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“I drove an unwieldy, works Ford Granada, – my team-mates were Prince Michael of Kent and Rosemary Smith. We were 10th a few miles from the finish, but an off on the final stage wedged the Granada firmly between two trees,” Schuppan recalls.

More seriously, Schuppan drove a Ford Capri RS2600 – one of the great touring cars of the 70s – on the Norisring in East Germany in 1974. He was 14th in an all-star field headed home by Hans Stuck in a BMW CSL and including Niki Lauda, Derek Bell and Rolf Stommelen, Bathurst winner John Fitzpatrick, triple Le Mans champion Klaus Ludwig, and fellow Aussie Tim Schenken.

At Bathurst, Vern was signed by the better Australian teams, although Moffat’s Ford Falcon XC GT was an endurance machine of an entirely different kind as Vern familiarised himself with the tricky nuances of Mount Panorama in 1976.

The South Aussie co-drove the Moffat Ford Dealers car in the race enlivened by the ill-fated Jack Brabham/Stirling Moss Holden

Torana L34. By lap 76 they were leading, a lap ahead of Colin Bond’s HDT Torana.

“The mechanics warned me to make sure I wasn’t driving it if the car broke. By halfdistance, with a decent lead, the water-pump failed with Allan driving. I loved Bathurst, the Moffat Falcon was a great car, and Allan was the ultimate professional,” he says.

“I drove with Dick Johnson the following two years (DNF and 5th). That GT was a handful compared to Moffat’s. I didn’t enjoy driving it, but Dick was a hoot and fun to be around.”

Schuppan returned to The Mountain in 1981 with the blue-riband Marlboro Holden Dealer Team. “I arrived at Sandown to race a VC Commodore with John Harvey, but my performance was below par – I had cracked ribs from a Riverside IndyCar crash – we were fourth, while Brockie won in the other team car.”

“At Bathurst, Harves put the car eighth in the shootout. In the race, our day was over early, John had a wheel crack while we were

in second, flatting a tyre and pitching the car into a wall on lap 38.”

Back in Europe, Schuppan shared a Group A Mitsubishi Starion with highly-rated British driver Dave Brodie in the 1985 RAC Tourist Trophy, a European championship round at Silverstone. They finished fifth, from pole, and up front were a couple of later Holden hard-nuts, Tom Walkinshaw and Win Percy, aboard a TWR Rover Vitesse V8.

LE MANS AND FORMULA 5000 Schuppan’s association with Mirage continued with a sensational second place at Le Mans in 1977, sharing a Mirage GR8 Renault with spectacular F1 driver JeanPierre Jarier. He was tenth in 1978 aboard an M9 Mirage Renault 2-litre V6 turbo after surviving a high-speed crash during the night when the headlights failed.

Formula 5000 was on the wane elsewhere, but Australia’s Rothmans Internationals over summer remained well supported.

Schuppan was second in the four-round

Images: Motorsport Images/Autopics.com.au/ Schuppan Collection/Auto Action Archives.

Main image: The Eyes Have It. Vern with absolute concentration in the early hours of his winning run at Le Mans in 1983, Porsche 956.

Top right: Only Vern’s roadside mechanical skills got his works Porsche 936/81 to a 12th place Le Mans finish in 1981.

series aboard an Ansett Team Elfin MR8 Chev in ’78, where setting the lap record and winning at Wanneroo Park in Perth was another highlight.

His Can-Am efforts with the too-heavy Elfin MR8 only resulted in a best of third place at Watkins Glen in 1979, while the Tiga CA80 Chevy which followed was too slow in a straight line.

INDY AND WORKS PORSCHES Schuppan had a wonderful ‘Month of May’ in 1981 as he ran home on the podium at the Indianapolis 500.

“I bought a four-year-old, non-groundeffect, ex-works McLaren M24B Cosworth DFX, figuring we could finish in the top-six with a reliable run.”

“We not only finished third behind Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti, but Dads-Army, my team of volunteers, were credited with the fastest pit-stops of the race!”

“Doing that well in my own small team was incredible. It was a demanding month, very

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Top: Renault turbo-V6 power; Mirage M9, Schuppan was second with French F1 driver, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Le Mans 1977.

Above: Let The Bubbles Rip; The sweetness of a Le Mans win with a seized engine, 1983.

Right: F1 in 1977, Austrian GP. 16th in the tricky ex-Jones-Perkins Surtees TS19.

Bottom: ‘83 Le Mans excitement, the Schuppan 956 during the final hour with new left-door. hard without a-half-good car, but we had a beauty that year. I was happy with that; it was the best I did in my five qualifying attempts at The Brickyard.”

Then came the big break, as Schuppan got an opportunity with the Porsche works team after Rick Mears was burned in an Indy 500 refuelling accident.

“He was to race a Porsche at Le Mans, so I got the call from Manfred Jantke, head of Motorsport-PR, when he couldn’t make it.”

Vern recalls.

“They had watched me race Mirages for years. It was a huge buzz to be invited to drive for Porsche. When I practiced the 936/81 (open Group 6 sports-prototype), the engine performance – a turbo-charged version of the flat-six first developed for Indy – was astounding, so was the handling compared to the other sports cars. It was a mighty, race-winning car.”

“Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell won in the sister car, I shared with Jochen Mass and Hurley Haywood.

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Above: The Moffat/Schuppan Falcon GT Hardtop at Murrays Corner during their competitive, but ill-fated 1976 Great Race.

Right: The 1983 and 1993 Le Mans winners at Calder in early 1976. Vern Schuppan counsels Geoff Brabham during a test of the new Elfin MR8 Chev F5000. Brabham went Euro F3 with a Ralt.

Far right: Vern’s first touring-car event. 1983 Avon Tour of Britain in a works Ford Granada.

Below right: Schuppan hustles the HDT Group-C Commodore through Shell Corner, ‘81 Sandown 400. He and John Harvey were fourth, Peter Brock drove the sister HDT car, to a single-handed win.

“After mechanical problems and an hour of trackside fettling of the fuel-injection, I got the car back to the pits, and we finished 12th.

“Consequently, Dr Helmut Bott offered me a drive for 1982, racing the first-ever Porsche monocoque chassis with its amazing ground effect capabilities, and new, 2.65-litre 635-horsepower 956, destined for greatness.”

Schuppan was in on the ground floor with the Porsche 956 program for Group C, then rode the wave for a decade. He raced works and customer cars, and contested the mega Japanese championship. This segued into team ownership and, later, the pleasure and pain of moving into road car construction with the Schuppan 962.

It was a golden era of exotic, extremely fast, lethal, hi-tech, swoopy coupes sparked by regulations which called for a minimum weight of 800 kilograms and a maximum fuel capacity of 100 litres. With no more than five fuel stops over 1000 kilometres, it was effectively a fuel-consumption contest that allowed 600 litres for 1000km.

Such liberal rules spawned diverse technical design solutions including the classics that flew into Australia for the World Sports Car races at Sandown in 1984 and 1988. There was the Porsche 962 3-litre turbo flat-six, Jaguar’s XJR with 7-litre V12, the Sauber C9 with 5-litre turbo V8 Mercedes motor and a dozen or so other marques powered by Cosworth and Chev V8s, BMW fours and sixes, Hart fours and the rest.

But the Porsche was the stand-out, helped in part by its giant underbody aerodynamics.

“It was hard to get your head around the fact that the faster you went through quick

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corners the more grip you had. In four races, I had second placings at Le Mans, Kyalami and Spa sharing with Jochen Mass (Le Mans) and Derek Bell.

“At Le Mans in 1983, I pushed a strategy to drive hard early with Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood, to build up a cushion in case of later problems.

“We led for more than 19 hours, then, with a two-lap lead, the left door came off on the Mulsanne during my final stint. I kept going until getting the Black Flag, which gave the team time to prepare a repair. It took two laps, and two attempts to fix – the first one didn’t

allow the driver to open the door, so was deemed illegal – then Al took her over for the last stint.

“15 minutes before the finish, Hurley and I were already on the podium when we saw on the overhead screen smoke coming from the left-hand cylinder bank. We had our hearts in our mouths as we watched the car roll over the finishing line with a seized engine. Al dipped the clutch when it failed at Arnage and had the momentum to roll over the line! The podium was one of the sweetest of my career, having led the race many times before. The Ickx/Bell car was only 50 seconds behind us.

“It became a great year – along with my co-driver Naohiro Fujita, we won five of the six All-Japan Endurance Championship races.

Then, with Hans Stuck, I was third behind the works Rothmans 956s in the Fuji 1000km WSC race.

“The icing on the cake was winning the British Racing Drivers Club, Bruce McLaren Trophy, as the British Commonwealth driver with the most meritorious international performances that year.”

“Back home in Australia, South Australian Premier John Bannon hosted a civic reception and lunch to celebrate my Le Mans success.

“ ”

Hurley and I were already on the podium when we saw on the overhead screen smoke coming from the left-hand cylinder bank.

During the event he announced that Adelaide would host an F1 Grand Prix.

He took everybody by surprise.”

“I got a call from John Mitchell, the public servant with carriage of the matter; they wanted help as Bernie Ecclestone wouldn’t answer their calls.”

“When back in the UK I met with Bernie – who was only interested in a Sydney race – to sell the benefits of a street race in my home town and to reinforce the point that the government, Adelaide Council and business community were all supportive. He agreed to look at the proposal; not too long after Bannon, Mal Hemmerling and others met with him in London ...”

Right: Schuppan’s Elfin MR8 Chev from Kevin Bartlett’s Lola T332 Chev during the 1977 AGP at Oran Park. F5000 aces both.

Centre: Schuppan’s Falcon GT Hardtop drops down through The Dipper during his 5th place run with Dick Johnson at Mount Panorama in 1978.

Bottom: Goodyear pitstop coming up – ‘77 Surfers Paradise 100, Rothmans round, Elfin MR8 Chev. Schuppan was an F5000 drawcard in Europe, the US and Australia.

PORSCHE DOMINANCE ROLLS-ON Schuppan’s success continued in Japan in 1984 with victory at Suzuka and third in the All-Japan Endurance Championship.

He won at Fuji sharing with Keiichi Suzuki and was again third in 1985. In 1986 he shared his Trust Racing 956 with Suzuki and the pair won twice at Fuji, with Schuppan – you guessed it – third in the drivers chase.

Competition from Toyota, Nissan and Mazda increased from 1987, but the Trust 962 still delivered a win, a second, and two thirds at Fuji.

In total, Porsche built an incredible 91 956 and 962 sports racers between 1984 and 1991, with 16 used by the works team and the balance sold to customers. The 962 was built to comply with IMSA regs, with a slightly longer wheelbase than the 956 which put the driver’s feet aft of the centreline of the front axles.

