V8X Magazine Issue 99

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PRODRIVE’S RISING STARS

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As a racing driver, Greg Murphy saw the highs and the lows of the sport, and through it all he wore his heart on his sleeve. At his peak, he was one of the most loved sportsmen in New Zealand and he divided opinion in Australia.

He was known simply as Murph.

Love him or hate him, his talent behind the wheel was never questioned. Four wins at Bathurst plus the greatest lap ever driven at the iconic centrepiece of the Australian motorsport world stand him near the top of the pile. That qualifying lap stood unmatched for more than a decade.

He was runner-up in the V8 Supercar Championship twice and climbed to the top step of the podium 37 times in a V8 Supercar with wins in both Championship and nonChampionship events. He also won the Bathurst 24-hour race with childhood hero Peter Brock and scored back-to-back Championship wins in New Zealand’s V8SuperTourers.

In the troughs, he stood on the wrong side of the officialdom, scoring the infamous five-

minute penalty at Bathurst as well as an erroneously applied drive through penalty at Winton that cost him a chance at winning the 2004 Championship. He also had to endure some tough times as a driver as teams buckled around him and fate dealt a cruel hand.

He was fiery and never took a backward step, either on or off the track. His emotions carried him to a period of absolute domination at Pukekohe in New Zealand, and also took him to many a verbal stoush with rivals. Today, his honesty is known well enough to see him active in motorsport media on both sides of the Tasman.

This is Greg Murphy’s story.

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SUPERCAR MAGAZINE ISSUE 99 2017

FEATURES 23 BATTLE ROYALE: DJR TEAM PENSKE VS TRIPLE EIGHT The brewing rivalry between the DJR Team Penske and Red Bull Holden Racing Team entries.

30 THE GREATEST TEAM RIVALRIES The classic rivalries that shaped the championship and Bathurst.

34 FRATERNISING WITH FOGES: CHAZ MOSTERT Foges goes one-on-one with Prodrive Racing Australia’s Chaz Mostert.

42 UNCHARTED WATERS Cameron Waters’ rise from Super2 champ to Supercars challenger.

48 SWEET SIXTEEN Teenager Alex Rullo on balancing Year 12 and Supercars in 2017.

54 THE FORK IN THE ROAD How Supercars is tracking with the Gen2 regulations now in place.

62 SUPPORT ACTS State of the union for Supercars’ leading support categories.

66 HOW DID WE GET HERE? Understanding why touring cars came to rule in Australia.

72 HALL OF FAMERS Celebrating the greats of Australian motorsport.

REGULARS 6 ANALYSIS: HERE COMES THE KIA STINGER Kia’s four-door sedan challenger.

8 ANALYSIS: MUSTANG SULLY The mystery around the Ford Mustang and Supercars.

10 ANALYSIS: THE CASE FOR A SPEC V8 How Supercars could retain its V8 identity.

12 ANALYSIS: MID-SEASON REPORT Team-by-team report on the season thus far.

14 SPEEDCAFE: NEWS ROUND-UP The latest headlines from Speedcafe.com

16 MARK WINTERBOTTOM COLUMN Frosty on his favourite Ford Falcons.

18 CRAIG LOWNDES COLUMN Lowndes on the pathway to Supercars.

20 GARRY ROGERS COLUMN Rogers on young gun James Golding.

80 SUBSCRIPTIONS Sign up with V8X Supercar Magazine.

82 THE SHOOTOUT Circuits we miss in Supercars.

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The opinions of the contributors are not always those of the publishers.

NINETY-NINE NOT OUT…

T

here’s been a lot of focus lately on the decline of the Ford versus Holden rivalry. But here we are, in the final chapter of the Falcon versus Commodore battle, with Ford’s DJR Team Penske taking the fight to Holden’s Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Issue #99 of V8X Supercar Magazine takes a look at the battle between the two teams, how we reached this point and why DJR Team Penske has emerged from the pack as the greatest threat to end Triple Eight’s recent rule of Supercars.

There’s also a DJR Team Penske and Red Bull Holden Racing Team pullout poster in the print edition of this issue.

Remember, you can also purchase these posters and more printed on high-quality photographic stock, uncreased, unfolded, unstapled and delivered in protective mailing tube, from our online store.

With this rivalry in mind, we also look back at the great team battles over the years, from the early years of the Australian Touring Car Championship to

the more recent challengers to Triple Eight.

This includes Prodrive Racing Australia and its young duo Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.

We sat down with the Ford drivers to discuss their encouraging starts to the 2017 season.

We also profile Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport teenager Alex Rullo and find out how he is balancing his Year 12 studies in Perth with his rookie campaign in Supercars.

Elsewhere, Bruce Newton examines the latest developments with the Gen2 and Gen3 rules, while we analyse how the leading support categories are tracking heading into this newlook era.

In our Motorsport Legends section, we investigate how touring cars prevailed as the dominant

category in Australia and New Zealand and honour the inductees into the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame.

You’ll also find the latest columns from Mark Winterbottom, Craig Lowndes and Garry Rogers, analysis of the key issues in Supercars and a nod to the circuits we miss.

Remember, V8X Supercar Magazine is also available in digital form in the official V8X app (in the App Store and Google Play), online at DigitalEdition.

V8XMagazine.com.au and in the Magzter app store.

Enjoy!

– Adrian

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The Commodore’s move to European production and the death of the Falcon are paving the way for other manufacturers to infiltrate Australia’s mainstream four-door sedan market. And Kia is leading the way with its new Stinger, set to arrive later this year.

K

ia Australia isn’t shying away from the obvious comparisons: its Stinger four-door sedan is targeting the Commodore and Falcon market when it launches in Australia.

The Stinger is due to arrive in Australian showrooms in September, at a time when local production of the V8-powered Commodore ends.

The Stinger will join Hyundai’s Genesis as recent arrivals in the large rear-wheel drive sedan market, with

dimensions comparable to the Commodores and Falcons, at a time when Holden turns its attention to the European-built Insignia-based imported Commodore and Ford’s Mustang takes over as the brand’s performance model.

The Stinger GT features a twin-turbo V6. And while the American-based Genesis is on the market with a five-litre V8 option, the Australian edition runs a 3.8litre V6.

“We certainly see an opportunity there and genuinely believe this car will appeal to similar buyers,” said Kia Motors Australia media and corporate communications general manager Kevin Hepworth on the gap in the market.

“It’s the rear-wheel drive, that’s what’s going to offer what the market doesn’t have anymore.

“For 40 years Ford and Holden have been doing the preliminary work saying that, ‘If you want to drive a ‘real’ car, it’s got to be a rear-wheel-drive car’. Well, okay, we’ve got one.

Do you?

“That’s where, we’re hoping, a lot of the interest will come from, from people who have grown up with those cars, want

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those cars and don’t want to pay $80,000-$90,000 for a rear-wheel drive European car.

There’s an opening there somewhere. There’s a big hole.”

The Genesis and Stinger’s arrival suggests there may be life in the large rear-wheel drive sedan market as yet, at a time when Supercars’ Gen2 rules opens the category up to two-door coupes and non-V8 engines.

While Holden has committed to Gen2 with a twin-turbo V6 engine in the new-look Commodore, Supercars continues to try and attract new manufacturers hoping the non-V8 and body shape options help the cause. Kia and Hyundai have been key targets, given their new additions to the sedan market.

“I think we’ve got to be really, really careful how we position (the Stinger),” said Kia Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith “One of our foundations is value for money.

Kia has habitual Commodore and Falcon buyers in its sights with its new sedan, due to arrive in Australia in late 2017.

Now, we think we make great cars, and I think we do make great cars, but we’ve got to make sure that they’re priced accordingly that we get critical mass.

“We think that, whilst unfortunately Commodore and Falcon are disappearing, we don’t think the market’s disappearing.

“Therefore, if we can fill that pool that’s left empty, we believe that Stinger can be relatively successful. Now that depends on positioning, that depends on pricing, that depends on a lot of things, so again, we’ve got to be really careful how we position it and price it to fill that pool.”

Interestingly, Meredith addressed the concerns over

declining large-car sales when talking to the Australian media on the Stinger’s arrival in such a competitive and relatively small marketplace.

“If there’s a 40,000-unit market in Australia, and you get 10 per cent of that, that’s 4000 cars a year,” he said. “And just using that as an example, if you get 10 per cent of that 40,000-unit segment, to me, that’s success.

“That’s the way you’ve got to look at it. You’ve got to make decisions for the medium- and long-haul, you just can’t say, ‘Well, that’s not working, don’t enter that market’.

“I think we’ve been relatively smart and relatively brave in some areas with what we’ve

done to enter segments… I think Stinger will also be a good example of that.

“Using that 40,000-unit market as an example, if we get 10 per cent of that, I think we’d all be happy with that. So we’re confident that it can be a success, if we get the positioning correct and we get the pricing correct.”

With the target being the market that the Falcon and Commodore dominated for decades, it’s no surprise Kia has been approached by Supercars.

“Kia’s never gone racing in Australia before and we have to substantiate what a program would deliver, but we’d probably go with one team,” said Meredith.

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W

hile most of us are getting excited at the prospect of the potential – let alone confirmed – arrival of the Ford Mustang in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, Roland Dane does not share that enthusiasm.

Dane, the Triple Eight Race Engineering boss and Supercars board member, is concerned the car has been homologated for the global GT4 category and will inevitably race in Australia as the class gains traction.

“As GT4 cars get more prevalent – which they will purely because of the price-point for amateur drivers around the world – I am very concerned there will be confusion between some of those cars and ours if we are not careful,” says Dane.

“They are inevitably going to be on the same billing.”

It’s clear from Dane’s comments his concerns about Mustang are part of a wider issue he has with Supercars running two-door cars, which the Gen2 rules make legal from this year.

“If we have got the GT4 Mustang, GT4 Camaro, GT4 BMW etc out there, then the punter is looking and saying, ‘What’s the difference between your car and a GT4? Am I watching a Supercars race or a GT race?”

This is a reversal of the positon Dane once held, which supported the introduction of coupes into Supercars. Triple Eight is currently homologating the imported Commodore for Supercars racing from 2018. It is a five-door hatchback that will be raced with a V6 twin-turbo engine.

With the speculation over if/when Ford teams will switch from the Falcon to the Mustang under the Gen2 rules, some aren’t happy about the potential change, as Bruce Newton reports.

For all his concerns Dane appears – publicly at least – to have accepted that the Mustang can’t be stopped from racing in Supercars.

“It is what it is; if someone wants to run one they can run one,” he says.

“Technically, I don’t have an issue with it… Do I think it is a good marketing exercise? No, I don’t.”

The possibility of the Mustang making it on to the grid has been the subject of frequent speculation ever since Ford announced the death of the Falcon and confirmed the import of the Mustang road car into Australia.

It has proved an instant success and is Australia’s biggest selling sports car.

But Ford Australia is not interested in backing a Supercars

effort with Mustang, so privateer teams DJR Team Penske and Prodrive Racing Australia have been inching their way toward approval to race the car independently.

Roger Penske’s links with Ford Performance in the USA have been crucial to this process.

There was some prospect of a 2018 debut for the car in Supercars, but almost all hope of that had gone by late April in the wake of a News Limited report quoting Mark Winterbottom saying he would be racing the Mustang in 2018.

That report is said to have deeply upset Ford Australia boss Graeme Whickman, who is no fan of Supercars but was warming to the idea of permitting the Mustang on the grid.

See more on page 56.

“IF WE HAVE GOT THE GT4 MUSTANG, GT4 CAMARO, GT4 BMW ETC OUT THERE, THEN THE PUNTER IS LOOKING AND SAYING, ‘WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR CAR AND A GT4?

AM I WATCHING A SUPERCARS RACE OR A GT RACE?’” – ROLAND DANE 8

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THE CASE FOR A SPEC V8

Engines other than V8s will feature under the Gen2 regulations in Supercars. But as Prodrive Racing Australia’s Mark Winterbottom and Jason Bright argue, is it worth considering a spec-V8 platform to maintain the current engine formula?

V

8 engines have been the backbone of the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars since 1993. Therefore, opening up the category to other engines under the Gen2 rules presents a big change in philosophy; one that may be hard for competitors and fans alike to accept.

Holden paves the way for non-V8 engines with its impending switch to twinturbo V6s, while potential new manufacturers are being encouraged to look at the series without the requirement to run a five-litre V8. But should Supercars be catering to manufacturers or stick with what the fans want?

Jason Bright said the following in the V8X Supercar Magazine roundtable published in last issue: “I’m not a fan of bringing other engines in, personally. I

think the V8 formula has worked very well for us.

“I’ve always felt we should listen to the fans more... what do they want? What’s going to bring them through the gate because they’re the ones that drive who’s sponsoring us and which television network wants to pay to televise our races.

When you look at how much money all of that generates compared to what manufacturers put into the series, it’s like you’re listening to the wrong people.

“Look how much money’s put into the sport from sponsors and fans compared to what the manufacturers currently put in. 2016 is probably the least amount of money that manufacturers ever put into the series and the sport has probably just turned around.

We don’t need them.”

Manufacturer backing is dwindling, with just two

factory-backed teams in 2017 (Red Bull Holden Racing Team and Nissan Motorsport), while concerns grow over parity amongst engines with different configurations and the move away from V8s.

Six-times Bathurst winner Larry Perkins labelled the Gen2 move as “one of the dumbest things you could do” in the same roundtable discussion.

Engines remain one of the biggest expenses for teams.

With manufacturer backing decreasing, and given the popularity of the V8 engine, there are some calls for Supercars to consider a spec-V8 platform if Gen2 doesn’t work.

“You’ve got to move with the times because without the commercial backing there is no sport,” said Mark Winterbottom.