“They were sensational cars which gave nothing away to the opposition,” says Schuppan.

He continued to run at the front In Europe, and was sixth at Le Mans sharing a Kremer 956 with Alan Jones and JP Jarier in 1984.

“We led for six hours until I was taken out by a spinning WM Peugeot. With two hours to go we were back to third, then a conrod broke while I was at the wheel. We decided to do one last lap to finish – the car had already done a half-lap with the rod flailing around – and got sixth place, despite being parked for over an hour.

“I drove three races with AJ; Silverstone in 1983, and Le Mans and Sandown in ‘84.

Teams tended to choose drivers of similar performance – he was fun ... we were a good pairing.”

Schuppan’s performances and manner help build a following for ‘Brand Australia’ internationally. This was recognised by the City of Whyalla, which awarded him the Keys to the City in 1984, and the Australian Government who recognised Schuppan with an Order of Australia presented by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in 1985.

“I raced a Group 44 Jaguar XJR7 V12 at Sebring and Daytona in 1986 for two DNFs. I shared with Brian Redman at Sebring, at Daytona Hurley Haywood joined us. The car was beautiful to drive but didn’t have the cornering power of a ground-effect Porsche.”

Despite the Japanese results, three WSC starts at Le Mans, Spa and Fuji didn’t yield podiums in 1986. Schuppan had a commanding lead at Daytona in 1987, sharing with Jochen Mass and Price Cobb, but brake

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Left: Schuppan missed F3 in his formative years, but here he is at Macau in a Ralt RT3 Toyota in 1983, DNF. Ayrton Senna won in another RT3.

Below left: Schuppan enjoyed his Talbot Lago T26C, here in his last race at Phillip Island in 2018.

Below right: Vern aboard his Mike Simcoe styled Schuppan Porsche 962CR, at his Pinkneys Green home Bottom: Long, lean, mean. Vern aboard the works Porsche 962 he shared with Bob Wollek and Sarel Van Der Merwe in 1988 –DNF, engine failure.

failure put them back to third. Partnering with Cobb, Schuppan won the 1987 IMSA Watkins Glen 500-kilometre race in Rob Dyson’s 962.

TEAM OWNERSHIP Life changed for Schuppan as he made the transition from driver to owner.

“In 1988, while still driving for Trust, after an approach from Rothmans Japan, I set up a team to contest the All-Japan Championship, and later cars for Omron (control equipment and factory automation systems manufacturer), and Takefuji (Japanese finance company) for the Japanese series and Le Mans.”

“With two 962s, the irony was that – still driving for Trust – I was racing against my own team. I did five races in Japan with George Fouche –we won at Suzuka but then got pinged for being one kg under-

“ ”

weight. We were fourth in the title.

“Alongside the race operation we incorporated Vern Schuppan Limited (VSL) to provide specialist motor racing components, including our carbon tubs, to race teams and manufacturers.

“In 1988 I had brake failure in the Dyson 962, this time at Sebring. When I arrived at the hospital the excited nurse asked me if I could wait, a spectator had fallen off the roof of his motorhome into one of the fires.

At Le Mans we had an engine fail in the factory car after 192 laps.”

In 1989 the Team Schuppan/Omron Porsche 962 was second in the Fuji 500, and he won the Fuji 1000 sharing with Eje Elgh. At Le Mans they were joined by Gary Brabham.

“Running as high as third, the team finished 13th despite a batch of faulty fuelline fittings which caused the destruction of

three 962s, including one of mine.

“After acquiring one of our carbon-fibre tubs, British businessman/racer Tim Lee Davey built up a 962 and raced it at Spa. I crashed at Blanchimont, flat-out, after a touch with Jean-Louis Schlesser’s Sauber C9 Mercedes. Our tub stood up well.”

SUPERCAR MANUFACTURE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS With sports car racing booming in Japan, a new opportunity arrived and led to manufacturing in the UK. “I had a high profile in Japan. Group C was huge up there – we had up to 15 962s racing at the big events in front of 60,000 fans. A senior Nomura Securities executive wanted to build street-legal 962 Le Mans longtails.

“Their subsidiary, Kosho, ordered 25 cars and funded the development costs. It was a massive undertaking – we bought a 60,000

The highlight was signing Scott Dixon to race both Indy Lights and Champ-cars in 1999. We got that one right! He has four Indy 500 wins and six Indycar titles so far.

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square-foot factory in High Wycombe.

“The design and management teams were headed by ex-Holden executive Ray Borrett.

20 engineers evolved our 962LM, which used the Advanced Composite Technology carbon fibre chassis used in our race 962s.

“As the 1990s financial crisis got underway, we had type approval for the LM. Kosho bought three cars – the LM prototype (mule) built in 1989 from our ’88 Le Mans, John Thompson-built tub, and two production LMs. “We did lots of systems testing with the mule until it was burned to a crisp when Howden Ganley was returning from an emissions test run at the MIRA facility. As the financial crisis evolved, we could see Kosho would not proceed beyond that. “ “Art Sports, another Japanese company, replaced Kosho; they agreed to take 25 cars, and had an option for 25 more.

“Although contracted to buy 25LMs, Art Sports thought a road-GT would be more saleable. Legendary Holden designer, Mike Simcoe, won a three-way pitch to design the body of this 962CR (Group-C, Road-R).

The chassis was like the LM, but was two inches wider, and built by Reynard.

“The 962CR set us back 18 months. (But) almost as soon as we launched them, demand for high-end supercars plummeted.

We’d delivered Art Sport’s first production car, then they said ‘we can take 20 cars, not 50.’ A few months later it was 10 cars.

We litigated, but starved of cashflow, VSL was placed into liquidation.”

“We built four 962LMs – three 962LMs and a hybrid LM/CR to race at Le Mans – and four 962CRs. All but the mule exists. Until it fell over it was professionally satisfying to build the world’s fastest road car. To create that enterprise was incredible.

“Ultimately, Art Sport’s balance sheet wasn’t strong enough to meet their contractual commitments to us.”

Above: Vern at the wheel of the Kremer Porsche 956B at Le Mans in 1984, sixth with Alan Jones and the underrated J-P Jarier Far right: Buckingham Palace family portrait: Paige, Vern, Jennifer and Kerrin Schuppan with Vern’s Order of Australia, 1985.

Right: Sandown 1000 World Endurance round 1984. Schuppan in the 956 he shared with Alan Jones to 8th place.

Below right: Vern Schuppan, focused in his Rothmans-Porsche 962C during Le Mans, 1985.

JOHANNSSON MOTORSPORT AND HOMEWARD BOUND The next step in Schuppan’s career would take him to the USA. “I’d known Stefan Johansson for years – after his F1 career he raced IndyCars and later set up an Indy Lights team. He asked me to run Johannsson Motorsports, (so) Jennifer and I moved to Indianapolis in 1996.

“The highlight was signing Scott Dixon to race both Indy Lights and Champ Cars in 1999. We got that one right! He has four Indy wins and six IndyCar titles so far.”

Then it was time to come home.

“We moved back to Adelaide into an apartment in the redeveloped Fruit Markets in 2004. It’s great to live on the Banana Bend section of the old grand prix circuit.

“We’ve got a villa in Portugal where we holiday annually with the family. My son and family are in Melbourne, and my daughter, her husband and kids live in the UK.” Vern is still very much part of the motorsport scene, constantly in demand for appearances at historic events.

“I’ve done eight Goodwood Revivals, 14 Festivals of Speed, three Classic Le Mans, the 30th Long Beach GP anniversary. Porsche Rennsports have a great reunion every four years ...

“I’ve driven some stunning cars in these meetings; heaps of Porsches including a Gulf 917, Rothmans 956 and Sunoco Can-Am 917/30, SWB Ferraris, Shelby Cobra, Aston Martin DB4GT, Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.

“At 12 I fell in love with Doug Whiteford’s Talbot Lago T26C when Dad took me to my first race, the 1955 Australian Grand Prix at Port Wakefield. It was a thrill to be able to buy the same car in 2016, 60 years later.

“I did my last race before retirement in it during the 2018 Phillip Island Classic – it was great to drive.

“I’ve had many classics – my favourite was the Ferrari 275GTB/4 first owned by Steve

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McQueen. Ferrari Classiche restored it for me. In more recent times, a concours Aston Martin DB2 is a fun road car, and an exJohnny Rutherford works McLaren M24 is being restored by Duttons in Melbourne now.”

He also retains a keen interest in current motorsport.

“I follow F1 closely of course. The last two years has seen the best racing in its history, I think. Moto GP is also outstanding and the Supercars are up there for spectacular events.

Funnily enough, I don’t really follow the sports car scene.”

The journey from Booleroo Centre to Adelaide is only 250 kilometres, but Schuppan’s journey took him around the world and back from South Australia.

Fifty years on, he is as sharp as a tack, his recall is uncanny, and he is a gentleman to deal with. But in the cockpit he was as tough as the best and has the trophies to prove it.

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THE EARLY 2000S GOLDEN YEARS

THE NEW MILLENNIUM DAWNED WITH AUSSIES MAKING HEADLINES BOTH LOCALLY AND OVERSEAS. MARK WEBBER BEGAN HIS JOURNEY IN FORMULA 1 AS SCHUMACHER CONTINUED TO DOMINATE, WHILE AT HOME A TIMELESS CROP OF SUPERCARS STARS BATTLED IT OUT ON AND OFF THE TRACK. JOSH NEVETT DETAILS THE MOMENTS years of publishing 1971- 2021 THAT MATTERED FROM 2000-2004.

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ISSUE 919 – DECEMBER 15, 2020 BRIGHT SIGNS FOR HRT

ISSUE 893 – JUNE 16, 2000 V8S MAKE CANBERRA DEBUT CONTINUING THE trend of fresh circuits on the V8 Supercar calendar, Canberra made its debut to mixed reviews. The 3.9km street circuit was praised for its originality but questioned for its narrow nature as Steven Richards won the round in his Kmart Commodore. A new format was also introduced in Canberra, a reverse-grid race held for the first time in the championship.

The Canberra 400 would only last three years on the calendar, sent to the events scrap heap in 2002.

FRESH OFF a sixth-place finish in the US open wheeler Indy Lights series, Jason Bright returned home to sign for Holden Racing Team in V8 Supercars.

The 27-year-old was seemingly set to pursue his overseas dreams in the top tier of stock car racing but made headlines when he instead decided to take over the seat left vacant by Craig Lowndes’ departure. Bright would spend the rest of his career on home soil. As for that man Lowndes, he was facing a possible year on the sidelines due to stunted contract negotiations.

ISSUE 878 – MARCH 9, 2000 WEBBER SECURES F1 TEST DRIVER ROLE A FRESH-faced Mark Webber was confirmed as an Arrows Formula 1 team test driver, moving the 24-year-old a step closer to his dream. Faced with a ‘difficult’ contract option with Walkinshaw’s team, Webber moved on to Benetton and as they say… the rest is history. Auto Action took a moment to recognise 2000 as the 50th anniversary of Formula 1.

ISSUE 900 – AUGUST 4, 2000 FIERY CRASH AT ORAN PARK

ISSUE 896 – JULY 7, 2000 V8 OWNERSHIP FIGHT; LOWNDES SCOUTED BY FORD TEAMS

ISSUE 884 – APRIL 14, 2000 NZ SUPERCARS RACE CONFIRMED

THIS TRULY was as bumper issue of AA. A court battle commenced between The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) and Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company Limited (AVESCO) over who owned our premier V8 Supercar category, initiated by the former. If that wasn’t enough, rumours began that star Holden racer Craig Lowndes would be poached by rivals Ford for the 2001 season. At the time, at least three Falcon teams had approached triple champion Lowndes about a Ford switch that ended up coming to fruition soon after.

IT WAS announced that the Australian Touring Car Championship would head overseas for the first time ever, gracing New Zealand for the second round of the 2000 season. Pukekhoe Raceway was selected as the venue for the historic occasion – AVESCO Chairman Tony Cochrane described the scheduling as a “tremendous achievement”. V8Supercar also celebrated its largest event crowd recorded – 164,000 people attended the Adelaide 500 – rounding out a bumper week for the category.

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FLAMES ENGULFED the start line at Oran Park in a nasty incident that saw both Mark Larkham and Paul Morris end up in hospital. The sequence of events was set in motion when Larry Perkins stalled on the grid and was collected by Morris, who was subsequently ploughed into by Larkham at 170km/h. Morris came off worst of the group, suffering three fractured vertebrae in his back.

ISSUE 916 – NOVEMBER 24, 2000 TANDER WINS BATHURST, SKAIFE THE TITLE GARTH TANDER and Jason Bargwanna closed out 2000 in style with a wet and wild Bathurst 1000 victory, but it was not enough to deny Mark Skaife his third title. The Great Race was run in conditions that catered better to Safety Cars than smooth running – the average race speed was the slowest since the 1974 Bathurst 1000 – but Tander and Bargwanna stayed out of trouble to cross the line 2.4114s ahead of Paul Radisch and Jason Bright. Skaife was sixth, giving him a 137 point margin in the overall standings.

ISSUE 921 – JANUARY 12, 2001 LOWNDES SIGNS FOR FORD AFTER ABUNDANT speculation, it was finally officially.

Craig Lowndes would drive a Ford in 2001. The then three-time Supercar champion committed to piloting a Gibson Motorsport AU Falcon, citing his desire to become a mentor to Ford’s youthful driver roster as a key motivator. Lowndes would start his Ford career strongly, recording two podiums at Phillip Island and a win in Adelaide, but he ultimately finished 11th in the championship.

ISSUE 927 – FEBRUARY 23, 2001 RIP DALE EARNHARDT THE NASCAR world was reeling after the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt, who was killed in a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500. The crash occurred when the famous #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet was bumped into a spin

by Sterling Marlin’s Dodge, setting off a sequence of events that saw Earnhardt suffer fatal trauma to his head. Earnhardt raced from 1975 to 2001 in NASCAR, winning seven titles.

ISSUE 922 – JANUARY 19, 2001 AUSSIE BUYS F1 TEAM AUSSIE-BORN multi-millionaire Paul Stoddart was set to become the unlikely saviour of Minardi, a cellar-dwelling Italian F1 team on the verge of shutting up shop. The deal would see the team merged with Stoddart’s European Racing Formula 3000 team and a certain driver by the name of Fernando Alonso stepped into one of the driver seats. Alonso made his F1 debut at the age of 19 that year, but Minardi failed to score any points.

ISSUE 974 – JANUARY 30, 2002 WEBBER SIGNS FOR MINARDI THE RISE of Mark Webber to Formula 1 was finally complete as he signed to drive for the Australian-owned Minardi team in 2002, becoming the first Aussie to race at the top level since David Brabham. The 25-year-old was offered the seat after a flurry of lastminute financial backing and strong testing during pre-season in Spain. With a full-time seat assured, Webber was set to prepare for his F1 debut in front of a home crowd at the Australian Grand Prix.

ISSUE 929 – MARCH 9, 2001 MARSHAL KILLED IN AUSTRALIAN GP TRAGEDY

ISSUE 960 – OCTOBER 12, 2001 HRT CONQUER MOUNT PANORAMA

ISSUE 975 – FEBRUARY 6, 2002 BATHURST 24 HOUR ANNOUNCED

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER’s Australian Grand Prix triumph was overshadowed by the tragic death of track marshal Graham Francis Beveridge. The 51-yearold sector marshal was struck by one of the wheels from Jacques Villeneuve’s BAR-Honda, which flung debris after colliding hard with the fence at Turn 3.

The incident brought track safety into the spotlight and was deemed avoidable by an inquest, resulting in safety upgrades for subsequent AGP events.

MARK SKAIFE completed his dominance in the 2001 V8 Supercar campaign with a mercurial Bathurst 1000 victory alongside Tony Longhurst.

The Great Race win was Skaife’s first in a Commodore and third overall, sending him 455 points clear at the top of the standings with two rounds remaining. Yet again Mount Panorama threw up challenging conditions for drivers, with rain and hail lashing the circuit throughout the race.

AA REVEALED that a 24-hour endurance race was in the works for the iconic Mount Panorama circuit. PROCAR boss Ross Palmer was planning the event which would welcome international sportscars and local entrants on a grid of up to 83 cars. Eight classes would be eligible to compete for bragging rights at The Mountain, where facilities would be upgraded to cater for such an event of international scale.

ISSUE 954 – AUGUST 31, 2001 DJR WINS CONTROVERSIAL QUEENSLAND 500

ISSUE 965 – NOVEMBER 16, 2001 SKAIFE WRAPS UP TITLE ON FOREIGN SOIL

DESPITE BEING parked in a sand trap when the race was declared, Steven Johnson and Paul Radisich were controversially deemed the winners of the 2001 Queensland 500.

The race was red flagged four laps shy of its scheduled 161 due to torrential rain and although the Dick Johnson Racing car was stuck in the sand it was awarded victory as the leader at the end of the previous lap.

Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall, who had taken the lead when the #17 Ford became beached, believed a Safety Car should have been deployed to allow the race to continue.

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THERE WAS plenty to celebrate at Pukekhoe Raceway as V8 Supercars made a successful competitive overseas debut.

Local legend Greg Murphy took a clean sweep of the races in front of an adoring home crowd while Mark Skaife joined Allan Moffat, Bob Jane and Jim Richards in winning his fourth title. Nearly 60,000 fans attendance the historic event, rendering the experiment a ‘bug sicksuss’ (as printed in AA!).

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THE EARLY 2000S GOLDEN YEARS 50

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ISSUE 1042 – JUNE 4, 2003 SKAIFE TAKES CHARGE OF HRT WITH FIVE touring car titles under his belt as a driver Mark Skaife decided it was time to try his hand at ownership, taking over Holden Racing Team (HRT). The deal would see Skaife own the team for at least 10 years and split his time between business duties and driving. In the end, Skaife would not win another title behind the wheel after taking the reins at HRT.

ISSUE 979 – MARCH 6, 2002 SCHUMACHER WINS, WEBBER STARS IN AGP MICHAEL SCHUMACHER won again but it was all about Mark Webber at the 2002 edition of the Australian Grand Prix. Australia’s golden boy finished fifth on debut with Minardi after starting from 18th on the grid, escaping first corner carnage to emerge with two points for his team which had not scored for two years. Greeted by a rousing reception at the finish, Webber was rewarded with a second podium ceremony where he was joined by team owner Paul Stoddart.

ISSUE 1014 – NOVEMBER 6, 2002 WEBBER JOINS JAGUAR

ISSUE 1021 – JANUARY 8, 2003 INGALL JOINS FORD

AFTER AN impressive first season in the big time, Mark Webber was announced as a Jaguar driver for the 2003 and 2004 Formula 1 seasons.

The 26-year-old New South Welshman would join Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia, the pair replacing Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa. Jaguar was a step up from Minardi, the team which Webber finished 16th with in 2002 despite a top-five finish on debut.

RUSSELL INGALL became the latest big name to defect from Holden to Ford in V8 Supercar land, confirming his deal to race as David Besnard’s replacement at Stone Brothers Racing in a BA Falcon.

Ingall stated at the time that his move had been in the works for years and that he had to separate himself from Larry Perkins whom he had developed a ‘bad marriage’ relationship with over their seven years together.

ISSUE 1011 – OCTOBER 16, 2002 SUPER SKAIFE MAKES IT FIVE

ISSUE 989 – MAY 15, 2002 BARRICHELLO GIFTS SCHUMACHER VICTORY IN AUSTRIA HYSTERIA TOOK over the world of Formula 1 when Ferrari issued team orders to Rubens Barrichello to step aside and yield victory to teammate Michael Schumacher at the A1-Ring.

The latter was booed on the podium and both drivers were forced to face trial by media post-race to defend the decision. Closer to home, Larry Perkins was set to miss his first race in 10 years after withdrawing from an oversubscribed grid for the Barbagallo V8 Supercar round.

MARK SKAIFE joined the best of the best by simultaneously winning his fourth Bathurst 1000 and securing a fifth Australian Touring Car title at Mount Panorama.

Skaife and Jim Richards were too strong for Steven Richards and Russell Ingall, who finished just under 3s behind. In winning his fifth season crown Skaife joined Ian Geoghegan and Dick Johnson at the top of the all-time winners list, an accolade which now sits with Jamie Whincup.

ISSUE 1016 – NOVEMBER 20, 2002 ENDURANCE RACE ROCKS MOUNT PANORAMA THE INAUGURAL Bathurst 24 Hour was an unqualified success, impressing participants, spectators and investors alike.

It was the yellow #427 Holden Monaro built Garry Rogers that took out the event on racing debut, driven to victory by Garth Tander, Steven Richards, Nathan Pretty and Cameron McConville. Unfortunately, the Bathurst enduro would only run once more, the collapse of management organisation PROCAR signalling its downfall.

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ISSUE 1038 – MAY 7, 2003 VALE - POSSUM BOURNE Seven-time Australian Rally champion Possum Bourne was remembered after passing away due to serious injuries sustained in a car accident. Fans gathered to lay tributes to Bourne outside his Pukekohe workshop and Subaru dealers closed for a day as a mark of respect.

In V8 Supercar competition Ford achieved a sweep of the podium for the first time since 1997 thanks to Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes and Russell Ingall. Meanwhile, Mark Webber claimed the first points of his Jaguar F1 career in Spain.