“Gen2 does open up opportunities. But, for me personally, I love the V8. It’s all I and many

others have only ever raced and what many of us grew up watching. The V8 is what we love and you have to be careful Gen2 doesn’t impact on Supercars’ following.

“I’d like a one-make engine.

It takes a lot of time and money to make some engines as competitive as others. The spec engine works well in other categories, which creates another aspect that we don’t have to worry about.

“But, in saying that, even though they are very different to what’s in the road cars, our current engines still originate from that particular manufacturer. People like that tribal element of manufacturers.

From a drivers’ point of view, the spec engine wouldn’t be a bad way to go.

“Parity is the main thing.

If the racing is close, then the entertainment side will be strong.”

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Pre-season predictions of DJR Team Penske’s emergence as a championship contender have proven to be accurate. As we head towards the midpoint of the season, let’s take a look at how each team is progressing in 2017.

TRIPLE EIGHT

The Red Bull-backed factory Holden entries of Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup have been the most consistent Commodore challengers to the rising threat of the Fords.

They look set to challenge for the championship against DJR Team Penske and Prodrive Racing Australia, while Craig Lowndes continues his bid to match his teammates in the third entry.

DJR TEAM PENSKE

Scott McLaughlin and Ludo Lacroix’s arrival in the offseason have pushed DJR Team Penske to that next step to challenge at all events.

The Ford team is now reaping the rewards of the union between Team Penske and Dick Johnson Racing. Meanwhile, Fabian Coulthard’s results have impressed, with the New Zealander justifying the faith shown in him by the team.

PRODRIVE RACING

Fears the Ford team could be left behind in the wake of

DJR Team Penske’s rise have subsided with Chaz Mostert’s return to race-winning form.

Cameron Waters has produced a noticeable step up in his second full-time season, while Mark Winterbottom remains as consistent as ever. Recent arrival Jason Bright is also showing flashes of speed.

WALKINSHAW RACING

The former Holden factory team’s attempts to turn around its fortunes continue, with James Courtney and new recruit Scott Pye battling to get out of the mid-pack and into the top 10 on a regular basis.

The inconsistency in results across different types of circuits remains, though.

BRAD JONES RACING

An incident-filled start to the season left the Holden team with a hefty repair bill and the loss of valuable championship points. Nick Percat has matched the pace of the team’s most recent leading contender, Tim Slade. But Tim Blanchard

in the team’s third entry remains just off the pace of his teammates.

GARRY ROGERS MOTORSPORT

The pre-season switch from Volvo S60s to Holden VF Commodores proved just how resilient Garry Rogers’ team is, considering the tight turnaround between seasons.

The reward has been top-five finishes for both Garth Tander and James Moffat. Tander, in particular, seems to have quickly reacclimatised with his old team.

NISSAN MOTORSPORT

Hopes the factory Nissan outfit would make a stride forward have yet to materialise, with an inconsistent campaign thus far.

Michael Caruso, Rick and Todd Kelly are often found grouped together somewhere in the midfield, while rookie Simona de Silvestro has impressed with her steady improvement.

EREBUS MOTORSPORT

Erebus has made further gains

in its second season running Holden Commodores. David Reynolds is leading the way with a string of top-five results, pushing for a top-10 finish in the championship. Teammate Dale Wood has also shown flashes of speed as the team continues its fight against better resourced and funded rivals in the midfield.

TEKNO AUTOSPORTS

The customer Triple Eight team’s early-season progress was stunted by Will Davison’s involvement in the Symmons Plains pile-up. The bruising injuries to Davison, speedy rebuild of the car and zero points in Tasmania leave the single-car entry playing catchup in the championship.

TEAM 18

Like Tekno Autosports, the customer Triple Eight singlecar team suffered a setback and a hefty repair bill from a collision at the Australian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, Lee Holdsworth has emerged from the mid-pack to launch the odd top-10 challenge.

LUCAS DUMBRELL MOTORSPORT

Pre-season concerns over the funding of the customer team remain, with the team’s two entries often languishing at the back of the grid. Teenage Alex Rullo has showed composure as he gets to grips with the main game, though the ongoing uncertainty over the second entry highlights the financial struggles that continue to plague the team.

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News Round-up

Scan the QR codes with your smartphone to link to the full article. QR-code reading apps are available from your preferred app retailer.

A look at some of the topics making news on Speedcafe.com

PENSKE HAILS DJRTP BREAKTHROUGH

Roger Penske has hailed the two years of hard work that has helped DJR Team Penske deliver breakthrough wins in 2017. The legendary boss of the illustrious Penske organisation keeps a close eye on proceedings from his American base.

The American billionaire bought a 51 per cent stake in the Queensland operation in 2014 to create the DJR Team Penske alliance.

Initially fielding a one-car outfit, the new-look team lured double champion Marcos Ambrose back to the category for 2015 before the Tasmanian elected to step away from the drive after just two events.

The team expanded to two cars in 2016 when Coulthard joined Ambrose’s replacement Scott Pye, with the pair both netting two podiums apiece during the campaign. However, this season the squad has stepped up to be a contender, with the highly-rated Scott McLaughlin and former Triple Eight technical guru Ludo Lacroix added to the ranks.

“It has been two long years of hard work by our people,” said Penske of his team’s journey.

“We came to Supercars and we knew it was going to be tough as there are some great teams and competitors. We came there with an empty bag of knowledge and it has been a learning curve for us.

“We said, ‘Let’s just do our job and put the numbers on the board when we can’. And we have done that. It’s about the continuity. If we can still build and attract more good people to the team then I think we can be a major competitor for the series. People talk about how we have got more capital but I don’t want to talk about that. It is about the people we have put together on this team that has made the difference.

“Certainly with Fabian (Coulthard) and (Scott) McLaughlin, they are pushing each other which is amazing and Ludo coming onboard has been a plus, but I think the whole team has gelled.”

Scan to read the full article.

LEG PROTECTION COMPULSORY

The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship will make increased cockpit protection compulsory from the Wilson Security Sandown 500 in September.

The Supercars Commission has ruled that all cars will adopt extra leg protection for drivers. Cockpit safety has been an area Supercars has looked to improve after Chaz Mostert broke his leg after contact with the gear lever during a crash in qualifying for the 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

DJR Team Penske has led the way by developing its own system based on leg-protection trays used in NASCAR. The squad began working on a device in November 2015, with its final iteration installed in both its cars for the start of this season.

Prodrive has since adopted the padded carbon-fibre tray designed

by DJRTP and produced by LSM Advanced Composites in Toowoomba.

“The Commission has resolved to mandate that all cars in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship have a form of lower leg protection from Sandown onwards,” said Supercars sporting and technical director David Stuart.

“Any design used will need to be built to a specification provided by Supercars and be submitted and approved.

“The requirements will include minimums for weight, foam specification, covering specification and lay-up.

“At present the only one that has been submitted to us and approved is the DJR Team Penske version that they are currently running.

“Teams are free to purchase that if they want, but if they come up with their own design they will need to meet our requirements.”

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Expert Insight

BEYOND THE WHEEL Column by Mark Winterbottom

FANTASTIC FALCONS

I

t’s been a privilege to race an iconic Australian car in the Ford Falcon over the years.

I’ve only ever driven Falcons throughout my whole Supercars career, from the AU in the Development Series through to the BA, BF, FG and now the FG X in the main game.

There have been a few models over the years and it’s nice to look back and reflect on their role in my career. And it’s certainly a special feeling to have been loyal to the Falcon over that period.

I just wish I had some of those classic Falcons in the garage. That way, when my kids are all grown up, driving (or flying) whatever might be the car of the future, I could show them what the iconic Falcon was all about.

My favourite Falcon, certainly the best looking in my opinion, was the Cobra GT tribute livery from 2007.

The iconic blue stripes on the white background certainly looked the part.

Ford had just launched the Cobra GT road car, which sold out pretty quick. The car had such a great pedigree for Ford, so it was great that we could represent the iconic name and design on the track.

Also, I scored my first solo win in the main game in that car at Bahrain in 2007. Any car that you have had success in holds a special place in your memories.

The same, therefore, goes for the FG X Falcon we first ran in 2015 and went on to

win the championship with. It stood out, with the Pepsi Max blue working so well on a Ford.

Being able to win the title in it means it’s the FG X I’d choose as my favourite model over the course of a season.

Also, a special mention to the FG we won Bathurst with in 2013 and the Bottle-O FG X of 2016, which we ran the #1 plate on for the first time.

With the Gen2 regulations opening up the series to other engine and car configurations, there’s a lot of speculation about what we will be running in the coming seasons.

You’re contracted to the team and they make the

“My favourite Falcon, certainly the best looking in my opinion, was the Cobra GT tribute livery from 2007.” decisions in that regard so whatever happens, happens.

But I, like many, hope there will still be V8 engines racing in the series for years to come.

It’s a tough balancing act between staying relevant to the changing automotive landscape yet remaining loyal to what made the series the success it is today.

Our generation of drivers has only ever driven a V8 engine. The power, for us

drivers, and noise, for the fans, is what attracts us all to this category over others.

To move away from that, there needs to be a pretty good commercial reason for it, so we will wait and see what happens.

At the end of the day, we need to be careful we don’t move away too far from what the fans want. Let’s wait and see what happens.

– Frosty

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Expert Insight

RIGHT ON TRACK

Column by Craig Lowndes

THE PATHWAY TO SUPERCARS

T

here’s been a lot of talk lately about the pathway to Supercars with the rebranding of the Super2 category and wildcard entries stepping up into the main game.

I was lucky enough to have that opportunity to step up through the Holden Racing Team back in 1994, but in those days there was no second-tier series and few main-game options.

The Super2 category is now a fantastic training ground. It’s designed not only for drivers but also for engineers, team owners, mechanics to develop and get the experience that they need to step up. And I think that if you’re successful in the Super2 category, there’s no doubt that you’re good enough to step up into the main game and be competitive.

I’m also a fan of Super2 wildcards being invited into the main game because that only accelerates their development and adds to the competition and talking points in the series.

When I came through the

junior ranks there was a bigger focus on open-wheelers with Formula Ford and Formula Holden, which both played an important role in my development as a driver.

Formula Ford was an important step from go-karts; getting into a race car with suspension, gears and a bigger profile.

The step up to Formula Holden was about learning in a car with wings and a lot more downforce, not to mention another increase in power.

My whole aim back then was to move into Formula 1 rather than touring cars, so Formula Holden played an important part because the cars were very similar to what I experienced in

European Formula 3000, then the feeder category to Formula 1.

The Formula Holden was the old-style Formula 3000 chassis.

The engine size was very different because we had a V6 here and the Formula 3000s ran a V8. But there’s no doubt it was a great learning process for me.

I learnt a lot in Europe for those 12 months and my only desire was that we had that second year to develop and improve on our results.

These days drivers wanting to progress in open-wheelers have Formula 4, which is an important connection to racing in Europe and the rest of the world.

Perhaps Australia could use a more powerful series like we

had with Formula Holden, but at least Formula 4 has a direct correlation with the pathway to Formula 1 in Europe.

There’s also the prospect of a revival of Formula 5000. I grew up watching the original Formula 5000 category and they were amazing cars.

The prototype of the new Formula 5000 car looks great and it’s sure to be a hit with the fans.

Hopefully, though, we don’t saturate the market with too many categories because you’d rather see less series with bigger grids than more categories all struggling for numbers.

In recent times we’ve seen the likes of Scott McLaughlin skip open-wheelers and go straight from go-karts into a Supercar in Super2.

That seems to be the trend amongst young drivers. However, open-wheelers played an important role in mine and other drivers’ development and those categories are vital if we are to see more Australians racing in Formula 1.

– Craig

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Expert Insight

GARRY THE GURU

GOLDING OPPORTUNITY

I

’m really looking forward to being able to give James Golding, aka ‘Beiber’, an outing as a wildcard entry in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship over the course of this season.

The plan was always for him to make his debut as a solo driver in the championship with us at some stage after he drove with us in the endurance events last year.

I’ve been following him from his karting days and watched him progress through the junior formulae and he’s a really decent young bloke, so we figured somewhere along the way he would end up driving for us in the main game.

That’s been a bit delayed this year with Garth Tander coming back and the fact that James Moffat was committed to our team as well.

But the wildcard opening presented a perfect opportunity to get him in a car before the endurance events.

He’s not running in the Super2 series this season, so it’s a great opportunity to give him some miles before he teams up with Garth at the Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast events.

We needed him doing some racing and I wasn’t keen to put him in another category such as V8 Utes, the Porsche Carrera Cup series or anything like that as I’m not convinced that would have got the best result for him.

He’s been at all our test days and I am really excited about what ‘Beiber’ will produce in the future.

He is a very skilful driver, but he has also got a good brain because it’s no good being skilful if you’re a dope.

I have also been impressed that ‘Beiber’ has joined the team as an apprentice mechanic.

He is not scared to get his hands dirty. It is also great that he realised that racing is something that he wanted to do and obviously he’s been very good at it for a long time and hopefully will be for a long time to come.

But he knows he can’t be a racing driver forever and he wanted to have some form of

established trade. He enjoyed the motor mechanic side of things and he’s good to work with.

He’s got a good wit and he fits in well with all the boys and girls.

It would be fair to say that we are not expecting him to win the races or be on the podium because you’ve got all the main game players in there and, let’s face it, there are some seriously good drivers in this category at present.

But I believe if he qualifies in the top 12, I’ll be happy. And if he races around and stays out of trouble, I’ll think he’s done a bloody good job.

I’ve always been a huge advocate of bringing on the young drivers because I believe this sport is best suited to young talent.

I enjoyed driving cars until I was 50 years of age, but you are not good enough and the fact is you need to understand that and move on.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with old enthusiastic people because I am enthusiastic. And there’s nothing wrong with me.

But, let’s face it, you are not as good as you think, or you are not as good as you were because years do change things.