ISSUE 1101 – AUGUST 4, 2004 WEBBER TO WILLIAMS MARK WEBBER was on the move again in 2004, signing with Williams Formula 1 team for the 2005 season after stints at Minardi and Jaguar. The ambitious Aussie was forthright in his desire to win the F1 title with his new team, despite not having a podium finish to his name. Results would not fall Webber’s way at Williams in his subsequent two-year spell, but the best was yet to come – he finally experienced success at Red Bull in the twilight of his career.

ISSUE 1061 – OCTOBER 15, 2003 THE LAP OF THE GODS

WHAT A Bathurst 1000 weekend it was for the Kmart Racing team of Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly. Murphy set the tone in qualifying by topping the timesheets in a tight session, and you all know what happened next.

Aiming to dislodge John Bowe as the Top 10 Shootout leader Murphy produced the fabled ‘Lap of the Gods’, cracking 2m 7s at Mount Panorama for the first time in touring car history. From there, nobody could stop the Kmart pair from walking away victorious in The Great Race, which they won by 4.938s from Craig Lowndes/Glenn Seton.

ISSUE 1113 – OCTOBER 27, 2004 AMBROSE AND KELLY IN BRAKE-TEST CONTROVERSY SUPERCAR CHAMPION Marcos Ambrose was condemned for brake-testing Rick Kelly after their late race battle at the Gold Coast Indy. Ambrose was found guilty of careless driving and fined $10,000 for the incident which led Greg Murphy to vocally support his Bathurst co-winning teammate Kelly in the media. Reflecting on the press conference which saw tempers flare between Ambrose and Murphy, AA concluded that it was ‘the most amazing press call we’ve ever attended’.

ISSUE 1114 – NOVEMBER 3, 2004 LOWNDES TESTS WITH TRIPLE EIGHT CRAIG LOWNDES made a surprise early test appearance with his new-for-2005 team Triple Eight at Queensland Raceway after receiving permission from Ford Performance Racing. While contracted to FPR until December 31, Lowndes was able to test the T8 machine thanks to rare collaboration between the rival Ford outfits. ‘The Kid’ would go on to finish runner-up in the ’05 season behind Russell Ingall of Stone Brothers Racing.

ISSUE 1067 – NOVEMBER 26, 2003 BROCK MASTERS THE MOUNTAIN TOURING CAR legend Peter Brock earned himself more ink in the history books after winning a record 10th endurance race victory at Mount Panorama in the second and last Bathurst 24 Hour.

Despite being in semi-retirement, Brock was back to his best behind the wheel of the red #05 Monaro 427 on the way to adding a 24-Hour trophy to his nine Bathurst 1000 triumphs.

ISSUE 1068 – DECEMBER 3, 2003 SKAIFE VS INGALL FEUD ERUPTS AT EASTERN CREEK V8 SUPERCAR stars Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall were set for a date with the appeals court after a heated clash at Eastern Creek Raceway. The pair collided as Skaife passed Ingall for third place midway through the race, the latter sending Skaife into a spin which ended his day in the wall.

Skaife waited by the side of the track until Ingall came around to make his feelings known but the ‘Enforcer’ was having none of it, swerving his Falcon towards his rival. Both were heavily penalised for the incident through fines and docked championship points.

ISSUE 1111 – OCTOBER 13, 2004 BATHURST 2004

GREG MURPHY and Rick Kelly made it consecutive Bathurst 1000 victories for Kmart Racing in Peter Brock’s final appearance. By winning his second so quickly, Kelly became the youngest two-time champion, while for Murphy the triumph was his fourth. Brock’s farewell ended in anticlimactic fashion; the nine-time Bathurst winner did not get any seat time on race day as his co-driver Jason Plato crashed the #05 HRT Commodore out of the contest on lap 31. In other news, the driver who caused Possum Bourne’s death was convicted after pleading guilty to aggravated careless driving causing death.

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ISSUE 1121 – DECEMBER 22, 2004 ATKINSON JOINS RALLYING ELITE CHRIS ATKINSON secured a seat with Subaru in the World Rally Championship, joining Mark Webber as one of two Aussies entered into world titles. The 24-year-old was set to share a second works Subaru with Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin and would contest every rally bar Monte Carlo.

Atkinson found his feet quickly in the top tier, earning a podium finish at Rally Japan in 2005.

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PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRY NEWS

CAMBER/CASTER ADJUSTABLE STRUT MOUNTS CAMBER AND caster adjustment are critical operations for most vehicles, even more so for competition vehicles that require more camber than is achievable with standard componentry.

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K&N intake kits are guaranteed to increase your vehicle’s horsepower and torque, and K&N performs rigorous in-house testing to ensure that each kit meets high-performance standards. Published dynamometer charts are available on individual product pages to help estimate performance gains.

Installation can typically be completed in 60 minutes or less and requires only simple hand tools. Detailed, step-by-step instructions are included with each kit. Kits are designed for specific models and years, ensuring a precise fit in the engine bay.

K&N claims to be the best in the industry in cold air intake system development, design, and testing.

K&N engineers start by employing 3D-laser scanning to create a precise model of each vehicle’s engine bay and utilize the most advanced technology on the market to create airflow-optimized kits.

The removal of excess stock baffles helps give a satisfying engine growl on acceleration that returns to quiet once at speed.

The included filter only requires cleaning every 100,000 miles under normal highway driving conditions (as opposed to 15,000-20,000 miles for a disposable filter) and provides industry-leading engine protection against contaminants and K&N Air Intake kits come with a 10-Year/Million Mile Limited Warranty.

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For further details on the range of K&N Air induction systems call the team at VCM Performance (03) 9763 7599 or www. vcmstore.com.au

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LOEB WINS THE SEBASTIEN BATTLE

Report: Dan McCarthy

SEBASTIEN LOEB turned back the clock to take not only the first round in the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo, but victory in the maiden weekend of the Hybrid era.

In doing so he took his 80th WRC win, claimed his first victory with M-Sport Ford, and also gave the Ford Puma a win on its debut.

A Power Stage win elevated Rovanpera to third outright in the points.

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The nine-time champion may only be conducting a part campaign this year, however he and rookie co-driver Isabelle Galmiche pipped former rival Seb Ogier by just 10.5s at the end of the rally. The gap would have been less than a second had Ogier not jumped the start on the final stage of the event and received a 10s penalty for the infringement.

The two Sebastiens, former bitter rivals, went toe-to-toe over the four-day rally

and were comfortably the class of the field.

The pair were separated by less than a handful of seconds until Saturday’s final stage.

Monte Carlo was unseasonably dry this year and only a couple of stages contained any snow or ice.

One of the was the Col de Fontbelle stage which climbs up a Monte Carlo Mountain and back down the other side.

M-Sport celebrates the almost perfect opening rally.

As a result, the stage consisted of a 5km stretch with snow and ice on the top of the pass. Loeb elected to bravely fit his Ford Puma with Pirelli’s soft compound asphalt rubber, hoping that he would benefit more on the dry sections on the stage and minimise the time loss on the ice.

Ogier had already decided to mix two soft tyres with two snow tyres on his Toyota GR Yaris, but upon seeing Loeb’s choice he elected to follow suit and fit the same four soft tyres.

In that stage alone he outpaced Loeb by 16.1s and in doing so more than quadrupled his lead to 21.1s with only four stages of the rally remaining on Sunday.

After the first two stages, Ogier extended that margin and appeared to have victory almost in the bag – however there was one twist in the tail of an attritional event.

The Toyota picked up a left-front puncture on the penultimate stage and, as the stage progressed, the tyre delaminated completely, handing the ever-consistent Loeb back the lead by 9.5s heading into the final stage.

Ogier flew through the final stage, and had he not jumped the start he would have missed out on the win by just half a

Far left: With limited preparation, Loeb’s win was all class.

Left: Team-mate Breen finished a solid third.

Below: Seb Ogier had it won ... before a late puncture.

Neuville nursed his Hyundai home, the only entry from the Korean manufacturer to finish. second. However, due to a jumped start penalty he finished 10.5s in arrears.

Loeb equalled Ogier’s record of eight Monte Carlo wins while, on debut, Galmiche became the first female codriver to win a round since 1997.

“I didn’t expect so much when I came here,” Loeb admitted. “It was a great fight, Ogier was really fast and I struggled a bit yesterday and even this morning.”

The charismatic Craig Breen was first of the full-time season competitors on his M-Sport debut, finishing the rally in third with his new team.

Breen failed to score in the final Power Stage, electing to play it safe and bring home a podium.

As a result, despite finishing fourth, the fast Finn Kalle Rovanpera sits ahead of him in the championship after claiming the maximum five points in the Power Stage. Rovanpera lost over 2m in total on Thursday and Friday, but after dialling

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speed on track and constant reliability failures showed how far away Hyundai is from where it needs to be.

WRC2 winner Andreas Mikkelsen came home in seventh overall driving his Skoda Fabio.

Toyota WRC driver Takamoto Katsuta drove a great rally – however one mistake on the snowy Col de Fontbelle stage saw this all undone as he had to be recovered from a ditch.

WRC2 competitors Erik Cais and Nikolay Gryazin rounded out the top 10.

Likely championship contender Elfyn Evans had a rally to forget. He was sitting third when he spun down a hillside. The penalty for not completing the stage

ruled him out of a top 10 finish, however he was second fastest in the power stage.

Similarly, Oliver Solberg slid down a hillside in his Hyundai, while former champion Ott Tanak failed to make the finish following a crash on Saturday.

Tarmac specialist Adrien Fourmaux and his co-driver Alexandre Coria were lucky to escape injury when they rolled spectacularly down a steep hillside – they were out of the rally there and then.

Points: Loeb 27, Ogier 19, Rovanpera 17, Breen 15, Neuville 11, Greensmith 10, Mikkelsen 6, Katsuta 4, Evans 4, Cais 2

out the mega understeer, was mighty fast and from outside the top 10 marched his way back to fourth.

Englishman Gus Greensmith made it three Ford Pumas in the top five, and also scored his maiden stage win in the rally.

An engine misfire and puncture on Saturday however saw him finish over 6m30s behind Loeb.

A devastated Thierry Neuville was the only Hyundai driver to make the finish. The Belgian had constant problems with his i20 but nursed it to the finish. It was a horror weekend for the Korean manufacturer, the lack of

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DAKAR RALLY

DRAMATIC DAKAR Report: Dan McCarthy AN EVENTFUL and dramatic 2022 edition of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia has been run and won, with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel prevailing to take the outright and car class honours for the fourth time.

The Toyota driver had nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb nibbling into his lead in the concluding several days of the rally – however the hard work had already been done.

Loeb cut what was at one stage a 48-minute lead down to 30mins into the final stage. He chopped a further three minutes out of the margin in the rally’s final stage, but it was nowhere near enough.

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“It was an incredible Dakar for us. We hadn’t won since 2019. We’re pleased with the new T1+ regulations.” said Al-Attiyah.

“There were three solid teams capable of winning. Matthieu and I, the team, we all did a good job to win. We had finished second every time since we came to Saudi Arabia two years ago – now we’re really happy to achieve our goal.”

“Toyota Gazoo Racing did a fantastic job in the span of a year by building this new car. The whole race went without a hitch.”

Al-Attiyah went on to take his fourth win by 27m46s from Prodrive BRX driver Loeb, while home hero, Saudi Arabian Yazeed Al-Rajhi finished a further 34 minutes back in third.

Orlando Terranova was fourth for BRX,

while Giniel De Villiers rounded out the top five, all of whom were separated by less than 90 minutes.

Al-Attiyah won the opening stage and never relinquished the lead from there, it was an incredibly well-judged and professional drive from the Dakar veteran and his co-driver Baumel.

The field was quite evenly matched in 2022 with Toyota, Prodrive BRX and Audi all taking multiple stage wins in a rally that contained many twists and turns and proved to be one of the most competitive in many years.

Over the course of the event, three different Audi drivers took a stage win – Dakar great Stephane Peterhansel, Mattias Ekstrom and Carlos Sainz, who took two.

All three were fast, but all ran into issues.

Nevertheless, it was a strong first performance for the all-electric vehicle.

In the end it was Ekstrom in just his second Dakar appearance who ended the event as the highest placed Audi in ninth, Sainz was 12th while mechanical issues saw 14-time winner Peterhansel buried in 59th place.

Australia had three representatives in the bike category – Toby Price, Daniel Sanders and Andrew Houlihan.

Unfortunately, Price lost a lot of time on the opening day and was always playing catch-upt from that moment on.

He made it to the end of the rally, finishing inside the top 10.

The two-time class winner earned himself one stage win and a number of other second place finishes.

“I’m always happy to reach the finish here at the Dakar,” Price said. “It’s been a really tough race this year.

“Losing time on that first day put me on the back foot a little for the rest of the stages, and the way things are now, any mistakes can lose you a lot of time on the others because things are so close.

“The terrain here in Saudi makes for a really fast race too – a lot of the stages are sprints to the finish, but the atmosphere is good and it’s a good place to be. I’m excited for 2023 already!”

Price finished the rally in 10th, 49m20s behind the eventual winner.

His fellow Aussie Sanders got off to a great start, winning the opening two stages of the rally, stages 1A and 1B. However over the next couple of days he slipped outside of the top three overall.

The Gas Gas rider was fastest in Stage 6 and therefore was listed as the first bike to start

CONCLUDES Stage 7 – however he never made it, crashing on the way to the start of the stage.

In the fall, he fractured his left elbow after hitting the pavement and was forced to sit out the remainder of the rally – when he had been sitting only five minutes behind the leader, in third overall.

Houlihan was also ruled out of the event when he broke his ribs in an accident on Stage 5.

The bike class was incredibly close, with Britain’s Sam Sunderland, Matthias Walkner and Adrien Van Beveren all having stints at leading in the closing stages of the event.

However, Walkner and Van Beveren struggled in Main (and opposite): Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel enjoyed the spoils of victory.

Left: Molly Taylor’s first Dakar (she’ll be back) presented some challenges, but she was generally well in the top 10 on clear stages.

Above left: Brit Sam Sunderland took out the bike section.

Above: With parts flying off, Sebastian Loeb presses on ...

Opposite bottom: after a first-day disaster, Mattias Ekstrom pushed the electronic Audi to some impressive stage results.

MORE DAKAR REPORTS AND PHOTO GALLERY

the final couple of stages and Sunderland’s closest challenger became Honda rider Pablo Quintanilla.

Sunderland’s lead heading into the final stage was 6m52s – it was slashed by Quintanilla who set the fastest time and came home just 3m27s shy of the win.

Former MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci shone on his Dakar debut – the circuit racing specialist took to off-road racing like a duck to water.

The Italian was classified in 90th position but was a lot more competitive than the finishing position would show.

The two-time MotoGP race winner won a stage and could have taken more would it not have been for a few penalties – nevertheless it was a strong debut for Petrucci.

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“I am so happy to finally reach the finish line and to complete the goal I set out to do,” Petrucci said.

“It’s been a tough time both leading up to the event and the race itself, but to complete my first ever Dakar feels amazing.

“I’m really happy with my performance but over the last couple of days I have had some crashes and feel quite sore at the moment.

“Thanks to all the team for their hard work, – it has been an amazing experience and one of the hardest things I have ever done.”

Inaugural Extreme E Champion Molly Taylor, alongside her co-driver Dale Moscatt survived a final stage drama to finish her first Dakar rally in 14th position in the SSV class. Taylor was consistent throughout the rally, finishing a majority of

stages inside the top 10 – only Stages 4, 10 and 12 (the final one) saw her encounter issues which dropped her to 14th.

In the final stage Taylor’s brakes failed 40km before they then caught fire. With an onboard water supply Taylor and Moscatt were able to extinguish the blaze and continue on – albeit without brakes.

“Every single emotion,” Taylor said in a social media post at the end of the stage.

“We’re so proud to be here at the finish, through all the ups, all the downs. Lots of positives to take away, lots of learnings ... I think we experienced a true Dakar.”

American Austin Jones and his co-driver Gustavo Gugelmin took the win in the SSV class, while Dmitry Sotnikov won in the trucks.

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SPEEDWAY NEWS

ONE NIGHT A PRESIDENT, THE NEXT A KING ...

IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE GRAND ANNUAL SPRINTCAR CLASSIC, JAMES MCFADDEN CONTINUED HIS RUN OF DOMINANCE IN WINNING AVALON’S PRESIDENTS CUP AND BORDERLINE’S KINGS CHALLENGE

Main: James McFadden and his Monte Motorsport team continue their dominant run with two more big event wins..

Below left: The Avalon podium – winner James McFadden, evergreen Robbie Farr (2nd) and Jack Lee, who hung on for third spot.

Below: Marcus Dumesny and South Australian Daniel Pestka slug it out at Avalon.

Opposite:: QLD 33 Callum Walker and SA52 Matt Egel in battle for a Kings Crown.

Images: Brett Swanson and Paris Charles

SPEEDWAY With Paris Charles PRESIDENT MCFADDEN TAKES A SECOND TERM.

AS WE burst into the new year, Speedway racing hits Prime Time and that’s means the masses of fans make the annual pilgrimage to where the best Sprintcar teams from around the nation plus our visiting American star Carson Macedo thunder for five relentless nights of top shelf Sprintcar racing (Covid rules permitting).

The racing was staged over five consecutive nights throughout the south-eastern corner of the nation with single nights at Lara Victoria, Mount Gambier South Australia and then culminating with three huge nights in Warranmbool for the 49th running of the Annual Sprintcar Classic ... but enough about that race for now as we have lots to digest before we get to the Jewel in the Crown event. It all started on Wednesday January 19 at the Avalon Raceway for the Kubota-presented 41st running of the Presidents Cup. Despite being scheduled slap bang in the middle of the week, a large crowd gathered for the kick-off race and with a healthy 48 teams assembled in the pits the action would be a take-no-prisoners affair right from the get-go.

Defending Presidents Cup Champion James McFadden would set the bar right from the start, pacing the quickest qualifying lap aboard the Monte Motorsports W17 Maxim, with a time of 12.709, while Jack Lee, Matt Egel and Robbie Farr were the quickest in the remaining three groups to run against the clock. This would set each of the four up with a favourable midfield (P6) starting position for their heat races, giving plenty of opportunity to pick up valuable passing points.

HEATS AND B FINAL Frost, Bentvelzen, Daly and Matthew Dumesny claimed the four 10-lap heat race wins while the 10-lap C Main went to Queensland’s Cullum Walker aboard the Mobil 1 Q33 J&J. Milburn led from flag to flag at the wheelhouse of the I Dig It V68 entry in the 15-lap B Main.

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Matt Dumesney, Brendan Quinn, Brett Milburn, Cameron Waters and Dayne Bentvelzen rounding out the bakers dozen. One revolution behind was Gippsland’s Bobby Daly placing as the final finisher as he continues his learning curve aboard the newly built V8 Laser Linemarking Triple X.

FROM PRESIDENT TO KING JAMES MCFADDEN

THE A MAIN Sure enough, as the top 18 overall point scorers lined up for the 25-lap A Main event, McFadden would sit on pole, Lee alongside, while the second row consisted of Egel and Farr.

When the lights blazed green, McFadden jumped to lead the field away as the others tussled for position.

Further back in the midfield Brenten Farrer and Marcus Dumesny came together as they fought for the same piece of terra firma – Farrer rolled over and into the fence, both competitors becoming early casualties as they retired from the race.

At the restart, McFadden led the field and with just four revolutions back into the journey the caution lights would soon shine, bringing the field back together as Tate Frost found the back of Grant Anderson. As the pair touched, Jamie Veal tried to take evasive action by going low, only for Frost to come

across the path and spin the T62 Mooie Make Up entry to a halt in Turn 2.

Anderson would be sidelined with a flat left rear tyre and Frost would not return for the restart.

McFadden made the most of clear track ahead, opened a handy gap over the field and would go on to claim a back-to-back victory in the Presidents Cup. Robbie Farr worked hard on the outside of Jack Lee as he chased for his seventh President’s Cup but would have to settle for the runner up position.

Egel was next to size up Lee as he successfully passed around the outside, then, after catching the back of Farr, tried a similar move only to get caught out on the rubber-down track, dropping two spots on the corner exit to place into fifth position followed by fellow South Australian Daniel Pestka.

Peter Doukas advanced from ninth to sixth with Ian Madsen, Jamie Veal,

The following night the travelling cavalcade ventured across the South Australian border to the picturesque Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier, South Australia, for the running of the 26th Annual Kings Challenge.

While some teams from the previous night did not make the journey, the field was bolstered by some additional South Australian teams making it a healthy field of 39 Sprintcar teams to challenge for the Gambier Earth Moverspresented event.

Defending Kings Challenge champion Lachie McHugh was the fastest qualifier overall from the four brackets, posting a 10.914, while Jamie Veal, James McFadden and Jack Lee posted the quickest times in their respective flights.

HEATS AND B FINAL The 8 heat race wins were shared one apiece with Egel, McHugh, McFadden, Madsen, Lines, Marcus Dumesny, Jock Goodyer and Ben Morris finding the fastest way to the finish line over the 10-lap journey and the last chance to transfer 15-lap B Main going to Farr aboard the Saller Motorsport N7 Triple X entry.