Also, I am not only talking about drivers; we have had a lot of young mechanics and engineers throughout our team as well.

– Garry

“I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT ‘BEIBER’ WILL PRODUCE IN THE FUTURE. HE IS A VERY SKILFUL DRIVER, BUT HE HAS ALSO GOT A GOOD BRAIN BECAUSE IT’S NO GOOD BEING SKILFUL IF YOU’RE A DOPE.”

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WORDS Allan Edwards IMAGES Peter Norton, DJR Team Penske, Autopics.com.au

DJR TEAM PENSKE VS TRIPLE EIGHT Triple Eight Race Engineering has dominated Supercars for over a decade.

And its place at the top was only strengthened by being awarded sole Holden funding in 2017. But DJR Team Penske is now hitting its strides and presents Triple Eight with its biggest challenge yet in Supercars.

tar Wars maestro George Lucas couldn’t have scripted the 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship better.

The incumbent pack leader Triple Eight Race Engineering has dominated the series for the past decade, rewarded by being anointed as the Holden factory team, giving it the sole might of the manufacturers’ support. However, a new arrival, Team Penske, comes from a land far, far away and arguably brings with it powers

and riches never before seen in this country. And, just like the intergalactic combat of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, the war between Triple Eight’s Roland Dane and DJR Team Penske’s Ryan Story is set to explode.

The on-track battles between the Red Bull Holden Racing Team entries of Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup and DJR Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard may be what we see, but rest assured the war between the personnel under the headsets is just as fierce.

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DJRTP VS RED BULL

Red Bull Holden Racing Team boss Dane has declared that he and his team will not give up their position as leader of the pack without a fight.

Dane, the uncompromising architect of Triple Eight’s dominance of Supercars, actually appears primed for the challenge that has been thrown down by DJR Team Penske this season.

“We’ve been the clear leader for a long time; nobody’s won anything like the number of races (that we have) over more than a decade,” declares Dane.

“We are enjoying the challenge because we had a big challenge a couple of years ago from Prodrive Racing Australia, but that petered out for one reason or another last year. And when you fight hard for the wins and even podiums it’s very satisfying when you achieve them, so we’re more than happy to fight.

“Bring it on! Let’s have a good stoush and see where we end up. We’ll lose some and we’ll win some and see what happens... nobody can win all the time, nor should they be able to, but I can assure you we’ll raise our game and continue to as much as we’re physically able to do so. We’re certainly not scared of competition.”

The Irishman says while others have issued shortlived challenges in the past, he is expecting the DJR Team Penske effort to be more sustained.

“We don’t underestimate the real opposition – and 24

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“BRING IT ON! LET’S HAVE A GOOD STOUSH AND SEE WHERE WE END UP.” – ROLAND DANE the opposition is really about other people being able to bring consistent results to the table,” he says.

“Other teams have brought results to the table every so often over many years, but they haven’t brought consistent results. And DJR Team Penske have brought, will bring and are bringing much more consistency to the table than anyone else has for over a decade.”

Dane believes healthy competition is actually good for the sport of Supercars.

“It’s always beneficial to the sport to have two, three, four teams fighting each other if possible,” he says.

“It doesn’t matter what the sport is, rather than just having one, like Formula 1 has, for instance for the last few years, it’s better to have some real competition for the good of everyone.”

And he says he knew that “real” opposition was just around the corner as soon as Roger Penske declared his interest in the Supercars championship.

“I knew (Penske would be a challenge) the minute they indicated they were interested in coming to Australia… and if I was a betting man, I would’ve bet my house on that they would be the biggest challenge for us to overcome at some point,” he says.

“I expected them to be last year, (but) they were inconsistent... they’ve got more resources than anyone else and I’d be absolutely mad not to think that they were going to represent a real challenge to us going forward, so I’ve always thought they were eventually going to be the main opposition.”

And that’s one thing that Dane and DJR Team Penske managing director Story agree on.

“There’s an expectation that we would be competi-

tive at some point and that’s an expectation shared both internally and externally,” says Story.

“Internally, in the sense that every adventure that Roger Penske’s ever undertaken, both from a business and sports aspect, has been successful and this race team is no different to his other racing enterprises...

“And then externally, people look at the resources factor and Roger is a wealthy man – he’s a very successful man – and make the assumption that we race on the back of effectively a budget with no limits, but the reality is that’s not the case.

“Successful people are not successful by throwing resources at something without a plan. In the first year of our running as DJR Team Penske, we ran as one car.

Now if we were running on an unlimited budget, do you think we’d run with one car? No, the decision was made to do that so that we could plan and prepare and get a good handle on what the series was all about.”

Story has been pleasantly “surprised” by how quickly DJR Team Penske has become a front-runner in the championship, but he is determined to give Dane and Triple Eight a sustained challenge.

“We entered this year with a hope to win races and we were not under any illusions that would be an easy thing to do and it hasn’t come easy,” says Story.

“We were in a position where we could sustainably be a mid-pack team for as long as we wanted to be, but the reality is to go from a team who is comfortably midpack and not really a threat to anyone up to the pointy end with loftier ambitions and loftier goals, you have to develop an organisation and develop a culture and people who have a winning mentality.

“It’s no different to any business or any sport, for wins to count, they must not be fleeting, they must not be flippant, and they certainly must not be by sheer luck

“THEY DON’T TAKE BEING BEATEN BY PRETENDERS TO THE CROWN LIKE US LYING DOWN.” – RYAN STORY 25

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DJRTP VS RED BULL

alone and sheer chance alone. For success to be meaningful, it has to be sustained and you have to build an organisation capable of operating at that level.”

He is a huge believer that, like any organisation, a race team is only as good as its people. The rivalry between Triple Eight and DJR Team Penske has extra spice thanks to the defection of Frenchman Ludo Lacroix from Dane’s outfit to join the Story camp. However, Story says he is keen to develop the majority of his team’s talent from within.

“You can talk to any team principle in pitlane and they’ll tell you, the single biggest expense for any of these teams, all of which are multi-million dollar operations, is personnel, so there must be a time as well as a financial investment in people,” says Story.

“You have to train and groom people because we have a limited gene pool. We have a limited group of talented motorsport professionals in this country and the best way to be successful over the long-term is to emulate the success of Roland, for example, and that is to breed your own people and invest in your own people and we’ve done that.

“That’s how you grow an organisation in the right way and, certainly, that’s Roger’s belief and ethos, too; if you

Triple Eight is looking to protect its status as the top team in Supercars.

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back your people, you get the right people, you attract the right people and the rest will follow.

“You have to have the structures and the processes in place; when a mechanic makes a mistake, it’s not the mechanic’s fault, it’s the process and we’ve come unstuck with some reliability issues as a consequence of those things over time and the key failure is making the same mistake twice… that’s what we look to avoid.

“All organisations as they grow have teething problems, but you have to have the will and the belief that the plan is a sound one and that’s what we’ve had; that’s really been a driving factor for us.”

Story singles out Ben Croke and Nick Hughes as examples of homegrown talent at DJR Team Penske and he says they, along with the rest of his young team, have blossomed under the leadership and tutorage of Lacroix.

“His ability to lead that engineering group and empower people is nothing short of remarkable,” says the DJR Team Penske boss.

Story believes the rivalry between his team and Dane’s will be fierce but fair.

“To win a race in this series on merit you have to beat 24 other cars… and there are no easy beats in this championship,” Story says.

“In the case of Triple Eight, it’s muscle memory for them to win; they have had almost unprecedented and unparalleled success in this championship, dating back over a decade, and their ability to react and respond to challenges has been shown over time to be decisive and emphatic. They don’t like to lose. In the true sense of great competitors, they are not good losers.

“They are respectful and Roland, to his credit, has been one of the first to shake my hand when we’ve been up the pointy end because he’s a gentleman after all.

“As is the nature of competitive beasts, they don’t take being beaten by pretenders to the crown like us lying

Ludo Lacroix shocked the paddock when he accepted an offer to leave Triple Eight and take up a new post at DJR Team Penske.

Roland Dane was less than impressed with the move at the time. He openly criticised Lacroix and sent him on ‘gardening leave’ until his contract was over. But the Triple Eight boss denies he holds any long-term grudges over Lacroix’s departure.

“Despite what people might think, I’m extremely pragmatic and Ludo’s run for Triple Eight was over, anyway,” says Dane.

“He needed a new challenge and I needed to be able to give other people the ability to move up and Ludo represented the glass ceiling in the hierarchy of the business.

“I was never going to be the one to instigate Ludo going because it’s not the way I work for somebody who’s been with us for so long.

“My only frustration, as he well knows, is that he wasn’t straightforward and honest with me last September, but we’ve put that behind us and we have no problem talking to each other these days.

“I get on and like his bosses, so I get on with them and with Ludo. I’ve got no problem; I’ve had several chats with him this year.”

Dane even arranged to sit next to Lacroix on the flight back to Queensland from this year’s Clipsal 500 in Adelaide to put any differences they may have still had behind them.

“I might not have been as good at doing that if he’d won that day,” smirks Dane.

“But we won that day, so... I thought it was the right timing to be magnanimous and made sure we were sitting next to each other on the plane, which I don’t think he was expecting, but we shook hands within 30 seconds of sitting down and had a good chat.”

For his part, DJR Team Penske boss Ryan Story, says that signing the Frenchman was never about trying to steel Triple Eight secrets, but was just about securing the best talent in pitlane.

“It’s easy to speculate that Ludo’s rocked up with a briefcase full of paperwork and hard drives of how Triple Eight have done things, but that simply is not the case and Roland also knows that’s not the case,” says Story “The reality is what works with one car might not necessarily work with another.

“Such is the challenge of development that problems and limitations have to be resolved on their merit and the fixes might not necessarily work.

“I really have to take my hat off to his approach because it is beyond racing that management and leadership style that he has.

It is truly, truly world class, and that is as much a key part of the success that we’ve had to date, just the way in which he’s brought our people together and empowered the group of engineers to better themselves.”

27

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DJRTP VS RED BULL

down, so we’re really proud of what we’ve done so far this year, but we’re under no pretensions or illusions of how difficult it will be to sustain this level of competitiveness against a very fierce competition.”

However, he warned Dane to keep an eye over his shoulder, because neither he nor his team are going to stop fighting to take over the mantle as the most consistent and dominant team over the next decade.

“To beat them puts a spring in everyone’s step and let me tell you, everyone here at DJR Team Penske wants to do it,” says Story.

“That we’ve been able to do it a couple of times has been fantastic, but it’s a far greater challenge to sustain that and we’re going to keep fighting and we’re not going to stop, not by any means.

“But, like I said, to beat them you know you’ve done a hell of a job because they are a formidable operation and we’re going to throw everything at it we can.

“Let me tell you that there is a hidden pugilist in everyone who works for DJR Team Penske and we want to win.”

Story is not expecting Dane’s team to roll over without a fight and he points out that even when Triple Eight lost the drivers’ title in 2010 and 2015, it still won the teams’ championship in both those years.

“The history books show how emphatically they have bounced back from both those years,” says Story.

“That shows the strength and depth of the organisation and they sure as hell don’t take it lying down, so they’re going to come back at us.

“We’re going to have, I hope, days where we’re able to walk away happy, but there are going to be days where we’re on the back foot and that’s part of the joy of racing.

We are certainly not going to yield and we’re not going to go away.”

So just like the battles between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, expect the rivalry between Dane and Story to be well fought.

Only time will tell who will still be standing at the end with their lightsaber intact.

History repeating: Shellbacked Fords are fighting for the title once again.

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TRIBAL RIVALS

Triple Eight Race Engineering versus DJR Team Penske shapes as a rivalry set to dominate Supercars in the coming years. With this in mind, we take a look back at the greatest team rivalries of yesteryear.

WORDS Adrian Musolino IMAGES Autopics.com.au, inetpics.com

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t TOTAL TEAM VERSUS NEPTUNE RACING TEAM

The Improved Production rules came into effect from 1965 and it was the Neptune Racing Team and Total Team who dominated that era with championship wins in the Ford Mustang. While Ian Geoghegan’s Total Team fielded the Mustang for multiple seasons to four consecutive championship wins, Neptune Racing Team ran a variety of machinery for the likes of Norm Beechey.

ALLAN MOFFAT RACING VERSUS HOLDEN DEALER TEAM

The original Ford versus Holden rivalry. The rise of Peter Brock at the Holden Dealer Team provided Ford’s Allan Moffat with his biggest challenger. Their rivalry dominated the 1970s, with Brock in the Torana and Moffat in the Falcon trading Bathurst wins. Colin Bond’s defection from the Holden Dealer Team to Moffat’s Ford squad only increased tensions between the two outfits.

HOLDEN DEALER TEAM VERSUS DICK JOHNSON RACING

Dick Johnson took over the mantle as Blue Oval’s main challenger from Allan Moffat to continue the Ford versus Holden rivalry into the 1980s. The battle reached its peak in the final-round showdown for the 1981 title at Lakeside, when Johnson triumphed over Peter Brock.

But Brock ruled at Mount Panorama, scoring three wins on the trot from 1982 to 1984.

DICK JOHNSON RACING VERSUS GIBSON MOTORSPORT

The rivalry that dominated the Group A era. Dick Johnson Racing emerged as the team to beat with the Ford Sierra RS500. But Gibson Motorsport stole the limelight with the Nissan Skyline BNR32 GT-R, leading to a heated battle over parity that culminated in the angst at Bathurst in 1992 over who was the rightful winner of the controversial race.

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TRIBAL RIVALS

t BOB JANE RACING TEAM VERSUS ALLAN MOFFAT RACING

The battle of American-built muscle cars saw the Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 of Bob Jane and Allan Moffat’s Ford Boss 302 Mustang win all bar two rounds across the 1971 and 1972 seasons, though it was Jane who won in the championship with back-toback titles.