VEAL TRAVELS NORTH FOR BRISBANE OPEN VICTORY

THE A MAIN As they lined up for the 30-lap feature race it would be an all Mc front row, last night’s victor James McFadden squaring up alongside the defending Kings Challenge champion McHugh.

At the drop of the green, McFadden led the charge but a dogged McHugh was hot on his tail tank, and on the second revolution found his way to the front.

Soon after, the yellow lights flashed to pause the race when Daniel Pestka stopped with front end damage in Turn 1.

From the restart, McHugh jumped to a commanding lead. Jamie Veal soon elevated himself into second with a textbook slide job on McFadden, with David Murcott, Carson Macedo and Marcus Dumesny rounding out the top half dozen, trailed by Queenslander Ryan Newton having his maiden run at the venue, from Ryan Jones and Robbie Farr

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who had elevated himself into ninth.

With roughly a third race distance in the book, McHugh had sliced his way through the back-markers and was on the tail tank of Matt Egel, who was fighting a wounded car in 14th with a failed shock absorber, when the track lights went out, sending the venue into complete blackout. Thankfully all the 16 competitors managed to stop without an incident in the darkness. Steven Lines, Ian Madsen, Dylan Jenkins, Brock Hallett, Matt Egel, Callum Walker and Joel Heinrich curtailed the field to this point while South Aussies Daniel Pestka and Chad Ely had both retired to the infield.

After a short delay, the power returned.

During this time an open red period was called which allowed crews to adjust their vehicles as the track lights slowly returned to life for the recommencement of the race.

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Lachlan would again lead the charge at the restart. The battles behind heated up as Macedo and Murcott traded blows back and forth as they jostled for fourth and McFadden slid by Veal into second as the field ran the top side of the track.

With nine revolutions to travel, McHugh negotiated his way past fellow Queenslander Walker and McFadden was right there to go with him switching to the mid-track where he was able to find good traction, pulling up alongside the leader who quickly changed tack to cover off the mid-track.

With seven circulations to go the kitchen heated up immensely as the duo began the high speed game of chess, and with five laps to run, the leaders caught Heinrich who was trailing the field. McHugh dived low and McFadden ‘slingshotted’ the top, carrying enough momentum out of Turn 2 to hit the lead down the back straight.

McHugh would hav one last crack for the lead as they exited the final corner, but McFadden covered off as the raced past the chequered flag.

Veal would join the two Macs on the podium, followed by the fast finishing Murcott, over Macedo, Dumesny, Farr, and Egel who managed to advance a few positions after shock changes during the open red in the blackout period. Lines, Jones, Madsen and Newton all finishing on the lead lap, followed by Walker and Heinrich one revolution further back. Hallett and Jenkins both retired around mid-distance joining Pestka and Ely as the only nonfinishers.

REIGNING AUSTRALIAN Sprintcar champion Jamie Veal made the long haul from Warnambool Victoria to Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway a successful venture, taking victory and the $10,000 winners cheque against 40 other hot contenders in the Titan Garages Brisbane Sprintcar Open.

Veal started from P11 for the 35-lap incident-plagued final and over the course of the journey he would methodically move the A1 SWI Engineering Maxim forward, while some of the more fancied runners at the pointy end of the field would fall by the wayside or succumb to other competitors’ misfortunes.

Luke Oldfield dominated the early proceedings; however his tilt would come to halt when forced to stop in Turn 4 to avoid collecting a spun car.

Matthew Dumesny inherited the lead – however Veal was on a mission coming through the pack to snatch the lead late in the race, relegating Dumesny, followed by Jock Goodyer who had rallied well after rolling over earlier in the evening.

Oldfield recovered to salvage fourth ahead of Aaron Kelly with Adam Butler, Darren Jensen, and Randy Morgan the only drivers to go the distance.

Single heat race wins went to Nelson Reddacliff, Matt Dumesny, Mick Sauer, Jackson Delamont, Carson Macedo and Michael Saller while Kelly claimed two and the B Main was won by Ian Madsen.

Sadly, Ryan McNamara’s night ended before it began as he rode out this wile ride (as pictured) aboard the Titan Garages and Sheds KRE powered Q88 entry during the time trial period of the evening. evening.

Paris Charles

Image: Matthew Paul

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SPEEDWAY NEWS

LACHLAN McHUGH TAKES THE 49TH RUNNING OF THE GRAND ANNUAL SPRINTCAR CLASSIC WILL BE REMEMBERED AS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING AND EMOTIONALLY CHARGED EVENTS IN RECENT TIMES. A BIG FIELD OF 83 SPRINTCAR TEAMS REPRESENTING EVERY STATE AND TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA AND A LONE AMERICAN WERE HUNTING THE $30,000 TO WIN PRIZE PURSE. IT MEANT A BIG WEEKEND OF HARD RACING. PARIS CHARLES REPORTS

NIGHT 1 FOR THE first of three nights the field was halved into two groups, with 41 entries followed by 42 entries on the second night, all endeavouring to qualify for the big dance on the third and final night.

The Time Trials section of the night plays a solid part in setting up a driver’s assault on the night ahead. The 41 entries were divided into two groups to run against the clock.

From the first group it would be the defending Australian Champion Jamie Veal (10.576) and Ian Madsen (10.655) the quickest of the field while in the second bunch it would be Lachie McHugh (10.581) and the 2018 Classic winner Corey McCullagh (10.595).

Lachlan McHugh had the perfect run with a clean sweep – starting the night by posting quickest time in the second grouping of time trials, and winning both of his heat races before finishing up in victory lane after 30 fast and furious laps in Night One Preliminary A Main feature event.

The 30-lap A Main saw the fastest guys packed at the front and it was Madsen and McHugh on the front row. At the drop of the green, Madsen took charge, but the biggest early mover was Macedo slotting into second with McHugh in third – the drivers all having raced in North America proving that seat time is key to form. As the leaders approached the back markers with just 5-laps down, the first red light stoppage of the race occurred when Brock Hallett rolled on the front straight.

Madsen would again lead the two Macs McHugh and McCullagh. Three laps further into the journey the yellow was again ablaze after Lisa Walker and Matthew Reed came together, taking Jacob Smith out also. Reed would retire while Smith would restart, only to pull in one circulation later with a wounded machine.

The restart would create opportunity and, throughout the field, positions were being challenged. McHugh took the lead on the 18th lap, but two revolutions later all hell would break loose when Tim Hutchins tagged an infield tyre, sliding up track into the path of Steven Lines who was at full speed around the topside. Lines would flip in spectacular style with a shower of sparks trailing the Camden Neon J&J. Rhys Baxter also retired with smoke bellowing from the power plant.

McHugh again led the field away with Macedo, Tate Frost and McCullagh locked into a tight battle for third entering Turn 1 three-wide, Frost exited Turn 2 leading the trio, but his run would soon come to an end as he clipped the Turn 3 infield tyre and spun to a halt with a deflated left front tyre, while Matt Dumesny and Alex Orr would be the next competitors to retire.

From the final restart, McHugh would push on to an untroubled win. Madsen proved consistent in second and McCullagh shared the opening night presentations. Macedo, Veal, Cody Maroske, Peter Doukas, Bobby

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Grant Anderson took the winner’s trophy on Night 2, while (below) the three ‘Macs’ filled the podium on Night 4 ...

Daly, Walker, Lachie McDonough, Jordyn Charge, Paul Solomon, and Adam King rounded out lead lap placings. One revolution down was Karl Hoffman, Hutchins and B Main winner Brenten Farrer.

Daly, Madsen, Frost, McCullagh, Macedo and Maroske each claimed a heat win while McHugh racked up a double.

A+ VICTORY FOR ANDO ON NIGHT 2 HOT SUNNY conditions greeted the large crowd attending night two of the South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warnambool’s Premier Speedway.

With 42 competitors assembled in the pit area the racing would prove to be as hot as the weather conditions.

Time trailing kicked off the night and it James McFadden kicked off his quest in the best way possible, stopping the clock with a 10 .716 in the opening bracket, closely followed by Grant Anderson’s 10.796, while the second session went to Jock Goodyer who stopped the clocks with a 10.894 and a solid 10.974 from Grant Stansfield.

After the heats were run and done, it would be the dominant McFadden mirroring the efforts of McHugh the night prior, who had won both of his heats and quick-timed to claim Pole Position. The impressive Queenslander Callum Walker would share the front row for the incident plagued 30-lap preliminary A Main #2.

When the lights we. green so did McFadden, but the cars were brought back for a second restart. Again, McFadden got the jump and led the field until the reds were thrown when Glen Sutherland inverted the GEM S20 in turn four on just the third circulation.

Again, McFadden checked out with clear track ahead, Grant Anderson moved into second and by one-third race distance McFadden had begun his run through traffic, while Anderson started to haul in some distance to the leader as he worked the top side to his advantage. But it was Marcus Dumensy who ripped the top groove as he marched forward.

At half race distance, the red lights were on again as Ricky Maiolo flipped, ending his run.

From the restart McFadden commanded the front as Dumensy moved to third,, relegating Walker to fourth but the reds would return when Ryan Newton tumbled out of the equation.

McFadden again led, but Anderson pressed hard for the prime position only for the yellow lights when Domain Ramsay tagged the back of Ben Morris, ending Ramsay’s run while Morris would re-join.

McFadden controlled the tempo again until making an uncharacteristic mistake, clipping the Turn 4 infield tyre, allowing Anderson

to the lead. The race for second became an thrilling affair as Dumesny expressed around the top while McFadden defended on the bottom. As the laps quickly reduced, so did the real-estate between the lead trio and with four circulations remaining the trio bunched tightly as they were squeezed in behind some slower traffic.

Anderson would hold to claim a welldeserved victory over Dumesny, with McFadden rounding the podium. Grant Stansfield came on late in the race for fourth over Ryan Jones and Matt Egel while Walker faded late in the journey to roll home in seventh. Terry Rankin, Robbie Farr and Brett Milburn rounding the top 10. Jack Lee, Morris, Jackson Delemon, Cameron Waters, Leigh Mugavin, Luke Stirton, Jordan Brazier and Jordan Brazier rounded out those to go the distance.

Single heat race wins went to Anderson, Egel, Stansfield, Jones, Newton, Stiron and McFadden doubling up and South Aussie Ricky Maiolo won the B Main.

A CLASSIC WIN Photos: Brett Swanson and Ray Ritter.

THE CLASSIC – AN ALL MAC ATTACK! THE BUILD-UP going into the third and final night of the South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic was hyped, much like a heavyweight Boxing Title match with the two Macs, Lachie McHugh and James McFadden, set to face off in the 40lap main event as they headed the points score from their respective nights. McHugh, undefeated on the opening night, had 588 points with McFadden just 10 points in arrears with 578.

A further 10 points back was Ian Madsen, Corey McCullagh with 554 and Grant Anderson more than capable of getting the job done with 544 points; and Carson Macedo Carson Macedo with 540 points in the bank. Or would the champion come from deeper in the pack?

The format would see the top eight cars inverted for the final cut-throat round of heats and as the screws tightened, it would playout like a day at the Stock market while some improved their stocks and others dipped, as they set about making the mad scramble into the top 24 spots for the big dance. Such was the case for many of the competitors – Matt Dumensy, Lachlan McDonough, Jamie Heyen, McHugh, Macedo, Luke Stirton and Marcus Dumesny – would crash out in their final heats.

Despite dropping the final heat, McHugh would line up alongside McFadden and, with 40-laps on the board and a whopping $30,000 to the car to find the quickest way home, the journey would make or break the past, present or future champions.

As the lights blazed green, McHugh jumped to lead, McFadden and McCullagh in tow, and on the fifth revolution McFadden would slip by to lead the field as they negotiated slower traffic. He would lead until about two-thirds race distance when McHugh would regain the lead and push on to take a well-deserved victory with McFadden pushing him late in the run home.

McHugh would celebrate with the traditional victory doughnuts. McFadden and McCullagh would join him in the

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celebrations, making it an all Mac podium.

Grant Anderson, Jamie Veal, Ian Madsen, Tate Frost, Macedo, Ryan Jones, Robbie Farr, Marcus Dumesny, Jordyn Charge, Bobby Daly and Cody Maroske all remained on the lead revolution while, one lap further back, was Cody Maroske, Grant Stansfield, Jacob Smith, Tim Hutchins, Daniel Pestka, Mat Egel, Brett Milburn, Terry Rankin, Jackson Delamont and Brendan Quinn the final finisher. The only competitor not to travel the distance was Lisa Walker who retired on lap nine.

The final eight heat race wins were shared

by Brenten Farrer, Brock Hallett, Michael Tancredi, Chris Mcinerney, Jock Goodyer, Troy Hose, Dayn Bentvelzen and Andrew Hughes. Brock Hallett and Dennis Jones both ran away to win the C Mains 1 and 2.

B Main 1 was an incident packed affair with a red light stoppage with five laps remaining. Michael Tancredi and Coby Elliot came together which sadly took out J Smith who was running second at the time and looking to transfer to the main event.

An open red was called, allowing the crews to adjust their cars as the track crew repaired the track fence. Daly would take the win and Smith managed to return to combat duties holding down second to punch a ticket into the main event. Pestka claimed the second B Main despite an illhandling car in the later stages.

The other awards to be handed out included the Ian Sheppard Award, which went to McFadden for the highest number of points earned over the combined Avalon, Mount Gambier and Warnambool races.

The Hard Charger Award went to Macedo, who rocketed his way from 23rd to eighth and the Hard Luck Award went to Hallett.

The other awards handed out were the Best Presented Car and Crew Award, going to the V10 Steven Loader, and Veal who happily accepted the $1,000 Allan Pollard Memorial for setting the quickest lap time overall during qualifying.

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To the victor, Lachie McHugh, goes the spoils – the Grand Annual Sprintcar Cup .. and $30,000.

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NATIONALS WRAP Image: Chris Barbour

Image: Chris Barbour

CHAMP OFF TO WINNING START LAST YEAR’S outright champion David Mahon (pictured) could not have started the new season off any better.

He posted the fastest time at Rob Roy in the first round of the 2022 Eziup & Go Victorian Hillclimb Championship on January 16.

In his Formula Libre ‘Up to 1300cc’ Hayabusa-powered Dallara F394, Mahon was fastest on the first two runs before Mike Barker edged ahead by 0.08s.

However, on the final attempt, Mahon produced a 19.68s flyer to take the win.

Barker had to settle for second in his F/L

NATIONALS WRAP with Garry O’Brien up to 2000cc Haywood 6, powered by a larger Hayabusa engine, on 19.86s over the 695m course.

Third place went to Mirko Grbic’s Time Attack Mitsubishi EVO 7 with a third run effort of 20.92s.

Subaru Impreza WRXs filled the next three places with David Bell (Improved Production 4WD) fourth ahead of Daniel Leitner (Non-log Booked) and Col Hunter (Sports Sedan 4WD). Seventh and second in IP 4WD was Brenton Byfield in his Subaru WRX Sports Wagon.

Then came Glenn Latter (Sport Cars 2.0 to 3.0lt Mazda RX7), Pun Hy (IP 4WD Volkswagen Golf R Wagon) and Chris Randall (Non-logged Amaroo Clubman).

Weather conditions were close to the predicted – a fine dry day and temperatures in the high 20s – and drew an entry of 85 over 21 classes.

The IP 2WD and Group N classes provided the closest contests where 0.3s split first and second in both. Daryl McRae (15th overall) beat fellow Holden Commodore driver in the former while 27th placed Peter Weymouth-Wilson edged out his son Steven in their Mini Coopers. Fastest female was Linda Harper (Sports Sedan up to 1600cc Toyota Corolla) who was 45th overall.

WINTER RELISHES SUMMER START JACK WINTER won the opening round of the Pheasant Wood (NSW) RaceAway Track Time Summer Series on January 9.

Winter, who previously drove APRA Pulsars and a Production Touring Mitsubishi EVO 9, drove a Mazda MX5 to victory in all three races. Second in each was Tim Robson (Honda Civic) while Gene Alexander (MX5) scored a trio of third places.

The event was the first of a three-round series for any four-cylinder, non-turbo race car. The vehicle does not require a logbook but has to have all the mandatory safety requirements fitted.

Robson was the fastest in the 20min qualifying session, ahead of Winter, Alexander and a brace of Nissan Pulsars driven by Ryan Marshall, Stephen Doorey, Mick Branch and Phil Alexander.

In the first race, over 15 laps, Robson led until he was passed at half distance by Winter who went onto win by 4.3s. Behind Gene Alexander, Marshall held fourth spot until overtaken by Branch on the seventh lap.

Sixth place Phil Alexander was less than half a second ahead of Mick Cooper (Subaru Impreza). A lap down were Ian Green (Pulsar), Aaron Riches and Matt Kiss (Subarus) while Doorey had to pit early to rectify the fuel cap.

The second race, over 19 laps, was led all the way by Winter who had 22.4s advantage over Robson at the end. A similar distance away was Gene Alexander with Branch and Marshall also on the lead lap. Then followed Phil Alexander, Jack Riches (Subaru), Green, Kiss and Aaron Riches. Doorey pitted on lap four with a bent control arm from contact with a rival.

The last race was over 44 laps, with the grid a reverse of qualifying. Marshall led the first lap before Phil Alexander led the next three. After that if was Robson in front until he relented to Winter. Gene Alexander was third a lap down and ahead of Branch and Doorey who finally had a decent run.

The remaining rounds were scheduled for January 23 and February 3. The organisers are planning to follow up with a similar format Winter Series. Garry O’Brien

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Matt James-Wallace and Ben Tuck. Image: Chris Richmond

TITLE HOLDERS AIM FOR ANOTHER AFTER VICTORY in round two, Matt JamesWallace backed up to take out the third round of the Shannons Targa Rallysprint Series at the Perth Motorplex on January 13. They now look to repeat last season’s title victory with a share of the Drivers’ points lead and the lead in Co-Drivers’ with two rounds remaining.

On the anti-clockwise course of around 3.5kms, the pair in their Class 9 Open Rallysprint 4WD Nissan Skyline GTR R32 finished the four runs on a combined time 5.8s ahead of their nearest rivals. Second place among the 77 crews that competed were class rivals David Heaton and Caleb Ash (Mitsubishi EVO X) ahead of Chris Caruso and Alex Butler (2WD over 2.0lt Dodge Viper ACR).

James-Wallace finished a lowly 23rd at the first round last November, before he hit back with a second round victory in December.

Troy Wilson and Toni Cameron (EVO X) won the opening round but had no luck at the second event.

With rounds of overall sixth and third, Caruso started off round three in fine style by being the fastest after the first runs by over a second. Then James-Wallace focused and was the fastest in the following three runs which culminated in the quickest time of the event – 2mins 11.92s.

Like the winners, Heaton produced his best time on the final attempt and was able to edge out Caruso for second overall by

1.8s. Second at round two, Mark Cirillo and Ben-Lee D’limi (Porsche GT3 RS) were fourth ahead of Will White and Matthew Thompson (Nissan GTR Nismo), Jurgen and Helen Lunsmann (Tesla Model 3P+) and Paul and Katie Oxley (Subaru Impreza WRX STi).

Eighth place went to Drew Nutton and Tina Frank (WRX) in front of Daniel Gonzales and Tim Mills (Porsche 911 GTS) and Tim Hiles and Morgan Ward (WRX). The closest class result of the nine contested was in CL4 for 4WD up to 3500cc where Dennis Heller / Sherrill Richardson 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 beat James Lister / Steph Esterbauer 2000 Subaru WRX STi by 0.34s.

Garry O’Brien

CHR

NOMETRIC

All things historic with Mark Bisset

MECHANICAL MAESTRO:

TASMANIA’S GEOFF SMEDLEY IT’S SO AUSTRALIAN! Just a three-menand-a-dog looked on at chilly, Bakers Beach, Tasmania as Aussie Miller’s Cooper T51 Chev V8 goes through the traps at a smidge over 160mph – a two-way average, new Australian Land Speed Record of 163.94 mph – on Monday, November 20, 1961.

Oh-so-gifted Launceston born racer, engineer, restorer, enthusiast, and historian Geoff Smedley built this car on the smell of an oily rag for Miller. The Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of famer died recently, in Launceston, on December 30.

In a lifetime of achievement Geoff did it all.

In the 1950s he built and raced the Cooper Mk5 derived Kenley Vincent Special, “powered by an HRD Black Shadow engine and supercharged by a Spitfire cabin-blower. It was reputedly the last motorcycle-engined car to start in an Australian Grand Prix,” Geoff wrote.

Similar creativity was applied to his Le Mans Jaguar Special, “which was a damaged XK120 rehashed with a spaceframe chassis and an all-alloy body. It was a handful to drive, but improved my skills!” Geoff learned the necessary construction capabilities as an apprentice Fitter and Turner in his family’s Bedford Precision Machine Tool Co. Miller approached Smedley to modify his Cooper in 1959. The cocktail of ingenuity comprised a 400bhp Chev 283cid V8, conversion of the gearbox from five to two strong gears, and an aerodynamic driver canopy to help squeeze a few extra mph. “It was a monster, but Austin proved he had the ability and anatomy to drive this machine to a record in 1961.”