HOLDEN DEALER TEAM VERSUS RON HODGSON MOTORS

Peter Brock and the Holden Dealer Team didn’t have it all their own way amongst the Torana runners. The Ron Hodgson Motors entry of Bob Morris took the battle to the more fancied Holden team by winning at Bathurst in 1976 and the championship in 1979.

GLENN SETON RACING VERSUS DICK JOHNSON RACING t

The V8 era began with Glenn Seton Racing and Dick Johnson Racing flying the flag for the Blue Oval. While Glenn Seton Racing won the championship in 1993 and 1997 and earned Ford’s support, Dick Johnson argued the case for equal backing with victory at Bathurst in 1994. Dick Johnson Racing’s John Bowe prevailed in the title race in 1995 in an increasingly heated rivalry with Seton, but the latter fought back to defeat Bowe in 1997.

HOLDEN RACING TEAM VERSUS PERKINS ENGINEERING

The Holden Racing Team ruled V8 Supercars, scoring six driver’s championship wins from 1996 to 2002. In that period, Perkins Engineering’s Russell Ingall proved the biggest nuisance to the factory Holden team with runners-up finishes in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

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HOLDEN RACING TEAM VERSUS STONE BROTHERS RACING

The Holden Racing Team’s championship run came to a thumping end in 2003 at the hands of Stone Brothers Racing’s Marcos Ambrose. The Tasmanian went head-to-head with Mark Skaife to wrestle away the #1 from the factory Holden driver. Meanwhile, tensions between the teams escalated when Skaife and Russell Ingall clashed in the infamous road-rage incident at Eastern Creek in 2003.

TRIPLE EIGHT VERSUS HSV DEALER TEAM/HOLDEN RACING TEAM

Triple Eight emerged as a genuine powerhouse in 2006, winning at Bathurst for the first time with Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup. But standing in the team’s way was the HSV Dealer Team, which was getting the better of sister team the Holden Racing Team. HSV Dealer Team’s Rick Kelly took the title in 2006 from Lowndes in controversial circumstances at Phillip Island. The following season, HSV Dealer Team’s Garth Tander beat Whincup to the title. The rivalry also crossed over to the Holden Racing Team when Triple Eight switched to Holdens from 2010, leading to the battle for factory funding that was decided in Triple Eight’s favour in 2017.

TRIPLE EIGHT VERSUS FORD PERFORMANCE RACING/PRODRIVE

With Triple Eight and the Holden Racing Team leading the Holden armada, Ford Performance Racing emerged as the most consistent Blue Oval threat. The factory Ford team took two consecutive Bathurst 1000 wins in 2013 and 2014 in final-lap showdowns over Triple Eight entries, finally breaking through for a maiden championship win in 2015.

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Fraternising with Foges IN T ERV IE W BY M A RK FOG A R T Y

WORDS Mark Fogarty IMAGES Mark Horsburgh, Peter Norton

Chaz Mostert tells Mark Fogarty why his big Bathurst crash in 2015 didn’t slow him down as he moves into early title contention following a long-awaited return to victory lane with Prodrive Racing Australia. n 2015, Chaz Mostert was Ford’s fast man.

Before his season-ending qualifying crash at Bathurst, he captured 10 pole positions – by far the most that year – on top of five race wins.

Mostert should have forced a title showdown with Prodrive Racing Australia (PRA) teammate Mark Winterbottom, but a small error with big consequences at Mount Panorama ended his championship challenge.

The heavy Friday shunt left him with a broken left leg and wrist, plus ripped tendons in his left knee. He recovered to return in new Supercheap Auto Racing colours in 2016, but while he’d apparently lost none of his one-lap speed, PRA’s front-running form had departed.

Mostert was again the Falcon flyer last year, winning five pole positions, but there were no race wins for the lanky, mop-haired Melburnian.

His qualifying pace belied suggestions that the life-changing Bathurst crash had spooked him, but questions remained. Ironically, while DJR Team Penske’s early season surge has proved the Falcon FG X is still a pole-winning competitive force, Mostert had yet to top qualifying through the Phillip Island 500.

But he did score a cleverly calculated win amid all the tyre dramas in Sunday’s second 250km race at the Island, his first championship race win since before his Bathurst crash at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2015.

Whether Mostert remains a title contender depends on whether PRA can overcome its continued lack of race pace in normal conditions. The potential is there, with DJR Team Penske proving the FG X can take the fight right up to the Triple Eight Holden Commodores, maximising the extra grip of the new-construction Dunlops.

‘Mozzie’, 25, is one of Supercars’ more colourful drivers, combining his front-running pace with a knockabout personality, good humour and slightly dishevelled presentation.

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Mark Fogarty is Fairfax Media’s award-winning motorsport writer.

It’s been a year and a half since the big crash, so are you now in every sense fully recovered?

Yeah, probably better than what I was before the crash, to be honest. I worked hard again during the off-season coming into this year to try to lose a few kilos and get the physical state and the mental state a lot better. So, without a doubt, fully recovered from the crash.

Do the injuries still give you any trouble?

Oh, nothing in the car. The range of motion we have on the pedals is probably where I’m most strong, but there are still some flexibility issues I need to keep working on. But that’s right up like past 90 degrees bending the knee. And then in cold weather, the ligaments can sometimes be a bit tighter than what you’d like, but nothing that affects me in the car. It’s lucky that it’s quite warm in the car because then the weather outside doesn’t really matter. It all feels pretty good when I’m in the car.

Will you ever get the full range of movement back?

It depends on how hard I push myself and try to keep the rehab

ABOVE: Mostert celebrates victory in the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with team boss Tim Edwards.

stuff going with the physio. I don’t think I’ll ever push myself to run again. I’ll maybe do small bits of running, but I’d never do long distances. On the push bike and all that sort of stuff, my knee’s really good. We’ll just have to see what happens in the future.

I think it’s fair to say that the injuries were a lot more serious than they first appeared. Was it a shock to learn how bad they were and how long it was going to take to recover?

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“IT WAS A BIT DEVASTATING THAT IT WAS MY FAULT. ONE LITTLE ERROR TOOK ME OUT OF THE SEASON.” – CHAZ MOSTERT ABOVE: The sickening crash for Mostert at Mount Panorama in 2015.

RIGHT: Mostert is reunited with engineer Adam De Borre in 2017.

Definitely. Footballers have so many injuries that they know how to bounce back from them, whereas I’d never broken anything major like a big femur bone or pulled any ligaments in my knee. Breaking the bones wasn’t the issue, it was the ligaments.

Having to be still for a few months, it’s amazing how your body loses fitness in that time. Coming back at the start of last year, in the car I felt all fine and was capable of driving over long distances, but I think there was still a mental issue with not being able to move around without a limp and all the little factors that play on your mind.

A lot also changed with the team last year. Obviously the biggest thing was a new engineer, which needed a whole new approach to start getting runs back on the board and to learn about each other. So it wasn’t just the injury, there was so much else going on as well.

So it didn’t leave any psychological scars?

No, if anything, it made me hungrier than ever. To sit on the sidelines and watch those last few rounds in 2015 made me realise how lucky I am to be in this sport and made me a lot more determined to get in the pool earlier to start getting the leg working again. I couldn’t have done it without my step-Mum (Ann) and my Dad (Eddie) being there for me and to push me along.

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ABOVE: Foges and Mostert in conversation.

It was a big setback because you’d been on a roll, winning pole positions and squaring up to fight out the title with teammate Mark Winterbottom.

That was the plan. PRA rolled out a really strong car in 2015 and the FG X really suited us. We definitely jumped the field, but towards the end of the year and into last year, everyone else made gains to catch up. But that year I was very comfortable in the car, one-lap speed was great and most weekends it was a bit of a two-horse race.

I learned a lot out of that year, pushing me to a new level. Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted. I was looking forward to those last few rounds to see if we could close that gap and give it a red-hot go for the championship at Homebush.

There was every indication that had you finished the season, you would’ve been fighting to the finish with Frosty.

I think so. We were closing the points gap to him and becoming more consistent in the races. We were already consistent in qualifying and getting the most out of the car over one lap. I would’ve loved to have had a crack at the title. It would’ve been interesting to see how it all panned out. But it was still a fantastic year for the team – they deserved that championship – and it was great to be part of it. It was still a thrill to see Mark win his maiden championship.

Have you re-examined the crash at Bathurst to work out exactly what happened?

I didn’t really need to re-examine it. I already knew the reasons why it happened. It was one of those things.

Obviously, it was a bit devastating that it was my fault.

One little error took me out of the season. Normally, you’d make a small mistake and the boys might have to fix the car and get you back out there. But that error bit pretty hard.

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It was obviously a misjudgement by me. By the time we got around to that qualifier, I was just so excited to get out there and have a bit of a crack. There are definitely no excuses for the crash. It was in my hands. It was a combination of the afternoon sun putting the wall in a shadow and the car had better grip than the previous couple of runs.

The biggest thing that threw me off was because of where the sun was, as the wall had changed colour a couple of metres before the apex. So I was kind of blinded and instead of seeing the change at the last second to turn out of it, I thought I was right and that small nip of the wall threw me off.

You mentioned earlier that you reckon you’re fitter this year and you certainly look trimmer.

Did you feel you needed to lose some weight?

I wasn’t struggling in the car or anything last year. It was more about wanting to be a bit more comfortable out of the car. It’s more a lifestyle thing. I’m a lot happier

with myself this year than I was last year – the way I’m looking and the way I’m feeling.

If I can be more positive about myself outside the car, it also helps me when I’m out on the track. Before, I never really felt the need to put in 110 per cent effort like I am now. I’d just do what I had to do. But I have to say that I do feel more comfortable outside the car, so feeling better about myself is probably the biggest benefit of being fitter.

ABOVE: Mostert is back to race-winning form in 2017.

Your father told me he can’t remember you ever being so focused going into a season.

Definitely. I’m very hungry. Getting my engineer Adam De Borre back after all the success we had before is a big lift and I have a great team around me of people I know and trust. Last year was a bit devastating, not getting a race win all year, so this year I’m making a full assault and putting in 110 per cent to see if I can get some more wins and, hopefully, stay up the pointy end of the championship.

Mostert takes the win in the Sunday race at Phillip Island.

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Working with Adam again is clearly making a difference. How important is it to be united with him?

Very important. We gelled really well last time around and he’s really good at being able to read what from the car. He knows how to extract the speed from me better than anyone because of all the time we’d spent working together.

You’d think the driver would know best how to extract the speed out of himself, but sometimes you really rely on your engineer a lot to see the bigger picture and Adam’s really good at that.

He also has a bit of a driving background – early days in karts and stuff like that – so he can see it from both sides, which is a really great strength.

A lot of engineers just look at the data in front of them, but he has a really good understanding of the driving side and is able to communicate with the driver, actually understanding what we’re babbling on about.

You must know each other very well because you go back to the Development Series (DVS) days.

I did my last year in DVS (2012) with Adam. He didn’t just start a brand new relationship. He looked at everything I’d done in my two years prior, reading all the engineers’ notes and trying to pick up trends straight away instead of just going, ‘Okay, this is the way I like to run a car and you’re going to learn’. That really got things off on the right foot.

Everyone’s been talking about how it’s DJR Team Penske that’s taking the fight to Triple Eight, but Prodrive aren’t too far off and there seems to be a lot of life left in the FG X. So what do you need to be up there battling with them on a consistent basis?

For us as a team, we still need to make a lot of gains.

We know the areas we need to work on compared with those guys.

I believe we’ve made leaps and bounds with car from last year, but there’s some componentry stuff we need to work on to enable to be up there fighting a bit more.

It’s obviously about being more consistent as well. I probably haven’t been one of the most consistent drivers, so there’s stuff I have to work on as well, trying to

make sure I finish every race and try to be well inside that top 10 each time.

Hopefully we can get on top of the stuff we need to sooner than later.

ABOVE: Fitness has been a big focus for Mostert heading into this season.

There’s no problem with the one-lap pace to get you up at the front of the grid…

We can still get it up there, but I think the stuff we need to work on (for the races) would help that as well.

Every time we go out we’re learning something new, so it’s probably been the best start to any season I’ve had in the championship as far as progressive improvements goes.

So I’m very excited, always looking forward to the next round now to see what the car’s capable of and what else we can learn.

You’re one of the hottest qualifiers out there. Why are you so good at qualifying?

I don’t really know. We had a really strong package in 2015 and that obviously helped a lot. Last year we still qualified pretty well, although we missed out on the pole award by a few.

We lost our way towards the end of season. I just really like the intensity of qualifying. It’s so easy to make a mistake in qualifying and there goes your lap, but just trying to go that bit deeper than you think you can actually pull it up and somehow pulling it off is a big thrill.

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ABOVE: Mostert is leading the Prodrive Racing Australia charge against DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight.

You’re committed to PRA until the end of 2019.

Do you still see this as the place where you’re ultimately going to achieve your goal and win the championship?

Absolutely. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that.

These guys have won Bathursts and the championship.

They also gave me the start to this wonderful career.

So I want to be loyal to them and also consistency seems to be the best way to achieve success in this game.

I can see in the background that they’re working extremely hard to make gains and I’m surrounded by great people. To get Adam back was a big thing, as was keeping the same mechanics and data engineers. I’m getting the best opportunity here to win races and go on to further success.

You have to be realistic, too. All the top guys are all pretty settled in their places. But I honestly believe this team can punch right up the top and beat those other guys, so if we can get it all together, there’s no reason why we can’t win a championship here one day.

As a group of drivers at PRA, do you feel you’re a good mix? There’s not too much pushing and shoving among you?

“I’M A LOT HAPPIER WITH MYSELF THIS YEAR THAN I WAS LAST YEAR – THE WAY I’M LOOKING AND THE WAY I’M FEELING.” – CHAZ MOSTERT

No, I think the combination of a couple of more experienced guys in Frosty and Brighty and a couple of hungry young blokes in Cam and me works really well.

Mark’s been in the team the longest – he’s seen it all from almost day one to where it is now – and to have Brighty back is really cool because he remembers the very early days and he’s also bringing a wealth of knowledge and ideas from other teams.

Then to have Cam, the hard young charger, he’s going to be balls-to-the-wall. He’s hungry and he’s pushing us all as well.

So, as a combination, I think we’re one of the strongest teams out there – just like the Penske guys and the Triple Eight guys.

On our day, if one of us can get the car hooked up, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be right up the front.

It’s a very good mix.

Did switching garages last year make any difference?

Not really. Nothing much changed from a team aspect.

It’s not two teams – it’s all one team – and it was always like that even when Reynolds was in the other garage.

All the cars are prepped exactly the same. What the guy next to you has, you know you have as well.

It takes all that mental side out of it – you’re not concerned that someone is getting something different to you.

The main competition is for the pitstop priority and you never really escape that if you have another good driver in the other car. So there’s been no real change.

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Fraternising with Foges Do you still pinch yourself when you look back on that extraordinary win at Bathurst in 2014?

The focus is so on now rather than where we’ve been, but it’s so fantastic to know we’ve achieved it once before. So every time you do go to Bathurst, the level of pressure drops. You go from trying to one day get your name on that trophy to knowing what you have to do to win it again.

When I won that race, it opened my eyes to what you have to do at Bathurst. It doesn’t matter about the first half of the race. You just have to stay clean. You see a lot of guys out there sprint racing from the word go and it’s a waste of effort. It’s still crazy in my mind that we started last and somehow ended up on the top step.

It’s still so hard to understand what happened in that race. Each time I watch the replay, I get confused by all those safety cars. I’m very grateful to have won that race and I feel like the monkey’s off my back when I go back there – the pressure’s less. But the focus is on now and you want to win it again. When each year there comes around, it’s not like you forget about what happened before, but you’re concentrating on this year’s race.

You’ve done some production car and GT racing at Bathurst, so do you want to do more racing outside Supercars, especially overseas?

Oh, absolutely! Over the past 12 months or more, watching Gizz do all that kind of stuff has really inspired me to do some extra racing on the side.

I did the 12 Hour and absolutely enjoyed it. It was fantastic to drive a different style of car and to experience how the aerodynamics on those GT3s work and how fast you go across the top of the mountain. It was such a buzz. So I definitely want to try to add some GT stuff to my program and go racing at cool tracks around the world as well. My main focus is still Supercars, but I’d love to try to put together an overseas program as well.

Mostert debuted at the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2017.

GTs or sports cars rather than, say, NASCAR? Yes. I really like GT racing. All the different manufacturers and the Balance Of Performance that keeps things so close. I really enjoy those cars.

Now, your hair. You’ve had a few different styles.

What was going on with the long, shaggy look?

The reason I kept it so long was that it was really annoying Russell Ingall so much. I just like doing something a bit different to ruffle a few feathers in the media world.

And what’s the latest look under that beanie?

I don’t know. I went to the hairdresser and said I needed a bit of a cut and it turned out a bit different to what I thought it’d be.

There’s a few weeks between a good and a bad haircut, so I’ll keep the beany on till it comes good. I’m not like Fabs, who never has a hair out of place. I’m more of a country boy, where you roll of bed in the morning, have a shower and if the hair sits to the left, that’s where it stays for the day or if it sits to the right, it stays.

It does what it wants. I don’t have to look at it, so I just put my balaclava and helmet on and go racing.

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CAMERON WATERS

WORDS John Bannon IMAGES Peter Norton, Prodrive Racing Australia

A gun in junior formulae, Mildura’s Cameron Waters was brought back to earth last year with a tough rookie season in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. But he is making a giant leap forward in 2017. ithout a moment’s hesitation Prodrive “Every year we talk about how it’s more competitive Racing Australia (PRA) boss Tim than the last year and no doubt last year was more comEdwards responds, “Absolutely!” petitive than the previous years. He came in at a tough We’ve just asked if his young charger time. It’s one of those things as well; if some of the old Cameron Waters is a future Supercars guard think you’re a bit vulnerable they will pounce on you. champion.

“You’ve got to earn your respect in this category and The 22-year-old was a star in the junior I think drives like this season will get him that respect. formulae. The Mildura native took the “He got a little bit roughed up last year, but when Australian Formula Ford champithings weren’t going quite right you find yourself onship and Development Series almost trying to over-drive the car because a by storm with dominant chamlittle bit of desperation sneaks in. pionship victories in 2011 and “It’s a combination of probably him Will Waters add a 2015 respectively. being a bit desperate – that’s probaSupercars main-game Add multiple state/national bly not quite the right word – and title to his DVS crown? karting championships and a obviously getting beaten up, the win in the Shannons Supercar combination of the two means Showdown to that tally, plus it was hard yards for him last becoming the youngest driver year. to tackle the Bathurst 1000 at “To his credit, he has put just 17 in 2011, and you’ve got his head down, done a lot of an impressive resume. work over the summer with So to see Waters’ name 19th him personally and as a team.” in the standings at the end of Waters showed touches of his rookie Supercars season last class in his rookie season. A plucky year may have taken some who’ve fourth in Sunday’s rain-soaked followed his career to date by surprise.

Clipsal 500 last year, a well-timed pole But to make that judgement would be position in Perth and an impressive drive to misunderstand just how close the to fourth at Bathurst alongside co-driver Jack Supercars category is.

Le Brocq were just some of the highlights.

“As you know it’s a tough category and “Last year I had a lot of times when I had he came in at a very competitive time,” good pace but a lot of inconsistency as well,” says Edwards. says Waters.

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CAMERON WATERS

“I’M IMPROVING EVERY TIME I GET IN THE CAR. I’M GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AND HOPEFULLY I CAN KEEP THIS PROGRESSION GOING… I PROBABLY UNDERESTIMATED SUPERCARS...”

– CAMERON WATERS “For me as a driver, I narrowed down a few things that I wanted to work on. I’ve worked at them over the off-season and I’m just trying to lock that in for every weekend now.

“I’m improving every time I get in the car. I’m getting better and better and hopefully I can get this progression going… I probably underestimated Supercars a little bit, but those low ones, those rounds where you are struggling, you need to work harder to get better and I think that’s made me work a little bit harder in the off-season to try and come out firing for this year.

So far it’s paying off, I think.”

Waters has left no stone unturned in his efforts to move himself up the grid this year, with a pre-season that involved an intense fitness regime, which saw Edwards describe Waters “as fresh as a daisy”.

“I’ve put a lot of effort into my fitness this year,” says Waters. “I always have put a massive effort into my fitness but I’m a little bit fitter this year. I’ve done a little bit overseas with a driver coach, so that was really beneficial. It’s all just coming together a bit just now. Getting that rookie year over and done with is really good and now I’m just building on that.”

While Waters is just 22 years old, he’s got plenty of experience driving a variety of machinery in different categories, so he knows how to steer. But an indication of just how serious he is was the decision to fly straight to England after Christmas to get advice from an experienced driver coach.

“I went and saw Rob Wilson over in England,” he says.

“A few guys have been over and done it just after Chrissy and I spent three days with him. I got a lot out of it, so I’m trying to use that in the Supercar now.”

Edwards adds: “He works with most of the Formula 1 teams. He’s been doing some other things with sports psychs. He’s really being trying to tick every single box to get himself as well prepared as he possibly could…the reality is he has put in a lot of work.

“He realised he had some issues that he had to deal with to improve his performance. He can’t do anything about the springs, the dampers, the engine, all those other things that make up a car. All he can do is focus on Cam the individual. And you know we’ve helped him, we’ve guided him and tried to provide him with the support and the tools to rectify those things but at the end of the day he is the one that has actually had to do it.”

So when Waters showed up at Adelaide this year and put in a near faultless display highlighted by the fourth-place finish on the Saturday, holding off some

2011

2011

2015

2017

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of his more experienced colleagues, it was hard not to be impressed.

“Yeah, that wasn’t a gifted fourth, that was a hardfought fourth and it was really pleasing,” says Edwards.

“It was a really mature drive. He was driving cleverly, he wanted to make sure he was getting off the corners good. It’s good to see someone with his experience in Supercars driving so maturely; a fantastic job.”

Waters was also very pleased with the level of his performance.

“It’s absolutely amazing, to be honest,” he says. “I didn’t think I’d be that far up the field. My pace and the tyre life was actually really surprising. I was hoping for a top 10 so to get a fourth and to be quick enough to probably come second is absolutely unreal.”

An added cherry on top was finishing the Saturday race as the top PRA car ahead of his more experienced teammates, Mark Winterbottom, Chaz Mostert and Jason Bright.

“It’s awesome to beat your teammates,” beams Waters. “I’ll just keep concentrating on our package.

We’ll just keeping moving forward.”

Edwards says another part of Waters success is his willingness to learn from his teammates.

“One-hundred per cent he learns from them,” he says.

“They are like sponges. No different to when Frosty joined this team 11 years ago. He bled Brighty dry. So that’s just what they do.”

Waters says he hopes this strong start to the year will enable him to continue to deliver results.

“Any time you get a result you get a bit of confidence from it and a bit of belief back in you,” he says.

Waters scored a fourth at Bathurst in 2016, highlighting an improvement in Supercars that’s continued into 2017.

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CAMERON WATERS

LEFT: Waters is now settled at Prodrive Racing Australia in his second full-time season in the main game.

CAM WATERS

FASTFACTS DATE OF BIRTH

August 3, 1994 BIRTHPLACE

Mildura, Vic LIVES

Melbourne, Vic MEASUREMENTS

Height 180cm Weight 77kg HOBBIES

“I guess I’ve won in every formula I’ve been in and now I’m just trying to win in this. But this is one of the hardest series in the world. It was never going to be easy but if I work hard hopefully I can.

“I think there are a lot of things that go with that.

Right now, I’m in a pretty happy spot.

“I’m working really well with my engineer and I’m really happy with the team, so there’s a few factors which give you that confidence, so yeah it’s good at the moment.”

After a tough initiation to his Supercars career, Waters has set himself some pretty clear goals for this year.

“Just keep finishing in the top 10,” he says.

“I want to get a podium and I want to win a race.”

Team boss Edwards confirms the expectations will be greater this year, in Waters’ second season with the team, but stopped short of defining specifics.

“He didn’t meet my expectations last year and he didn’t meet his own,” he says.

“Absolutely the expectations are higher, they have to be… I don’t have a pre-determined criteria. He’s not always going to finish in the top four because it’s a category that is separated by tenths and hundredths.

“It’s an incredibly tough category. He can be in the top 10 just chipping away.

“He’ll have good days, he’ll have bad days. But if he can keep in the front half of the field all of the time, that’s what you’re got to do to be a successful driver in this category.”

And Edwards says the team will be working hard to make sure it’s keeping up there end of the bargain.

“Part of it is down to the driver, but part of it is down to the team as well and giving him the car that he can actually do the job with,” concludes Edwards.

“It’s all about shared responsibility on that one. It’s not just about Cam having to do this, it’s also about what he is sitting in.

“It is absolutely a shared effort there.”

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Sixteen

Teenager Alex Rullo is the youngest driver to ever race in Supercars and is combining his Year 12 studies with racing in the main game for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2017. So how is the Western Australian coping at such a young age?

WORDS Andrew Clarke IMAGES Ben Auld, James Baker

t the risk of sounding like my father, I find it hard to believe that a 16-year-old in this modern world has enough maturity to drive, let alone race a Supercar. But Alex Rullo may be one of the exceptions.

Rullo is studying Year 12 during the week and racing for Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport (LDM) on the weekends.

He is still looking for that ultimate speed and there is a fair argument that he may struggle with the LDM Commodore, but he doesn’t look out of his depth.

He is not alone in elite sports as a teenager; we have swimmers and tennis players competing all around the world before they have finished school. But motorsport is different. The cost of a dummy spit can be much more, not just counting into the hundreds of thousands of dollars but also of life and limb.

But the debut age in motorsport is dropping around the world and being challenged time and time again.

Max Verstappen set the bar at 17 years and 166 days old when he made his Formula 1 debut two seasons ago and became the youngest grand prix winner at 18 years and 28 days.

Paul Dumbrell was previously the youngest to debut in Supercars when he raced at Bathurst in 1999 as a 17-year-old. Rullo was 16 years and 273 days when the lights went green for the first race of the 2017 season in Adelaide. He has to stick L-plates on the road car to get to the track but he doesn’t seem to carry his study books with him when he arrives.

“It’s honestly something that I leave behind when I leave school in Perth,” he says of the case of the strangely absent schoolbag.

“Every time I make the journey across, I’m working with a bunch of young adults, mainly, and a lot of experienced guys as well. We’ve got a good blend to the team and I sort of fit in with all of them. I tend to forget that I’m 16 a lot of the time.

“I think the maturity that’s involved with the race team is something that I’ve definitely developed and picked up just being in a motorsport environment for a while now and with Supercars for two years. Being in the LDM garage, I’ve developed a lot as a person and as a professional as well as a driver.”

His program at school is reduced so he can make it through and he’s chosen subjects that make that easier, too.

“I get most of the schoolwork done at school and I don’t have much homework or anything like that,” he says.

“If there’s the odd assignment, then that’s pretty much the only thing I have to do outside of school. So the rest of my time is spent training and studying, things like that. I’m definitely busy but it’s working out well at the moment. It’ll definitely be even busier come exams, so that’ll be interesting. That will be around Bathurst time as well, so we’ll see how that goes.”

His climb has been rapid and is perhaps more about doing the leg work in the pits and a bit of luck with the right doors opening at the right time. His racing career started at the age of 10 in karts and he seemed to have some natural talent.