Local boy John Youl (he of Symmons Plains pastoral property and circuit fame) had Smedley prepare his race winning Cooper Climaxes. Among Geoff’s innovations to keep the car up front was a twin-plug cylinder head for the 2.5-litre Coventry Climax FPF twin-cam, four. A second magneto, driven off the nose of the crank helped provide the sparks, using a modified sump designed and machined by Smedley.

He was the only man in the world to do it, the result was punchy enough to knock off many of the more fancied 2.7-Indy FPFs, with Youl “one of the best steerers of that period, winning many races in the 2.2-litre, and later ex-Brabham T55 pencil-line Cooper.”

Youl’s performances in the 1964 Tasman Cup were outstanding, behind only the top-flight internationals.

After Youl’s retirement, he was plucked from Tasmania to New South Wales by Frank Matich, to look after his Total Team Lotus 19 and Brabham BT7A Climaxes in Sydney.

Further success followed with the crazy commercial-fireworks (Moomba and the like) Howard family, who ran Lotuses for Les and Syd across town.

Geoff returned home in 1967, shortly after maintaining Leo Geoghegan’s Lotus 39 Repco V8 at Longford in 1968. He was then offered a gig looking after PH Wong’s Newton Racing Team in Singapore.

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This fleet comprised three Morris Cooper S, a Lotus 47 sportscar, and the ex-Mildren/ Gardner/Bartlett Brabham BT11A Climax.

“It was an exciting time covering meetings as far north as Macau, and Thailand, Malaysia, and of course Singapore,” Smedley wrote.

In the late 1970s he returned to Tasmania, acquiring a disused servo at Rosevears, on the banks of the Tamar, where he ran a tuning and restoration business. Along the way he married Sylvia and had sons Ross, Malcolm, and Graham.

Smedley was an intelligent, gifted bloke who could make just about anything; he was a musician, made model steam boats, and cars.

In 1987 he and Sylvia realised their dreams of opening a car museum in Launceston with the establishment of the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania at the Waverley Woollen Mills. In 1995 the museum moved to Cimitiere Street, and still later the current locale across from the Silo Hotel in Invermay.

Geoff launched his autobiography there in 2018; ‘It’s a Smedley Thing, You Wouldn’t Understand’ is a rollicking read full of wonderful anecdotes about his life around cars and speed.

Smedley’s induction into the Tasmanian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2013 was a great tribute to one of racing’s big contributors and quiet achievers.

RIP Geoff Smedley – we salute your contribution to the sport.

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Above: A small group of onlookers watch history being made on Bakers Beach. The canopy blew off at 170mph on a practice run ... the timed runs were sans canopy (Image: Ron Lambert).

Bottom right: Bruce Burr, Miller and Smedley with the Cooper Chev, perhaps Australia’s first F5000! (Image: Smedley Collection). Bottom left: Smedley fettles his twin-plug Climax FPF fitted to John Youl’s Cooper T55 (Image: Smedley Collection).

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C Images: AA Archives

Name: Complete the crossword puzzle below 1

A

2

3

4 5

6

7

8 9

10

11

12

13

14

15 16 17

18

19 20 21

22

Across 3. Who is the youngest ever FIA World Rally Champion?

6. Who drove the number #15 Team Haas Lola in 1986? (surname) 8. Driving in what brand of car did Robbie Francevic win the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship?

11. Which multiple time Bathurst 1000 winner won the 24 Hour driving a Mitsubishi Lancer in 2009? (surname) 12. What brand of car is photographed in Pic A? 13. Who scored Ducati’s first MotoGP victory back in 2003? (surname) 14. For what team did Sebastian Vettel make his Formula 1 debut in the 2007 US Grand Prix?

15. 1986 was the final year of what legendary World Rally Championship regulations?

17. Which Australian is seen racing Formula 3 in 1975 in photo B? (surname) 19. Which former Ferrari Formula 1 driver tested an S5000 machine at Winton in 2019? (surname) 20. Former Formula 1 driver JJ Lehto collected how many podiums in his F1 career?

23. Which F1 driver raced F5000 at Winton Motor Raceway in 1978? (surname) 24. Who won the 2005 Bathurst 1000 with Mark Skaife in 2005? (full name) 26. The Subaru Impreza shares the top spot for car models with the most WRC rally wins – what is the other car? Clue: it’s Italian 27. Who remains the youngest ATCC/ Supercars Champion? (surname)

3. In what famous pit lane is Pic B taken?

4. Who took a surprising pole position for the 1986 James Hardie 1000? Clue: first name is Gary (surname) 5. Who drove for both McLaren and Ferrari in 1977? (full name) 7. John Goss has won the Bathurst 1000 on two occasions, once in a Ford Falcon and the other with what brand?

9. Which Australian won the 2003 European F3 Series in 2003? (surname) 10. Who drove legendary Sports Sedan in shot A? (full name) 12. How many times were Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife co-drivers in the Bathurst 1000?

15. Who was the last driver to win an Australian Touring Car Championship round in a Holden Torana in 1980? (surname) 16. How many times did JJ Lehto win the Le Mans 24 Hours?

18. What brand of bike does Joan Mir ride in the MotoGP Championship?

21. What robbed Craig Lowndes and Yvan Muller of victory on the way up to The Cutting in the 2005 Bathurst 1000?

22. Nico Hulkenberg won the Le Mans 24 Hours with what manufacturer?

25. Who is the gentleman in Pic C on the podium next to Ayrton Senna? (surname)

B

23

24

Down

25

1. The 1986 Australian GP was famous for Nigel Mansell’s tyre blowout, but who took the championship from the Brit? (surname) 2. How many times has Anthony Davidson won the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

26

27

Created using the Crossword Maker on TheTeachersCorner.net

cross

Down

1827 Crossword 1 across – Darryn, 2 down – America,1.3The down – Holdsworth, 4 across – Newcastle, 5 down – Breen, 6 down – Hazelwood, 7 across – eight, 8 down – Solberg 9 down – Twenty-three 3. Who is the youngest ever FIAAnswers: World Rally Champion?

1986 Australian GP was famous for Nigel Mansell’s tyre across – three across – Albon, across – BrocFeeney, 12 blowout, down – Fullwood, down Fernandez, 14 across – Bezzecchi, 15 across – KTM, 16 down – Grosjean, 17 across – Zhou, 18 down – Lappi, 6. Who drove 9the number #15 10 Team Haas Lola in 11 1986? (surname) but who13 took the–championship from the Brit? (surname) 19 across 20Robbie down –Francevic Pagenaud, 21the down – Miami, 22 across – Ford Focus, 23 down – M-Sport, 24 down – Randle, 25 across 8. Driving in what brand –ofJake, car did win 1986 2. How many times has Anthony Davidson won the 24 Hours of – SMP, 26 across – Heimgartner, 27 across – Cindric, 28 across – Russell Australian Touring Car Championship?

Le Mans?

11. Which multiple time Bathurst 1000 winner won the 24 Hour driving a 3. In what famous pit lane is shot B taken?

Mitsubishi Lancer in 2009? (surname) 4. Who took a surprising pole position for the 1986 James Hardie 12. What brand of car is photographed in shot A? 1000 – clue: first name Gary (surname) 13. Who scored Ducati’s first MotoGP victory back in 2003? (surname) 5. Who drove for both McLaren and Ferrari in 1977? (full name) 14. For what team did Sebastian Vettel make his Formula 1 debut in the 2007 US Grand Prix?

7. John Goss has won the Bathurst 1000 on two occasions, once 15. 1986 was the final year of what legendary World Rally Championship in a Ford Falcon and the other with what brand? regulations?

9. Which Australian won the 2003 European F3 Series in 2003?

17. Which Australian is seen racing Formula 3 in 1975 in photo B? (surname) (surname) 10. Who drove legendary Sports Sedan in shot A? (full name) 19. Which former Ferrari Formula 1 driver tested an S5000 machine at 12. How many times were Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife coWinton in 2019? (surname) drivers in the Bathurst 1000?

20. Former Formula 1 driver JJ Lehto collected how many podiums in 15. Who was the last driver to win an Australian Touring Car his F1 career?

Championship round in a Holden Torana in 1980? (surname) 23. Which F1 driver raced F5000 at Winton Motor Raceway in 1978?

16. How many times did JJ Lehto win the Le Mans 24 Hours? (surname) 24. Who won the 2005 Bathurst 1000 with Mark Skaife in 2005? (full 18. What brand of bike does Joan Mir ride in the MotoGP name) Championship?

26. The Subaru Impreza shares the top spot for car models with the 21. What robbed Craig Lowndes and Yvan Muller of victory on the most WRC rally wins, what is the other car – clue it’s Italian way up to The Cutting in the 2005 Bathurst 1000?

27. Who remains the youngest ATCC/Supercars Champion? (surname)

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

22. Nico Hulkenberg won the Le Mans 24 Hours with what manufacturer?

25. Who is the gentleman in shot C on the podium next to Ayrton Senna? (surname)

1972: THE SECOND round of the Tasman Series in 1972 was a bruising affair with three separate crashes. Most notably, a crash for Frank Gardner at New Zealand’s Levin circuit ruled him out of contention for the remainder of the Tasman Series. Former 500cc Motorcycle World Champion and F1 driver Mike Hailwood now led the series from McRae and Gardner, with Frank Matich fourth.

1982: NISSAN ANNOUNCED that it would not only run two of its Bluebirds Turbos in the Australian Touring Car Championship, but also a third car for Geoff Portman to compete in the Australian Rally Championship. Elsewhere in the national motor racing scene, reigning Australian Sports Car Champion John Latham announced that he would return in a brandnew Porsche 935.

58 I www.autoaction.com.au

1992: AFTER MUCH speculation it was revealed that Winfield would indeed become the naming rights sponsor for Gibson Motorsport’s Nissan team for the 1992 ATCCC season. Australian open-wheel veteran Bruce Allison was looking to secure a deal to race in the Indy Grand Prix at Surfers Paradise. Allison had multiple offers on the table, so long as he could find sponsorship to fund his campaign.

2002 – NINE-TIME BATHURST 1000 winner Peter Brock had reportedly secured a deal with Holden and Mobil to sponsor a Rod Nash Holden Commodore. It was expected that his son James Brock would race the car along with Craig Baird. The full-time deal did not come to fruition – however later that year it was announced that Peter Brock would return to the Mountain alongside Bairdo.

2012 – BLUE OVAL hero Mark Winterbottom re-signed with Ford Performance Racing stating that “unfinished business” was the reason he would stay with the team until at least the end of 2014. With the Car of the Future regulations less than a year away, Chrysler began discussions with Supercars teams ... Garry Rogers Motorsport meanwhile was in pursuit of a new manufacturer.

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