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ALEX RULLO

With the full support of his family he started pushing. They started running the karts nationally, which is not easy from a Perth base, and then worked their way towards a CAMS licence at the age of 14. The application was done when he was 13 so he could move into cars on his 14th birthday.

He started in Hyundais and the learning curve kept going. Balancing a bigger and heavier car that was manifestly underpowered compared with the kart was interesting but he did win the series. His father started racing at the same time, too. Having a father with a passion for racing and the wherewithal to do something made life a lot easier for Rullo.

“Dad’s got a few cool cars back in Perth; he’s got a replica of the 427 Garry Rogers Monaro that won at the 24 Hour back in the day,” says the 16-year-old.

“He bought all the spare parts off Garry for that and used them to build a replica. Nathan Pretty drove it once

and thought it was the same car. It’s pretty cool, but I haven’t driven that one yet, actually.

“He’s also got an old Falcon that was a Prodrive spare back in the day and bought that off Matt White after he had run it in the Development Series. Dad ran that in the local GT series back in Perth against some other ex-Supercars and GT3 cars and he chucked me in for a bit, too.

“I was in the 14 and a half, something like that. It was pretty daunting. We had Jack Le Brocq there as well. We did four test days back-to-back with him and I learnt a lot off him and I think I was only a second off on the third day.”

White was there, too, and he was the one who pushed them towards the Kumho Series in 2015. Rullo did the series and again it was a steep learning curve. Qualifying was now important and he had to learn how to master that, too.

Then he met Lucas Dumbrell at the Perth round of Supercars, which in turn put him in front of Bathurst winner Nick Percat, who mentored him through the second half of the series.

That meeting with Lucas evolved into a drive in the Dunlop Series for 2016 and then into a full-time drive for Lucas’ team in 2017. Rullo says his results may not have shown much thanks to a few mechanical issues, but he knew how much he had grown as a driver. As did his engineers, who generally are really the only ones that really know what is going on.

The very condensed learning program and path to the main game was now done. Now he starts a new learning curve. From the outside it appears too quick.

“I think the way I see it is you can only be as good as the guys that are around you, so throwing myself into the deep end every year is giving me this larger window for improvement and a lot more to take out of,” he says.

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“Obviously this year in the main game, we’ve got a lot more races than the Dunlop Series, which was a bit restricted. And a lot more practice session time, a lot more racing time, a lot more quality time.

“I’ll definitely learn a lot more this year than if I’d done another year in the DVS. Just one race alone at the Clipsal 500 felt the equivalent of the whole round in the DVS. So I’m learning a lot this year, especially with the drivers around me on the track with years of racing experience.

“They’re really hard to keep up with and they’re at the top of their game. So it’s a really awesome opportunity to be racing against them.”

They have welcomed the young driver into the series and he doesn’t feel out of place.

Now he is pretty much locked into the Supercars route and Formula 1 and the like is off the table. Coming from Perth, his parents were able to connect easily with Daniel Ricciardo’s family and they have spoken about the path to the top of the motorsport world. Alex and his family know if they wanted that he’d already need to be in Europe.

“I still want to complete school as well and I was pretty hooked on Supercars at the time,” he admits.

“I had a that little bit of success at Kumho and I wanted to stick to Supercars. This opportunity I’ve had with Lucas, I really wanted to pursue that instead of taking a stab at F1. The European opportunities take a lot of luck to get where you are and for Ricciardo he was very lucky that he got picked up by Red Bull at a young age. I think there’s a bit more stability career-wise over here.

So that’s why we chose to pursue the Supercar path.”

The risk, to outsiders, would appear to be joining the smallest team in pitlane with the oldest cars. We on the other side of the fence may judge young Rullo without knowing enough about what is going on inside the team.

That doesn’t bother Rullo; he knows what he is getting and how that may be perceived, but he knows what he can get out of it and he likes the idea of being fast-tracked.

“Knowing Lucas for two years, I’ve seen the ups and downs with reliability issues and with the older cars, seeing Percat and Heimgartner drive them,” says Rullo.

“I’ve been working with the crew for two years now.

So it’s definitely something we’ve thought about, but the opportunity to drive in the main series, there’s a lot more positives than driving in the DVS series.

“This year’s a learning year for us anyway. So having an older car doesn’t really worry me that much. I know we’re not going to be super competitive and pushing for a top 10. This year’s a lot about learning and we hope to make some improvements to the car over the year and get some better packages for later in the year.

“We’ll see what we can make out of the car. We’ve got a good engineering team behind me and I think we’ll see what happens in the latter half of the year.

ABOVE: Rullo has held his own in his rookie season with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2017.

“WE’VE GOT A GOOD BLEND TO THE TEAM AND I SORT OF FIT IN WITH ALL OF THEM. I TEND TO FORGET THAT I’M 16 A LOT OF THE TIME.” – ALEX RULLO 53

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ALEX RULLO

“YOU CAN ONLY BE AS GOOD AS THE GUYS THAT ARE AROUND YOU, SO THROWING MYSELF INTO THE DEEP END EVERY YEAR IS GIVING ME THIS LARGER WINDOW FOR IMPROVEMENT.” – ALEX RULLO ALEX RULLO

FASTFACTS DATE OF BIRTH

June 15, 2000 BIRTHPLACE

Perth, WA LIVES

Perth, WA MEASUREMENTS

Height 180cm Weight 68kg HOBBIES

Fitness, jetskiing PERSONAL VEHICLE

School bus!

FAVOURITE CIRCUIT

Bathurst

“But, like I said, this first half year’s all about learning and really sponging it all up at the moment.

“I’ve pretty much got my head down and focusing myself on the big gains I can make out of our car, not really worrying about anyone else too much.

“Obviously it’ll vary from track to track how we go.

But results aren’t really worrying me too much; it’s the most I can get out of myself.”

Rullo has given himself some targets, not that he is telling us what they are. It is not about comparing himself to Simona de Silvestro, also new to the series, it is about working with his engineers on what they know.

Like most, his first target is his teammate. He wants to run with him first and then step up a little.

“I think maturity’s a really big thing in this series.

You’re not going to make any progress from mucking around,” he says.

“I’m being really cautious on track and I like to think that I’m one of the safest drivers and one of the most cautious. I won’t be making any silly dive bombs or anything like that. Obviously if the car’s pacey then I’ll go for a good result, but I’m still in the big learning stage.

“My confidence will obviously build as we gain more experience in the series. But I like to think of myself as not a stupid driver, not someone that goes for massive dive bombs. But if the gap’s there, then I’ll go for it.”

In the meantime, he’ll just keep on working with his small team. Taking in the lessons just like he does at school. Learning step-by-step and not trying to cram it all in at the end of the year because he hasn’t been paying attention.

“If you’re going to commit to a career path, especially the Supercars, you’ve got to give a 110 per cent to it,” he says.

“I’m willing to sacrifice pretty much anything for it.

I’m already sacrificing my social life back in Perth and the school time that I’m missing out on. I’ve sacrificed any uni paths, too.

“I’ve got a good team here; I’m really happy and I work well with all the guys. So I’m willing to sacrifice all that and I’m really enjoying this year so far. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”

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GEN 2 SUPERCARS

WORDS Bruce Newton IMAGES Peter Norton

Two of the three models raced in Supercars are no longer sold in the Australian marketplace. So where is the series heading with the Gen2 rules in effect? et’s do a quick health check of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

The administration of the business – it’s only a sport when the cars are actually on the track – is quite solid. James Warburton is its best leader since Tony Cochrane and there’s no doubt he’s notched some solid successes as well as marched boldly up some blind alleys.

The controversial TV deal has bedded in for better or worse, the hue and cry has subsided and the quality of what we see on our screens is unsurpassed.

Commercially, as always, the battle is a fraught one.

The pitlane remains divided into haves, have-nots and those somewhere in between. A positive is the arrival of Virgin Australia as championship sponsor and the return of REC money with nearly $600,000 per car being allocated annually.

The teams continue to do a consistently good job putting 26 cars out there on the grid week in and week out and conducting high-quality races that vary between C- processions and A+ thrillers.

The cars? Ah, yes, the cars. If all those other Supercars elements get at least a lukewarm tick, can we say the same about the cars?

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The Car of the Future chassis has had dramas undoubtedly. The cost of building up a Supercar continues to be a sore point and side intrusion safety has been an ongoing issue. But we’re more interested here in the top-hats, the different shapes that go over the parity technology underneath.

Sure, the drivers are the stars but the cars are integral to that success and the spectacular nature of the championship. Not only is it important they are fast, sturdy and violent, but also current. The excitement of the introduction of a new-generation racer is integral to the ongoing vitality of the category.

But the reality is Australia’s most prominent, most important motor-racing championship is beginning to look like a used-car lot. It is filled with dead and dying shapes. The production version of the Falcon FG X finished last October. Nissan has stopped importing the Altima, essentially because no-one cares, and the last VF Holden Commodore rolls from the production line in October.

Yes, there will be a racing replacement for the VF in 2018, which is currently being developed by Triple Eight Race Engineering on behalf of Holden. But it is likely to be the only new car on the grid unless the Ford Mustang makes it – something that our sources were insisting was a minimal chance of happening as this story was written.

That means the Supercar version of the new imported Commodore will most likely be racing a bunch of superseded and phased out cars, including its own predecessor.

If you want to lose relevance then racing obsolete machinery is arguably the best way to do it.

“We have always prided ourselves on being relevant,” says Warburton. “I don’t think any one in the category thinks that (having FG X and Altima on the grid) would be a good idea beyond next year.

“UNDERPINNING ALL THIS IS THE FUNDAMENTAL NECESSITY THAT WE MUST LOOK RELEVANT. THAT’S NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO IS IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RACING PRODUCT. THE PRODUCT HAS TO BE GOOD.” – JAMES WARBURTON “From an overall logistic view it’s a big change for any team and it’s ultimately too late for 2018 for widespread change … but we can survive that.”

Essentially, the ageing grid is collateral damage from the end of the local automotive manufacturing industry.

The Australian Ford and Holden businesses that once funded local touring-car racing for millions of dollars a year are now mere sales, marketing and distribution offices for their global bosses, no different to Hyundai or Honda.

An Australian outpost asking HQ for millions to fund a Supercar team racing a bespoke entry developed specifically for a domestic championship is unlikely to get much of a hearing when a GT3 or GT4 racer can be developed for the globe. Especially when that car will make your company money.

But the problem expands even further than that. Car brands have made a choice to invest in other forms of promotion over motorsport. Their logos abound in the football codes in Australia yet they shun motorsport.

In the old days almost every team was part of the Holden and Ford factory effort. Now just six cars on the

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GEN 2 SUPERCARS

“PART OF GEN3 WOULD BE LOOKING AT HOW WE COULD CONSTRUCT A CHASSIS THAT’D BE MORE ADAPTABLE TO MORE BODY SHAPES. IT WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO ENCOURAGE A MANUFACTURER.” – DAVID STUART

BELOW: Different engines and body shapes will feature in Supercars, bringing the series full circle to its formatative years.

grid are supported by factory money, the two Red Bull Holden Racing Team Commodores and the four Nissan Motorsport Altimas.

All credit to Supercars, it did see the landscape changing. The Car of the Future was intended to “open the garage door” beyond Ford and Holden and was initially successful in luring Nissan with the Kelly brothers and then Volvo with Garry Rogers into the category, while Betty Klimenko sunk millions into her privateer Mercedes-AMG program.

Results have been mixed. The Swedes are gone, the Japanese are hanging in there and Betty’s swapped to Holden after three fractious and expensive seasons of limited success.

Supercars’ next step is Gen2, which officially arrived this year. It allows body shapes other than sedans and engines other than V8s.

These rules were framed essentially to keep Holden in the championship with the NG, which is a hatchback, doesn’t have a V8 in its production line-up and is intended to race with a turbo-charged V6.

Gen2 also theoretically gave permission for the likes of the Mustang and the Nissan GTR to enter the fray.

As we know, no-one stepped up with a Gen2 car in 2016 and that’s given Supercars extra time to get its house in order in terms of finalising the technical regulations and developing its parity framework to cope with the influx of different types of engines and body styles.

Still, much remains to be done. Holden had yet to apply for homologation of the NG as this was written and such fundamental decisions as whether it can run with either the V6 or a carry-over V8 engine were still yet to be finalised as this was written.

In-car testing of the category’s own V6 turbo – crucial to developing a parity model against nat-atmo V8s had yet to start – while the equally important process for aerodynamic parity testing was being reviewed and will be potentially uprated.

More importantly in the context of what we are discussing here, it had been established the Gen2 chassis could be used unchanged with a coupe body, something that Supercars tech chief David Stuart and his crew had at one stage thought would not be the case.

“We have done a lot of work on that and at the end of the day we were able to adapt the body to the chassis without having to modify the chassis while allowing the coupe to still look as the manufacturer intended it to,” says Stuart.

That achievement opens the way for Mustang and GTR but Warburton is resigned to NG Commodore being the only new car on the grid in 2018. But he expects more change – and knows the category needs it for 2019.

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“From that point we can get some shape in terms of where we can go from there,” he says.

And isn’t that the crunch longer-term question?

Where to for an isolated national championship with a narrow commercial and fan base? What happens after Gen2, which currently has a life-span pencilled in until 2021?

You might think that’s something not worth worrying about at this point. But this was and is an important enough topic for Warburton himself to highlight 12 months ago in an interview for the official Supercars website. He dubbed the next step Gen3.

“Gen3 is about aligning certain aspects (of the Supercars category) which are relevant with global motorsport programs,” he told Supercars.com.

“Don’t forget we are seeing a transformation in this country from automotive manufacturing to importing, so a lot of motorsport decisions will be in consultation; at a local management level but with approval at a global level as well. So it is a matter of framing something that is relevant and acceptable for the manufacturers at that level, too.”

Now Warburton admits Gen3 isn’t the pressing issue he defined it as 12 months ago.

“The reason there is no talk around Gen3 is that no-one actually knows what the shape of where the market is truly going to be,” admits Warburton.

“That is where I see things and I know a number of teams see things in terms of the manufacturers and what will be in there and what won’t be in there in terms of product planning and product mapping.

“I do think the industry in itself is in a massive degree

of change and until that change really is concluded its going to be difficult to put something in black and white on a page.”

Nevertheless, Stuart reveals his team has been considering just what Gen3 could comprise.

“The shape of cars is changing, the landscape is changing,” he says. “Part of Gen3 would be looking at how we could construct a chassis that’d be more adaptable to more body shapes. It would be more likely to encourage a manufacturer to come racing.”

DJR Team Penske team principal Ryan Story has been looking at achieving the same goal from a completely different perspective. After years of being involved in negotiations with manufacturers he has come to the conclusion there is little point in individual teams doorknocking car brands with their hands out for millions of dollars.

To re-populate the grid the price of entry needs to be far cheaper and the return on investment far greater.

In effect, Story is saying that gaining access to the intellectual property to run a Supercars version of a certain model should be negotiated with a brand on behalf of the championship by the championship.

That permission wouldn’t necessarily cost the brand a cent, but the car would be homologated by Supercars and available for teams to race. Those teams could in turn offer the brand the chance to become commercially involved with them, while the championship could also offer promotional opportunities at a price.

“We are in a unique position where as a championship we control our TV product and we promote a lot of our events,” explains Story.

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GEN 2 SUPERCARS

“So, I think when you look at it broadly, what can be packaged as a benefit or return on investment for a manufacturer expands and goes well beyond what an individual team can package.

“Maybe going forward we need to think about how the series itself can be seated on the other side of the table when it comes to pitches to other manufacturers.

“I know there is a desire and an interest and the series has been proactive reaching out to other brands, but with an evolution of how we have done things in the past perhaps there is a way going forward to encapsulate intellectual property agreements and effectively the permission to run a particular car and have that originate from the series instead of – as the model has been to date – from the teams.”

Obviously, there are many details Story isn’t sharing.

For instance, the cost of homologation would not be that cheap, probably in the region of $500,000. And how would engines be developed and maintained? And by who? Supercars continues to mull over the concept of category-supplied V8 and V6 turbo engines and that could be one solution.

A group of teams that want to adopt the same body shell could co-fund an engine development and lease program. For instance, to pluck a random example: Toyota. Australia’s biggest vehicle retailer has no interest in spending money on Supercars racing, but it is said to have no opposition to the Camry appearing on the grid. A V8 engine program could be procured through

TRD in the USA where former HRT and Tekno Autosports boss Steve Hallam now works.

This might be a way to entice brands like Alfa Romeo with the Giulia, Kia with the Stinger GT, Toyota with a Camry and even Ford with the Mustang into the category. Longer term, it could smooth the path into a new generation of Gen3 racers, whatever they may turn out to be.

Warburton is familiar with the concept but greets it cautiously: “There are many options in discussion, but there is nothing concrete.”.

This is not necessarily an easy sell – what is in Supercars? The teams have traditionally been the ones that have approached the manufacturers and done the negotiating. This would encroach on their rights.

Someone like Garry Rogers, who has been successful in bringing a new brand into the series previously and is intent on doing it again, might not fancy having Warburton’s crew getting mixed up in this area and taking a slice of the financial pie.

But the unparalleled changes going on in the Aussie auto industry might force a fundamental change in the way Supercars goes about its business. The health of the category might demand it.

“Underpinning all this is the fundamental necessity that we must look relevant,” concludes Warburton.

“That’s number one.

“Number two is it’s all about the racing product. The product has to be good.”

BELOW: Getting manufacturers racing in Supercars as well as GTs will be the big test for Gen2 and Gen3.

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SUPPORT RACES

WORDS Adrian Musolino IMAGES Peter Norton, James Baker

While Supercars looks ahead to Gen2 and Gen3, its support categories are undergoing their own transformations, led by the new-look SuperUtes series. Here’s a snapshot of how the main support categories are faring in 2017.

SUPER2

The rebranding of the Development Series into Super2 in 2017 is an attempt to confirm the second-tier category as the main pathway into Supercars. This has only been helped by Super2 teams being allowed (and encouraged) to enter as a wildcard in the main game, with Bathurst becoming non-championship for Super2 so its teams can enter the 1000. And with the more and more current-spec Supercars filtering into Super2, the demand for drives has increased because prospective main-game drivers know how relevant the series is to impressing team bosses. Indeed, it now seems the norm for drivers to get into the Super2 series as quickly as possible from karting, given the uncertainty around the open-wheel categories in Australia.

ABOVE: Prodrive Racing Australia highlights the links between the main game and Super2.

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GT

The rise of GT racing around the world has been mirrored in Australia by increased manufacturer and driver interest, especially for the showpiece Bathurst 12 Hour event.

But GT racing, like all categories below Supercars, faces the difficulty of translating that success into sponsorship dollars and, therefore, affordability. The teams found this out when they demanded that GT organisers realign with Supercars after entrants admitted they struggled to sell sponsorship for a schedule of events away from Supercars. The Australian GT championship may not be the threat to Supercars that it appears in terms of crowds and interest but its manufacturer backing makes it one of the strongest categories in this country, with a strong grid of cars and a healthy mix of professional and amateur drivers.

But any further reduction in entrants will pose a major concern and threaten the existence of the one-make Porsche-backed series in Australia.

SUPERUTES

The Supercars-run SuperUtes series replaces the V8-powered Ford and Holden utes platform. The production-based turbodiesel dual-cab vehicles feature a variety of control components, mirroring the technical direction of Supercars under the Car of the Future regulations. Designed to tap into the popularity of dual-cab vehicles and the demise of the Falcon and Commodore V8 utes, it’s hoped strong manufacturer

interest will help Supercars market the category as its third-tier under Super2 in much the same way NASCAR does with its own trucks series.

TOURING CAR MASTERS

The popularity of Touring Car Masters was confirmed by the series’ events all being at Supercars meetings in 2017. The series continues to grow, with a healthy grid featuring a great variety of cars, drivers such as John Bowe, Steven Johnson and Jim Richards battling for wins, a schedule that includes Adelaide, Sandown, Bathurst and Newcastle and interest in the history of touring cars increasing in recent years.

CARRERA CUP

Porsche’s Carrera Cup championship seems to have been hurt the most by the rise of GT racing, with its grids shrinking in recent seasons. Just 13 cars entered the season opener in Adelaide. Those with the budget and aspiring to race in different machinery are moving on to the Australian GT series.

Those who can’t afford to race in the top tier instead race in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series, run on the Shannons Nationals bill. A new Carrera Cup car will come on board in 2018, while the schedule was bolstered by the addition of an Endurance Cup. 63

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SUPPORT RACES

AUSSIE RACING CARS

If motorsport categories were judged on entertainment alone, then the pint-sized Aussie Racing Cars would be top of the pops in Australia. There’s variety in terms of body shapes on the grid, with Toyota Aurions, Nissan Altimas, Mustangs, Cruzes and Camaros joining the Commodores and Falcons in recent years. The schedule of events includes trips to Adelaide, Townsville, Gold Coast and Newcastle. And category owner Tony Quinn’s influence in Australia and New Zealand is a positive for the series that can ride the wave of interest in Quinn’s flagship Australian GT cateogry.

PRODUCTION CARS

TOYOTA 86

The arrive-and-drive Toyota 86 concept drew its 32-driver limit in its first season in 2016, highlighting the demand for affordable racing at a national level. With entry fees set at a $1500 per round, it’s easy to see why there was such interest, giving the Japanese giant its own motorsport presence within Australia. But it remains to be seen whether the Toyota 86 series can grow a fanbase in the coming years.

FORMULA 4

CAMS came under heavy scrutiny when it launched Formula 4 from 2015. With Formula Ford proving to be an impressive

breeding ground for young drivers and Formula 3 a step up for drivers with overseas open-wheel aspirations, did Australia need Formula 4? Irrespective of the political reasons for introducing the series, Formula 4 has already had a hand in grooming some impressive talent. Last season’s champion Will Brown is now making waves in Super2, while former graduates Thomas Randle, Luis Leeds and Jordan Lloyd used Formula 4 as a launching pad to moves to Europe and North America. But the level of participants in Formula 4 remains a big concern. Just 12 drivers from four teams entered this season’s first round at Sandown. The series must grow in numbers in coming years.

Production racing is a throwback to the formative days of touring cars in this country. And it’s had a revival in recent years given the popularity of the state-level Improved Production category, which received a big boost by being included on the support bill for the Clipsal 500 Adelaide. Meanwhile, the Bathurst 6 Hour continues to grow each year as the headline act for the Bathurst Motor Festival over Easter, with a strong grid ranging from performance cars to compacts.

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Ford still plays an important role in driver development.

FORMULA 3

Despite the arrival of Formula 4 and continued strength of Formula Ford, Formula 3 continues to plug along. A proposed Formula A Australia single-seater series that was set to replace Formula 3 never materialised due to a lack of significant interest. Australia will struggle to sustain three open-wheel categories racing at a national level, so the squeeze is very much on for Formula 3.

t SUPER TRUCKS

FORMULA FORD

Formula Ford and Formula 3 appeared doomed when CAMS robbed them of their national status, especially with the arrival of the CAMS-backed Formula 4 series. But Formula Ford fought on and features a healthy grid of more than 30 entrants and a schedule of events across New South Wales,

Victoria and Queensland. The recent departure of long-time Formula Ford Association chairman John van Leeuwen is a concern given his vital role in the CAMS-enforced transition. But the long list of graduates to progress into Supercars and beyond and the continued alliance with the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system means Formula

The American-based series has been a hit with Australian audiences from its debut at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide in 2015. Since then the Australian presence in the series has grown – with the likes of Paul Morris and Matthew Brabham regulars at events here and in North America – while its debut at Barbagallo Raceway this season was the first at a non-street circuit in Australia. Will the novelty of the crash-and-bash series wear off? Or are the Super Trucks here to stay for good?

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WORDS Matt Coch IMAGES Autopics.com.au, James Baker

Open-wheelers are the most popular form of motorsport in most parts of the world. Yet in Australia and New Zealand, touring cars reign supreme. This despite the fact great grand prix drivers descended to the region to race in the annual Tasman Series and the popularity of the local Formula 5000 category. So how did we get here with touring cars on top?

A

ustralian motorsport was revolutionised before our very eyes, yet somehow none of us saw it happening.

From a sport dominated by open-wheelers, throughout the 1970s the barometer of public opinion gradually began swinging in favour of touring

cars, which by the end of the decade had made legends out of Peter Brock and Allan Moffat.

To that point, motorsport in Australia had been dominated, largely, by the annual Tasman Series. The world’s best openwheel racers would venture south from the snowy European winter, lapping up the

the sun, sand and circuits of Australia and New Zealand. It was a golden era, with our own Jack Brabham the established star on the world stage, a man who had seemingly single-handedly conquered the automotive powerhouses of Ferrari and Lotus with an engine developed in Melbourne.

Adding to the international flavour were

The first lap of the Tasman Series at Sandown in 1969. Formula 1 star Jochen Rindt leads a star-studded field.

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While Formula 1 stars raced in Australia each summer, the likes of Colin Bond were still the household names.

many of those against whom Brabham competed in Europe, providing fans with an almost complete Formula 1 grid on their own doorstep. From Lakeside to Sandown, motorsport fans throughout the 1960s enjoyed an opportunity to rub shoulders with the greats of the sport: Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, John Surtees, Jochen Rindt and others.

The success of the Tasman Series hung largely on the fact that it provided many of the European teams with a means to generate an income during what would otherwise be the off-season. Back then, before rampant commercialisation of the sport contractually prohibited such outings, teams and drivers competed in non-championship events, filling their coffers with starting money from organisers.

Together with a possible market into which to sell their old cars, many teams leapt at the chance to compete year round, with a host of locals buying up machines to race against them, Kevin Bartlett and Frank Gardner among their number.

Changes to the sport’s technical regulations in 1966, however, meant teams were less interested in heading down under. And while it proved the catalyst that spawned the legendary Ford DFV engine, it also brought about an end to a golden era in Australian motorsport.

By the end of the decade the Tasman Series was a shadow of its former self. Regulations changed to feature Formula 5000 cars instead of mildly-modified Formula 1 racers. And the world’s greatest drivers no longer graced our tracks.

Though Formula 5000 remained popular throughout the decade, its relevance decreased and the costs to compete increased. In the early 1980s, it was replaced by Formula Atlantic and the demise of open-wheel racing in Australia was all but complete.

However, the decline of the Tasman Series, and for that matter Formula 5000, was simply the most visible clue to the revolution happening in Australia.

The tide had changed and the likes Moffat and Brock were bigger household names.

“Formula 5000, the Tasman Series and to some degree the Gold Star was quite big

still back then,” recalls John Bowe, who began his career racing open-wheelers in the 1970s before going on to win the Australian Touring Car Championship some two decades later.

“The publicity machine that manufacturers brought to the sport, Holden back-door support, Ford to some degree ran factory cars and Chrysler were involved in it, built it up.

“That’s what made the slow decline of open-wheel racing in Australia. When I started driving in the Gold Star, which was 1979, by then it was very much touring cars orientated.”

Throughout the 1960s, when the Tasman Series was at its peak, touring-car racing in Australia was disjointed. The Australian Touring Car Championship consisted of a single event, while Bathurst was still growing in stature after the relocation of the endurance race from Phillip Island.

“ROAD CARS BECAME MORE INTERESTING IN THE 1970S. THERE WAS BIG HORSEPOWER; PERFORMANCE. PEOPLE LIKED ALL THAT BECAUSE THEY COULD RELATE TO THEM.” – JOHN BOWE 67

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Kevin Bartlett raced openwheelers and touring cars.

Jack Brabham in the Brabham BT31 at Bathurst in 1969.

Bathurst’s endurance race gave touring cars a leg up over open-wheelers.

It was only in 1969 that the Australian Touring Car Championship became a multi-race series and by the early 1970s manufacturers had begun leveraging the Bathurst 500 (as it was then known) in their marketing campaigns.

While this was happening Australia was transforming socially, too. The Second World War had seen the nation tighten its belts, with little disposable income as it recouped from the war and raised the babyboomer generation. As the 1960s wore on and the baby boomers began reaching adulthood, a social revolution saw the belt and braces approach to life replaced by a young workforce comparatively flush with disposable income.

“They came from their parents struggling to be able to buy a car,” agrees Bowe. “If they bought a Torana, it might not have been the same as Peter Brock drove but it was still a Torana. It created this desire.”

The seed for that desire, Bowe suggests, can be traced back to the manufacturers using motorsport as an advertising vehicle.

By carefully positioning themselves and aligning individuals with their products, an aspirational aura was created around the world of motorsport. It was the genesis of ‘what wins on Sunday, sells on Monday’.

Accelerating that process, which Bowe suggests, started with the Ford Falcon XR GT in 1967. A ferocious rivalry was born between manufacturers both on the track and in the showrooms. The dull family cars which had dominated the market since the 1940s were gradually phased out, replaced with exciting machines featuring, in many instances for the first time, serious performance figures.

“I used to work at a Holden dealership after school sweeping the showroom and cleaning the cars,” Bowe recalls.

“When the XU-1 came out I was like, ‘Wow, it’s got triple carbs and four on the floor and bucket seats and all that sort of stuff’. The cars were becoming more interesting. Instead of having drum brakes and three-shift column shift and doing 80mph downhill with a tail wind, they became quite quick.”

In motorsport terms, things came to a

“THE PUBLIC LIKED LOOKING AT CARS THAT LOOKED LIKE THEIR CARS.” – JOHN BOWE 68

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The battle between Holden and Ford increased the popularity of touring cars.

head in 1972 when controversy rocketed Bathurst into the national headlines.

Competition between the manufacturers had descended to the point where all three major contenders, Ford, Holden, and Chrysler, were investing in ‘homologation specials’ – cars specifically designed to win the Great Race but which were built in sufficient quantities to meet eligibility requirements.

In 1967 manufacturers had to sell 5000 units internationally, or 500 in Australia, to race at Bathurst. For 1970 that barrier was lowered to just 200-unit sales in Australia within a 12-month period. An article in The Sun-Herald newspaper in June 1972 predicted that the big three were all in the throes of building 160 mph ‘Super Cars’.

The article stirred national outrage, forcing a public back down from all three manufacturers and pre-empting a change to the regulations ahead of 1973.

“That’s exciting stuff, now even, and the factories were involved in it and behind it,” enthuses Bowe. “It just captured the imagination of the public and slowly then heroes were created.

“For instance, let’s take Peter Brock. Peter 69

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was obviously a man of great talent but his folklore, his legend, his status, was created mostly by a guy called Tim Pemberton,” he continues. “‘Plastic’, as his nickname was, did PR for Holden and he created this huge folklore thing. And the cars themselves, road cars, became more interesting in the 1970s.

There was big horsepower; performance.

People liked all that because they could relate to them.

“At the same time Formula 5000 was slowly petering out until the early 1980s and then it was replaced by Formula Atlantic, which I competed in. And whilst it was a great little category, it didn’t capture the imagination of the public. The public liked looking at cars that looked like their cars.

“I remember being very excited about the Rothmans Tasman Series things when they were 5000s and they had four races in New Zealand, four races in Australia in the space of eight weeks. That was fantastic. But trying to run that same category throughout the year as the Gold Star event, the competitors couldn’t afford it and the interest slowly petered away.

“It’s just a branding thing,” Bowe continues. “Whether that was so pre-planned or whether it just happened, and having been involved with manufacturers and marketing and whatever, I’m not sure they’re that smart.

“In some cases they were and certainly General Motors had a very smart little core of people who made all the Holden Dealer Team, Peter Brock, Colin Bond stuff happen.

Formula 5000’s revival could spark interest in open-wheelers in Australia.

“It was pretty clever stuff. Allan Moffat would tell you Ford were hot and cold on him.

“If you’re looking for one key it’s because the cars became more interesting, more performance orientated once the public became more interested. When they started to show the Bathurst race on television… it created this desire. And, unfortunately, I’m not sure racing does that anymore in terms of win on Sunday, sell on Monday.”

Today, Australian motorsport is dominated by Supercars, a category which captivates the nation but one which shares little in common with its touring-car ancestors. Underneath the skin there is little in common with today’s family cars, yet it remains relevant and aspirational. With manufacturer involvement, it continues to sell itself based on brand allegiances.

What’s more, there is no open-wheel equivalent, leaving Supercars unopposed at the top of the mountain. Since Formula 1 arrived in Australia in 1985 there has been no top-level national open-wheel class. And while Formula Holden, Formula Ford and Formula 3 tried to fill the void, formula-style racing has faced its own demons in recent years.

“Where Supercars became dominant is the way that they packaged it and the way they promote the meetings,” Bowe reasons.

“Some think they’re all too even and no one passes anyone, but people that actually know understand how difficult it is, how high level it actually is. But the show is great, it’s well promoted and in most cases with a good support-category base. It’s a big show, a showbiz business much more so than it ever was.”

Formula Holden’s demise proved a big blow to open-wheelers within Australia.

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Having marketed its way to prominence, challenges to Supercars crown now come from echoes of the past, with categories that boast class variety and an eclectic mix of entries.

Sportscar racing has risen in prominence globally with many pointing to the continued success of the Bathurst 12 Hour as a sign of the future. But perhaps it’s just the magic of Mount Panorama, with the

Bathurst 6 Hour this year growing sharply over the inaugural event in 2016.

Of the three events held at Bathurst annually, it’s the 6 Hour production-car race which shares the most in common with the rise to prominence of touring cars in Australia. However, it’s decades behind and its position within the sport is perhaps best left as it is – an almost time capsule of the sorts from a time when the Australian Touring

Car Championship was a single event.

As for open wheelers, the talk of a revivial of a Formula 5000 series comes at a time when Formula 4 is trying to cement its place in Australian motorsport and Formula Ford and Formula 3 have been demoted to the state level. The desire to revive Formula 5000 could be Australian motorsport’s last attempt for an open-wheel category popular with fans.

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WORDS Adrian Musolino IMAGES BAM Media, Peter Norton

2017 INDUCTEES LIST MOTOR RACING

Alexander Nicholas ‘Lex’ Davison Jim Richards Mark Skaife Frank Gardner Kevin Bartlett Larry Perkins Vern Schuppan MOTORCYCLE RACING

In 2014 the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport launched the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame to enshrine those who have contributed the most to motorsport as a driver, owner, developer or engineer.

Now, two induction nights later, the greats of Australian motorsport are remembered for their service to our sport.

A

ustralian motorsport has a rich heritage that is now being commemorated through the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) Motor Sport Hall of Fame.

The Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame was launched in 2014 to give recognition to those who have contributed to a variety of motorsport disciplines. The first awards night, held in Melbourne in the lead-up to the Australian Grand Prix in 2016, saw 30 inductees honoured, with a further 21 added in 2017.

“CAMS has long held the view that there should be a Hall of Fame to give recognition to those who have brought greatness to motorsport in all its many disciplines, over the entire history of the sport in Australia,” said President Andrew Papadopoulos.

Amongst the first group of inductees were world champions Sir Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, Casey Stoner, Troy Bayliss and Kel Carruthers and touring-car legends Peter Brock, Dick Johnson, Allan Moffat and Bob Jane.

“While each of the major motorsport organisations have their own Hall of Fame, this is truly a national recognition of the leading achievers and contributors to the sport as a whole,” said Brett Murray, founder of Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame backer Speedcafe.com.

Keith Ronald Campbell Thomas Edward Phillis Troy Corser RALLYING Peter ‘Possum’ Bourne Neal Bates Coral Taylor MOTORCYCLE SPEEDWAY Arthur George ‘Bluey’ Wilkinson Leigh Scott Adams MOTOCROSS Ken Rumble DRAG RACING Jim Read KARTING John Pizarro SPEEDWAY CARS Johnny Stewart SPECIAL CATEGORY John Large (Administration) Ron Tauranac (Engineer)

LEFT: Kevin Bartlett received his Hall of Fame induction this year.

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2016 INDUCTEES LIST

Bathurst 1000 winners Mark Skaife and Larry Perkins were inducted this year.

MOTOR RACING Sir Jack Brabham Alan Jones Frank Matich Allan Moffat Dick Johnson Peter Brock Colin Bond Bob Jane Harry Firth MOTORCYCLE RACING Mick Doohan Casey Stoner Troy Corser Wayne Gardner Gregg Hansford Kel Carruthers RALLYING Ross Dunkerton Jack ‘Gelignite’ Murray MOTORCYCLE SPEEDWAY Jason Crump Jack Young Lionel Van Pragg MOTOCROSS Jeff Leisk Stephen Gall DRAG RACING Ash Marshall KARTING James Courtney SPEEDWAY CARS Garry Rush Ray Revell LAND SPEED RECORDS Norman ‘Wizard’ Smith OFF-ROAD Mark Burrows SPECIAL CATEGORY Phil Irving (Engineer) Donald DKT Thomson (Administration)

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“I DON’T BELIEVE WE CELEBRATE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE PAST ANYWHERE NEAR ENOUGH.” – JIM RICHARDS The second round of inductees included the likes of Mark Skaife, Lex Davison, Frank Gardner, Kevin Bartlett, Larry Perkins, Vern Schuppan, Ron Tauranac and Jim Richards.

“I don’t believe we celebrate the champions of the past anywhere near enough; they are the ones that got the whole thing (Australian motorsport) moving and we are just taking it along another step,” said Richards, who was announced as an inductee alongside his Bathurst-winning co-driver, Skaife.

FIA president Jean Todt attended the 2017 awards night in Melbourne and praised the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame initiative.

“Australia has been demonstrating for decades how it should be done in motor racing and safety,” said Todt.

“Your country is an example of how things should be done. The contribution of officials is outstanding and has led to Australians training others all over the world.”

V8X Supercar Magazine contributor and respected motorsport journalist Mark Fogarty said the hall of fame is “long, long, long overdue”.

“The Hall of Fame is something that in countries like the United States is actually quite a big deal and I think it will also become a very big deal in Australia,” said Fogarty.

“Certainly there are so many legends of Australian motorsport in many different disciplines that need to be recognised.

“The Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame, over the years, is really going to build that into a wonderful motorsport treasure.”

The 2018 CAMS Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame induction ceremony will once again take place during the Australian Grand Prix weekend in Melbourne, Victoria.

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AUGUST 2017

SHOOTOUT

CIRCUITS WE MISS IN SUPERCARS Triangle area of the nation’s capital and produced a surprising amount of overtaking considering its narrowness. It fell victim to state politics and was hurt by a mid-winter date.

INTERNATIONAL 4 ADELAIDE RACEWAY

10

MALLALA MOTOR ▲ SPORT PARK

Mallala features a combination of fast and tight turns. And its bullring-like layout often produced close and exciting racing. Redevelopments are planned to the facility north of Adelaide in a bid to keep pace with The Bend Motorsport Park under construction to the east of Adelaide in Tailem Bend.

9 HOMEBUSH STREET CIRCUIT

The circuit based around the Sydney Olympic Park precinct divided opinion. While the challenge of the concrete-lined track guaranteed action as the season-ending event, fans voted with their feet and crowd numbers diminished each season.

if its facilities were maintained.

The long front straight and challenging infield of this road course produced good racing.

PARADISE 7 SURFERS INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Another circuit to incorporate a drag strip on the front straight, the Surfers Paradise International Raceway’s highlight was the fast right-hand first corner under the iconic Dunlop Bridge.

Sadly, the circuit is no longer.

6 WARWICK FARM RACEWAY

Sitting just north of Adelaide, the Adelaide International Raceway includes a 920-metre front straight that produced speeds in excess of 250km/h, with sweeping right-hand corners challenging drivers.

The use of the drag racing and speedway sections of the circuit made it unique in Australia.

3 AMAROO PARK RACEWAY

What Amaroo lacked in terms of length it made up for in character. The 1.94km circuit included sweepers, kinks and undulations, with its natural amphitheatre popular with fans. Its demise marked the decline in Sydney track activity.

INTERNATIONAL 2 LAKESIDE RACEWAY

The spiritual home of Queensland motorsport. The fast and flowing circuit to the north of Brisbane was popular with drivers. The high-speed nature of the circuit meant the modern day V8 Supercars outgrew the facility, to the category’s loss.

1 ORAN PARK RACEWAY ▼

The fast and undulating Oran Park Raceway to the south-west of Sydney is fondly remembered as arguably Sydney’s best circuit. Crowds flocked to the circuit with its iconic figure-eight layout. Its loss to Sydney’s suburban sprawl was a tragic loss for Australian motorsport. Like with Lakeside in Queensland, no other circuit has been able to fill the void and crowd numbers in the region have suffered as a result.

The Sydney version of Sandown in the south-west of Sydney also incorporated a circuit within a horse racing facility. But, unlike Sandown, there were two temporary crossings placed over the horseracing track during its brief time as a dual facility.

5 CANBERRA STREET CIRCUIT ▼

The street circuit ran through the Parliamentary

8 CALDER PARK ▲

The multi-purpose facility to the north-west of Melbourne is somewhat of a white elephant, under-utilised considering what could have been

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